I've been doing a lot of research on crib mattresses, now that I'm in the market for one, and I'm surprised at what I'm finding. I just figured I could find an organic cotton mattress not treated, buy it and whalla, it's done..NOPE. It looks like I'm getting a lesson in flame retardancy with chemicals hidden everywhere, not to mention advertising using "Eco" or "Organic" in the titles to lure you in. It seems like many big name companies will use some great materials than mix in some not so great chemicals to comply with flame retardant standards and waterproofing needs.
I'm looking for a crib mattress that is firm enough, made with natural ingredients, preferably organic cotton and organic wool with good ventilation. There's godda be an affordable on out there right? What I don't want is a crib that is full of chemicals that my new baby will be inhaling in the crib.
My search started, where else, at my local department stores, Target, Babiesrus, etc. Target has a mattress that said "organic" It's called the Munchkin Comfortsafe Organic Crib Mattress, which sounded great to me. So I added that to my list to look up.
Next I went online, and found that Amazon.com has a ton of different ones listed, and started to read reviews and descriptions of different companies cribs. After days of comparing and contrasting, let alone confusion, I started making a list of pros and cons based solely on what actual properties are listed for each mattress and the materials or chemicals I made note of for each mattress. Here is the first 2 mattresses I looked up ..
First, I contacted the Munchkin company for some more details on their crib, as I was unable to find any reviews or information online. They responded that day very quickly with more details.
The Munchkin Comfortsafe Organic Crib Mattress-
-It's Dual sided for infant and toddler
-It's super affordable about $129.99 + Shipping
-210 Coils inner spring
PROS-
-Outer "unbleached natural cotton cover with no treatments" (Great!)
-An inner Organic Wool layer (Even better!)
CONS-
-"Has a waterproofing backing inside the mattress", (not sure what that means...plastic maybe?)
- Has a cotton flame retardant barrier inside that is treated with "minimal amounts" of boric acid (Uh-Oh, What is Boric acid? More to follow)
The Sealy Soybean Dream Crib Mattress-
The "Sealy Soybean crib mattress" has some great reviews online everywhere, BUT has a vinyl cover..Hmmm, who wants to sleep on vinyl, let alone it's plastic based!!, So someone mentioned on a blog that Sealy makes one without a vinyl cover but with a fabric cover, this one.
- About $180.00
- Says"Foam is CertiPUR-US® certified and has been tested for indoor air emissions, durability and substances including phthalates, formaldehyde, PBDEs, lead and other chemicals"
PROS-
- Uses a sustainable material Soybeans to create foam (Sounds Good)
CONS-
- Says "Fabric cover feels soft, no plastic waterproof coating is used" BUT uses chemical treatment of "STAPH-GARD® woven jacquard fabric covers offers liquid, stain and allergen resistance" (Ok, wait, a chemical waterproofing agent that is woven into the fabric that my baby will sleep on? Uh-No)
- If using GMO grown soybeans, the foam has a % of petrochemicals anyway, could be up to 85%! (http://organicgrace.com/ntb_crib-mattresses) (So basically plastic/soy foam?Hmmm)
So, so far no good. Both of these mattresses looked great on the get go, but both turned out to be treated with a chemical either for waterproofing or flame retardancy.
I get that waterproofing a mattress may be important to parents as your child may have accidents, etc, but can't we use a removable puddle mat made from wool or natural rubber to resist that? I'd rather have something non-toxic that I can remove and wash than a spray that can off-gas forever in my newborn infants body creating who knows what.
I'm gonna have to do more research on some of the flame retardant chemicals and see what they actually are and what they can do. Next blog to follow...
