I had a completely different post planned for today, but in light of a recent conversation, I just had to write this instead.
You might recall a post last spring when we were in the market for a mattress for our son. We wanted an organic, chemical-free mattress so we could have peace of mind while he was getting a peaceful night’s rest. The issue is the excessive chemicals sprayed on traditional mattresses to make them meet government standards for fire retardants. They are so, so dangerous for everyone, since we inhale these toxic chemicals each and every night, but especially for children with developing bodies and systems.
Well, a friend of ours recently contacted us and wanted to know about the mattress we ended up buying. When I sent him the information he told me that the mattress store he just visited told him that he was “unable to buy that type of mattress without a prescription” (presumably because they are also hypo-allergenic) and “they have to use chemical fire retardants to meet standards”.
This is where my blood started to boil.
The reality is that they were lying to our friend simply because they didn’t HAVE what he was looking for and, obviously, would go to any length to make a sale.
The truth of the matter is this: Mattresses do NOT need to be sprayed with chemicals to make them fire retardant! They do, however, need to meet standards for BEING fire retardant. There are other ways to meet this standard but unfortunately, for consumers, the cheapest way to do this is simply to spray on a load of dangerous chemicals.
The mattress we chose was from Savvy Rest (via Natural Bed Co.). Since organic wool is quilted to the inside of the organic cotton fabric cover, THIS is the non-flammable layer that inhibits burning and makes it pass these tests.
I absolutely hate the fact that a mattress retailer would tell such lies just for the sake of a sale. But on top of that, they are completely misleading consumers about the truth.
Of course, there are honest retailers out there, but if you are in the market for a new mattress, don’t be misled. You CAN buy a safe, non-toxic mattress… no prescription needed.