Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This page may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. There is no additional cost to you whatsoever.
Earth911 Mattress Ranking analysis is sponsored by Avocado Brands
Sleep is bliss, nevertheless it isn’t at all times environmentally accountable. Many mattresses include a poisonous brew of chemical substances — from flame-retardant chemical substances like polybrominated diphenyl ethers to formaldehyde and mercury — in addition to petroleum-based components. In current years, sustainable mattress corporations have risen to the problem of creating a clear, earth-friendly mattress.
Some of those environmentally accountable corporations promote “mattresses-in-a-box,” that are delivered in a small field and broaden when opened. Earth911 collected provide chain, certification, and manufacturing particulars for 10 sustainable mattress producers to assist customers discover one of the best earth-friendly sleep. We’ve filtered out all corporations that don’t make an specific promise that their merchandise are inexperienced and wholesome.
The outcomes — displayed under in a printable chart — reveal a variety of choices for earth-friendly beds.
This article accommodates affiliate hyperlinks to merchandise that, in the event you make a purchase order, assist Earth911’s editorial mission.
Comparison Chart
To view our printable comparability chart, click on the picture under.
Our Rating Criteria
The components we thought-about when assessing a mattress’ environmental friendliness and sustainability embrace the next keystones.
Company Supply Chain
The size of the corporate provide chain describes the space supplies are shipped earlier than and after the mattress is manufactured. In all circumstances, the sustainable mattress corporations in our record assemble their merchandise within the United States, minimizing the post-manufacturing delivery burden.
Shorter delivery distances contribute fewer CO2 emissions to the ambiance. Several of the businesses — together with Avocado, Birch by Helix, and Brentwood Home — use supplies sourced within the U.S.
Carbon Emissions Offsets
A second provide chain consideration is whether or not the mattress maker offsets their delivery and manufacturing carbon emissions with carbon credit or carbon sequestration packages, similar to reforestation. All of the businesses with the Leaders of the Pack designation offset their firm carbon emissions.
Recyclable Mattress Materials
Recyclability of the mattress and supplies is a standard characteristic of sustainable mattresses. The latex, cotton, wool, and different supplies in all of the mattresses we reviewed are biodegradable. However, it is very important send a mattress to a responsible recycler to make sure that it doesn’t find yourself in a landfill.
Recyclable Packaging Materials
Recyclability of mattress-in-a-box packaging is usually good. Every firm we reviewed presents recyclable packing containers and plastic wrapping during which the mattress ships. You could obtain one, two, or extra packing containers in your order, however the cardboard packaging and plastic film must be pretty straightforward to recycle regionally.
Mattress Recycling Services
Old mattress recycling providers usually are not required in 47 states. Only California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut — and soon Oregon — have legal guidelines on the books requiring removing and recycling of an outdated mattress. Those states additionally cost a charge at buy that ensures no-charge recycling on the mattress’ finish of life. Unfortunately, not one of the corporations we reviewed appears to supply free recycling providers.
Charity and Giving
Charity and giving packages are one other essential characteristic of a accountable firm. Returned mattresses can’t be resold, so each firm has a donation program to get rid of returned mattresses responsibly. Shoppers additionally wish to know that their spending is supporting moral enterprise practices, which regularly contain in depth charitable giving. With lively giving starting from 1% for the Planet to in depth networks of charitable packages supported by a lot of the mattress makers in our comparability, you could find a sustainable mattress that aligns together with your values.
Certifications: Safety First
Certifications are important pointers for mattress consumers. Consumer Reports offers a comprehensive summary of mattress materials certifications to search for when buying. For a second opinion, learn Triple Pundit’s assessment of the certifications for mattresses, lots of that are types of greenwashing.
Seek out merchandise which have the next certifications:
- Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) covers the processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, buying and selling, and distribution of all textiles comprised of at the very least 70% licensed natural pure fibers.
- Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) outlines necessities for latex merchandise. To obtain GOLS certification, a product should include greater than 95% licensed natural uncooked materials and adjust to permissible limits for dangerous substances, emission take a look at necessities, and polymer and filler percentages.
- CertiPUR-US certification of the froth used within the mattress. The CertiPUR-US seal ensures the mattress foam you or your children sleep on is made with out chemical flame retardants, mercury and different heavy metals, formaldehyde, or phthalates. CertiPUR-US additionally evaluations the emissions, or “off-gassing,” by new mattresses for low risky natural compound (VOC) emissions, lower than 0.5 components per million.
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification addresses the security and sustainability of textiles, similar to cotton and wool, utilized in mattresses. The Standard 100 certification offers clients assurance that dangerous chemical substances and environmentally dangerous substances usually are not produced by the manufacturing course of or included within the product.
- eco-INSTITUT certification includes related testing, measuring the emissions from the mattress, and the environmental accountability of the sourcing of supplies. In specific, eco-INSTITUT examines the sources of latex, which is harvested from rubber timber, and utilized in mattresses.
- GREENGUARD Gold certification, from United Laboratories, validates {that a} mattress doesn’t exceed the emission requirements for VOCs that contribute to indoor air pollution.
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) licensed latex and wooden merchandise be sure that these merchandise come from responsibly-managed forests.
- Fair Trade certification ensures protected working circumstances, environmental safety, sustainable livelihoods, and group growth funds the place these merchandise are cultivated.
- Cradle-to-Cradle certification is a world customary for merchandise which are “protected, round and responsibly made.”
- Rainforest Alliance certification includes third-party auditors evaluating growers for social, environmental, and financial components.
- The MADE SAFE seal implies that merchandise are unhazardous and made with protected components for human well being.
Earth911’s Sustainable Mattress Rankings
No single mattress is true for everybody, and producers take totally different approaches to delivering a sustainable mattress on the proper value. You want to concentrate on the trade-offs they make so that you simply arrive on the environmental final result you need.
Completely natural supplies are prohibitively costly for a lot of customers and the size of provide chains varies dramatically. These two components, together with certifications, are a very powerful to our normal rating of the businesses.
We broke down the highest inexperienced mattress producers into three classes: Leaders of the Pack, Green Innovators, and Noticeably Green. The high designation, Leaders of the Pack, is for corporations with at the very least one materials sourced within the United States, quite a few third-party certifications, and emission offset packages. Green Innovators could lack emissions offset packages or are much less clear about their provide chains. Finally, producers within the Noticeably Green class don’t offset emissions and supply much less data on charitable giving packages.
Leaders of the Pack
Avocado
Avocado presents 10 natural mattresses in whole and has a certified-vegan model of its eponymous mattress. It is a Certified B Corporation and is Climate Neutral Certified. The mattresses are GREENGUARD Gold licensed and OEKO-TEX textile security. Its merchandise use 100% GOTS natural licensed cotton and wool, in addition to hydrated silica as a pure hearth retardant. The latex originates from Kochi, India, the place it’s cultivated and processed by Avocado Organic Latex. Mattresses are assembled and shipped from California. Avocado purchases carbon offsets by way of Carbonfund.org and makes use of simply recycled LDPE plastic in its packaging. As members of 1% for the Planet, Avocado donates 1% of its income to vetted environmental nonprofits.
Birch by Helix
Helix goes the additional mile to make sure sustainably sourced materials, protected working circumstances, and unhazardous mattresses. Materials embrace licensed natural cotton, moral wool, and sustainably farmed latex. The agency works with a wide range of companions to make sure excessive requirements and ranges of certification, whereas additionally giving again by way of environmental charity giving packages. Also, it participates in a carbon offset program.
Brentwood Home (Avocado Brands)
Brentwood Home, an Avocado firm, makes one of many two vegan mattresses (no wool) in our evaluate: the Crystal Cove mattress. The firm makes use of one of the in depth provide chains among the many corporations we reviewed, nevertheless it makes an annual carbon offset cost to compensate for the delivery and manufacturing of its mattresses. It donates cash to Carbonfund.org for reforestation tasks that sequester carbon equal to its manufacturing footprint. Brentwood Home and Avocado even have quite a few in depth sustainability certifications — of the standard seals that matter — amongst corporations reviewed right here. Both corporations emphasize the recyclability of their packaging and supply white-glove set up, which doesn’t embrace outdated mattress removing and recycling.
Naturepedic
Naturepedic is a superb supply of sustainable mattresses. The firm has all the mandatory certifications — together with GOTS and GOLS sustainably made textile and latex and GreenGuard air high quality assessments. Naturepedic mattresses are usually costlier than Avocado, Birch by Helix, and Brentwood Home, making the model a luxurious selection for these on the lookout for a long-lived high-quality mattress. Naturepedic works with Climate Neutral to measure and offset its carbon footprint. Because Naturepedic doesn’t share its provide chain data intimately, Earth911 added them to this record in fourth place.
Green Innovators
Awara
The Awara Natural Hybrid Mattress options latex and coil development and a powerful lifetime guarantee. It has earned quite a few certifications, together with GreenGuard Gold, and makes use of Rainforest Alliance-certified latex, natural cotton, and natural New Zealand wool. It makes use of silica-based flame retardants and water-based adhesives. Also, the corporate vegetation a tree for each buy to assist offset emissions. However, Awara is a bit imprecise about its supplies sourcing and doesn’t characteristic charitable giving packages.
Happsy
While it does depend on latex from Asia, Happsy encourages sustainable rubber plantation practices which, the corporate says, lowers its carbon emissions. Shipping latex to its manufacturing unit is its largest carbon footprint contributor. Happsy additionally buys natural cotton from a Texas growers’ collective. When potential, the corporate sources wool from U.S. suppliers however most of its wool comes from New Zealand and Australia. A donor to 1% for the Planet, Happsy is poised to rise in these rankings by including carbon offsets.
PlushBeds
PlushBeds is a number one on-line luxurious mattress producer and retailer, specializing in natural mattresses and bedding. All merchandise are handcrafted of their GOLS and GOTS licensed natural manufacturing facility in California, with free delivery inside the contiguous USA. The firm presents a radical choice of licensed natural mattresses at accessible costs, particularly by way of key holidays, so maintain a watch out for his or her promotions. Each of the model’s mattresses is GREENGUARD Gold Certified, making certain your mattress has met a few of the world’s most rigorous and complete requirements for low chemical emissions. The firm additionally offers environmental scholarships for faculty college students, offers again to environmental and social nonprofits, and offsets 100% of its carbon emissions by way of TerraPass.
Spindle
The Spindle latex mattress options natural Dunlop latex, wool, and cotton and has made a concerted effort within the final 12 months to transition to licensed natural supplies. Its merchandise additionally characteristic U.S.-grown cotton, which may cut back the carbon footprint of its provide chain when in comparison with cotton grown abroad. It additionally has some very robust charitable giving packages, together with a dedication to donate one mattress for each 10 offered and to donate 10% of its earnings to The Conservation Fund. It may improve its rating by collaborating in a carbon offset program and incomes GREENGUARD certification.
Noticeably Green
Nest
Another high quality U.S. mattress producer, Nest makes use of a pleasant array of natural supplies. Their mattresses characteristic a lifetime guarantee, glorious breathability, and phase-change cooling that makes it cool to the contact. With a design for waste discount, every mattress encompasses a zipper that enables clients to swap out or exchange the consolation layer, considerably extending the lifetime of the mattress. During the trial interval, clients may even swap out the layer for a unique really feel. Nest recommends rotating the layer each six months to make sure extra even put on on the mattress. With no recycling, a imprecise company giving initiative, and no carbon offset packages, Nest is decrease on the record.
Saatva
Saatva has glorious supplies sourcing processes and builds its mattresses at 19 totally different places and 145 achievement places within the U.S. On common, a mattress travels lower than 100 miles from the manufacturing unit to its new residence, saving vitality and supporting the native financial system. This online-only mattress firm sources a few of its supplies from North America. The firm was based to disrupt the mattress retailer enterprise with less-hassle buying on-line. Nevertheless, it has labored onerous to construct a sustainable mattress. Its latex foam, natural cotton, and wool sourcing — and use of recycled metal spring coils — make Saatva mattresses a strong inexperienced possibility. The firm may enhance its rating by incomes extra third-party certifications, similar to GREENGUARD and GOTS-certified natural supplies and by offsetting its emissions.
Previously in Top 10
Tuft & Needle
Tuft & Needle is the darling of Silicon Valley, based by sleep nerds who constructed a sturdy enterprise with retail places in a number of states. It makes nice strides to make sure unhazardous components and flame retardancy and it’s accessible on Amazon.com. However, it doesn’t include natural components, offset its carbon emissions, or present mattress recycling and presents little data on charitable giving.
Casper
Casper has created a sensation on-line, contributing to the recognition of mattress-in-a-box merchandise by way of on-line and retail places. Its engineers work to enhance the consolation and sustainability of its mattresses, however the firm doesn’t publish in depth provide chain data to validate its supplies sourcing and makes no funding in carbon offsets. We are, nonetheless, very impressed with Casper’s charitable efforts. The firm has contributed greater than 70,000 occasions to homeless and ladies’s shelter packages, in addition to worker volunteers who work with Start Small Think Big in addition to Women In Need. Casper can enhance within the rankings with extra transparency and an effort to scale back its total carbon footprint and to supply natural supplies.
Spindle
Spindle doesn’t pitch itself as making an authorized natural mattress; moderately, it focuses on utilizing “pure” supplies that obtain one of the best value. It additionally has one of many longest provide chains within the business, sourcing latex and cotton from Central America, Asia, and India with none accompanying carbon offset efforts. However, its use of U.S. wool and, when potential, U.S.-grown cotton does reduce its carbon footprint when these provides can be found. It may enhance in our rankings by offsetting its carbon footprint and publishing details about its charitable packages.
EcoCloud by WinkBed
Composed of Talalay latex and pocketed coils, with an natural cotton and wool cowl, this mattress is thought to wick moisture. The EcoCloud by WinkBed has a powerful record of certifications together with OEKO-TEX, Rainforest Alliance, and GOTS-certified cotton however little data on how and the place the supplies are sourced.
Editor’s observe: We initially revealed this purchaser’s information on September 28, 2018. We up to date the rankings in May 2022.
