Should You Go Organic?

“Organic” just may be one of the most confusing terms in any market—it can mean a wide variety of things. You buy your fruits and veggies organic, but should you be sleeping on a strictly natural mattress?

Before we take a deeper dive, it may be helpful to get a better understanding of what organic mattresses are, and why a consumer might opt for one.

What Makes A Mattress Organic?

Your mattress won’t quite be growing on a quaint farm in the hills, but what’s inside of it might. Organic materials come in many different forms nowadays, where before the options were pretty much limited to cotton or wool filling.

Organic is somewhat of a catch-all term that resonates as “healthy”, but for the purpose of mattress shopping it means that there are no synthetic materials, the mattress is free from any chemical treatments, and they comply with organic standards. Affordable organic mattresses can be harder to find, but researching the brands out there can lead you to your perfect match.

Most organic mattresses are made of wool, cotton, all-natural latex, or all of the above. If you’re looking for something that is completely free of the typical chemicals used in mattresses, organic is probably the best direction for you. Outside of your typical natural materials, organic foam mattress companies are certainly out there employing plant-based foams. If you’re unsure, there are some important things to note about foam manufacturing that might help you make a decision!

Certified Foam

When you hear that foams are made from chemicals and processes that are unfamiliar, it can be scary to think of what you may be sleeping on. That’s why the foam industry has made significant strides in recent years to come up with strict testing practices and certifications designed to prevent known harmful chemicals from being used in mattresses.

There are many certifications out there that a company can apply for, and here at Tuft & Needle we sought out the strictest of them. We were the first foam mattress to be certified by three leading independent certification programs:

This means you can rest assured that you’re not bringing something into your home that hasn’t been through rigorous testing and proven to pass with flying colors. You can read more details about these certifications and the steps we’ve taken to test our mattress here.

Though we were the first, many other companies have followed suit, making the foam mattress industry as a whole more regulated and standardized than in the the past. Ultimately, the decision between organic and certified foams comes down to your needs, but having a clear understanding is key when you’re shopping.

You should always know what goes into products in your home, and we’re committed to being transparent about our testing processes. When you’re looking at other companies, be sure to ask about their certifications and get clarification on what they’re using.