By Taylor Romanowski

Published 3.30.11

Nearly one-third of our lives are spent in bed but do you know what you are sleeping on? We didn’t either… all “regular mattresses” are 100% petroleum-based, not to mention highly flammable.

While you’re resting those tired eyes of yours, catching up on some zzz’s, you may be inhaling toxic fumes from certain glues used to manufacture mattresses. The Environmental Protection Agency {EPA} states, “these adhesives may irritate the skin and eyes and may even be carcinogenic because of methylene chloride, benzene and formaldehyde found in many adhesives. Solvents known to cause damage to the central nervous system are also used in adhesives.”

The truth is, your little dream haven may be a lot more dangerous that you could ever have thought. How so? The foam used in traditional mattresses is made with several petroleum-based chemicals – all from non-renewable resources – and then covered with petroleum-based polyester fabric. During your mattresses’ 10-year average lifetime, half of its weight is lost, falling directly onto your bedroom floor in the form of “toxic dust and in the air in the form of formaldehyde gas, a by-product of the foam breakdown.” Studies conducted of household dust have confirmed that your mattress is likely one of the most significant sources of cancer-causing chemicals in your home… those dust bunnies under your bed just got a lot more dangerous.

We’re not finished yet… the facts get even scarier. The average petroleum-based foam queen-sized mattress is soaked in about one pound of fire-retardant chemicals called Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PDBEs to make it short. These chemicals have already been banned in Europe, but not in North America. Accidents happen. Imagine what would happen if, for heavens-sake, a fire broke out in your home while you were sleeping… you and your bed would go up in flames. Not a pretty image, is it?

So why are these chemicals used? It’s the same ‘ole answer as always – they’re the cheapest of course, and the simplest way to conform to the United States mattress fire resistance codes. The danger here is not the lives lost in fires but the potentially millions of cases of cancer caused by exposure to these chemicals over the coming decades.

Now for some good news… organic mattresses made from natural latex. Rooted in nature, natural latex mattresses have no petrochemicals at all and no chemical fire retardants! Made from rubber trees, natural latex mattresses are resistant to odor, mold and disease and are biodegradable – great news for our health and Mother Nature. These mattresses will not expose you to off-gassing chemicals or pesticide residues. Sleep in ease without worrying about breathing in whatever your mattress is breathing out. Get all the rest and comfort you need in organic bedding; next time you go to sleep at night allow nature to come home to you and start sleeping naturally…

Rejuvenate – body, mind and spirit with eRest organic latex mattresses and organic mattress pads.

• 95% natural latex filling (sap from the rubber tree) and 5% zinc
• Zip-on organic cotton cover, quilted with eco-wool (no chemical fire-retardants)
• Density customizing with three, 3” layers of latex — firm, medium, soft
• Adjust each side of the mattress independently— two unique sleeping preferences
• 20-year warranty and a 90-day comfort guaranty

*The natural wool that is quilted between the organic cotton serves as the fire-retardant, and our mattresses are certified by U.S. and Canadian laboratories to be compliant with the Federal Standard 16 C.F.R. Part 1633.7 as issued by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, and also comply with the requirements under 16 C.F.R.Part 1633.3.