Sleepy Head

(Sorry, this ones a long one, I tried to condense as much as possible. Save it for one of those night you can't sleep, it should help ... or maybe not! )

I have felt strongly about organic mattresses for a long time, do I own one? No, I'm working on it because the more I think and read about them the more their importance seems major. Like people who hate their job or their best friend, it's odd how much time we spend doing certain things and are never aware how much of our lives they encapsulate. The average American will sleep 1/3 of their life ... let that sink in. It might not feel like it now. A bun in the oven can compromise most mamas sleep patterns, making it more difficult to, stay asleep especially as you are up and down many times, to fall back asleep when woken up (obviously happening a lot because of the former) and with dreams becoming very intense, often vivid and emotional, it may not seem as rejuvenating as before the bun. (Interesting info on preggo zzz's http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_center/your_pregnancy/sleep_during_pregnancy.html#) However, in the end, that mattress of yours is getting more horizontal time then any college dorm room. My point being, shouldn't that be a mattress made of the most healthy, quality materials?! Weirdly, most are not.

Most conventional, large-scale mattress manufacturers use synthetic fabrics and foams in their products. Many add a number of other highly toxic chemicals, like; Polyurethane, Methylene, Chloride and Benzene (carcinogens like the ones in cigarettes), and fire retardants. 

Yes, crib mattresses are unfortunately, made out of many of the same materials and chemicals. Sad face. With growing consumer awareness of what makes up the the bed they put their buns to sleep on ... healthier options are becoming easier to find, which is great, but it is definitely leading to more questions, options and controversies; Organic Cotton, Eco Foams, Eco Wools, Natural Laytex, Government Mandated Fire Retardants and on and on. The more you read, the more you find and the more questions pop up.

Are they necessary? You will probably find people as mixed as they are in reference to their own mattresses (and agreeing that a healthier mattress is important doesn't necessarily mean it's doable currently, but maybe something you can reach for). A natural crib mattress, while more expensive then it's controversial competitor, is not nearly the kind of investment that a full size will be. And I guess you could look at it as a priceless investment if you go that way.

Like many products it's easy to read words like "Green", "Natural", "Ecofoam" and be sold. But it's really important that you read what the mattress is made up of. It's easy to add a layer of organic cotton and then cover a mattress in vinyl containing chemicals and call it "Organic". Do your research and read all you can about all of your options. This may also include a serious effort to be sure of ingredients, many mainstream companies have to be contacted for this information and don't provide it freely (red flag if you ask me!). There is a ton of frigging information, it can seem overwhelming, but it can be boiled down to a few important areas;

• Chemicals to avoid:

1. Polyurethane foam ("Memory Foam"," Soy Foam")
2. BPA (Bisphenol A, Phthalates - the same chemical you probably avoid in plastic water bottles),
3. VOC's
4. Formaldehyde
5. PBDEs (Polybrominated diphenyl ether - used as fire retardants).

• Crib Mattress Structure:

1. The Core - Could contain Laytex, Foams, VOC's
2. Padding - Watch out for BPA's, Formaldehyde
3. Flame retardant material and chemicals, - watch out for PBDE
4. Cover or "ticking, - Watch out for Toxic Plastics and Vinyls

• Regulations: Government regulations require mattresses to be constructed with flame retardants, unfortunately many of these are nasty chemicals. Try to find the least toxic ways of accomplishing this!

A company that continues to come up as exceeding expectations in the production of natural and safe alternatives to many large named companies is; Naturepedic (nope they aren't sponsoring this site so you can rest assured I'm unbiased)

Staying rational - We've all be sleeping on our beds for years, decades in some cases. And the majority of us were raised on futons and in hand me down cribs painted with led based paints ... we're okay. The buns ahead of us will be okay, but that doesn't mean it's smart to take the first option to pop out of the Babies R' Us isle ... take some time and think about it, do a little research and if it lights a fire to do something different, do that.

Love in Green 

the ecofashionista