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...
27 comments:
Check out the Naturepedic line, we bought one for Mazzy and it's super comfy. The only con at the time was that I'm not sure what the cover is. At the time it was the best option with out spending a ton but I think we still paid about $250...
I just ordered an organic cotton and wool mattress from Dax stores online. I haven't received it yet to report on quality, but it was the most reasonably priced one that didn't contain boric acid. All the ones from the bug manufacturers seem to have nasty stuff in them.
Hi
I have a quick question about your site. Would you mind emailing me back @carlymiller687@gmail.com
Thanks,
Carly
Check out RockabyeOrganics.com - the mom that owns the site did her research and made sure to only carry 100% organic crib mattresses. Hope that helps!
Can anyone tell me what their experience is with the Dax organic crib mattress? Thanks so much.
I put this wool mattress on my registry and feel pretty good about them.
nontoxic .com/beds/crib.html
What's annoying is my mother in law doesn't seem to understand why I want a $350 crib mattress.
Also, if you're looking for low-chemical car seats, check the list at healthystuff .org
I know this is an old blog post, but if anyone finds this who is looking for an organic and non toxic crib mattress I thought I should reply. First of all, I've been doing tons of internet research. I've been trying to check out all the suggestions I find. The person here who suggests www.nontoxic.com mattresses...these are made by Ecobaby. I figured this out because Purerest/Ecobaby is the the only company that is NAOMI certified (because they came up with their own certification- the owner of Purerest started NAOMI). And nontoxic.com claims the crib mattress they are selling is NAOMI certified. So i put 2 and 2 together. Even though Purerest/ecobaby is certifying their product with their own made up certification (NAOMI) I still think it's a quality product. It seems like Purerest/Ecobaby is fighting it out with a company called LifeKind to be THE most pure mattress out there. If I had my choice I'd probably go with Lifekind just because that whole certification thing with Ecobaby is weird. But Lifekind is more expensive at about $495. Whereas I can find the Ecobaby mattress as low as $295. I found it on an online store called OrganicGrace.com for this price. It's more expense if you get it directly from Ecobaby for some odd reason. The Dax Stores mattress looks like it fits all the same criteria as the two brands above, but I cannot find anything that guarantees or certifies that it is what it says it is. Good luck everyone. This is not easy to figure out!
I like this baby mattress. I like this idea.
However, some users have said that it sometimes takes about a week or so for the body to adapt to this sleep surface because it is so unlike the spring mattresses that most of us sleep on. Tempurpedic beds
Very Informative blog. The information you have presented is very good. Thanks for sharing.
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Always be a keen consumer! Don't always believe what the companies advertise. After all their objective is to gain profit. Always be aware of the product you are buying. Using organic products, especially mattresses are really good because it is free from poisonous materials that pose a potential harm to us. Always make sure that you are getting what you pay for.
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I prefer using organic cot mattress for my baby. Organic cot mattress is synthetic allergy free, so it is a better choice for my baby.
Hmm… I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i’ll be your constant reader.
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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 ... cribsmattress.blogspot.com
How much did you spend on a crib mattress?
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Spot on with this article, I really think this website needs more attention. I'll probably be back to read more, thanks for the info.
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I am so glad to found you! you shared helpful post. I also recommend some few mini crib mattress
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The next step in the process is buying the beds when they're on sale, and keeping them for when the moment arrives. fleet manager
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