The Nest

Loving My Organic Mattress

Posted Friday, March 07, 2008 5:15 PM

When my husband and I moved to LA a few years ago we had to go mattress shopping, because we finally had room for a Queen (which may not seem like cause for celebration if you’ve never lived in Manhattan, but in the cramped quarters we'd left behind there we'd had to squeeze into a Double). I'd recently read a lot about how conventional mattresses are packed with flame retardants (PBDEs) and other possibly harmful chemicals, and that these mattresses emit the most dangerous fumes when they're brand new.  So I lobbied hard for an "organic" mattress made of natural latex and organic cotton and wool, but it was much pricier than most of the other options, so my husband fought back. Since we'd just been through some serious life changes (marriage, a move across the country) I decided to let the issue drop, and we bought a cheap-ish conventional mattress from one of those big brands that starts with S. For months after I brought it home I swear I woke up with a headache more mornings than not, and became increasingly paranoid that the bed was poisoning us.

I'm more than willing to concede that my headaches might have been psychosomatic paranoia (my husband’s opinion) and they eventually stopped, but when we went shopping for a new mattress again recently I insisted on an organic one. We recently moved into a larger place with a guest bedroom, so I jumped at the chance to buy a new mattress for us and leave the old one to the guests. My husband was more willing to indulge me this time (although he’s not as obsessed as I am he’s gotten more into keeping unnecessary chemicals out of the casa) so we hit the stores.  Now, there are some truly fabulous organic mattresses out there, with prices to match.  We went and laid down on a number of fantastically comfy options at the RoyalPedic store, but decided that $3,000-$4,000 was just more than we could shell out.  And we didn’t even tempt ourselves with a visit to the Hastens store, the natural mattress mecca, where prices start at $5,000, and go up to $50k! (photo above).  We settled on one by Vivetique, which makes more moderately priced natural beds (our queen cost about $2000), made of a natural latex core surrounded by organic cotton and wool (because latex and the lanolin in wool are naturally flame retardants, these mattresses meet anti-fire laws for bedding without using chemicals).  And a few months later, I can say that I’ve been sleeping easier than I have in years.  The mattress is supremely comfortable (the perfect combo of firm and cushy) plus I love knowing that I’m not inhaling chemicals with names I can’t pronounce during my sleep.

Btw, if you have kids (or are about to) environmental health experts say that you really should buy them organic mattresses even if you aren’t yet ready to switch out your own mattress.  Little ones are especially sensitive to chemicals, and they spend sooo many hours in their beds (if you’re lucky, anyway!). I’ve bought both my crib mattresses from Vivetique, and I think they’re about $225, which is much less than the price of the posh stroller of the moment and, in my opinion anyway, so much more worth it.