Organic Crib Mattresses

More About Organic Mattresses for Cribs

Is an organic crib mattress worth it?

Yes. A 2015 study found phthalates, phthalate alternatives, unreacted isocyanates, and flame retardants in a majority of crib mattresses tested. Babies are more vulnerable to harmful compounds than adults for a few reasons: they have thinner skin and can absorb chemicals through it more easily. They also have more skin surface area compared to their size than adults. They breathe faster than adults, so take off-gassing substances into their lungs, and they do more hand-to-mouth contact.

How do the chemicals in a mattress actually get into your body?

There are two ways chemicals leave the foam, and three ways they get into your body:

The two ways chemicals leave the foam are into the air and into dust. Polyurethane foam (including memory foam) is made with 2 chemicals as the main building blocks, polyols and isocyanates (see more above). They bond together very tightly, so other additives in foam (like flame retardants and other propriety chemical ingredients) are integrated, but only temporarily— they’re not bonded together tightly, and over time, as foam degrades via friction, they fall out. If they’re lightweight, they can be suspended in dust in the air, and if they’re heavier (like flame retardants are) they settle into dust on the ground. The other way chemicals get out of mattresses is by being volatile— so, a VOC or odor— these are lighter than air. The “new mattress” smell comes from foam and the adhesives used to keep the layers together, and they can off-gas VOCs for quite some time.

The three ways these chemicals get into your body are through inhalation, ingestion, and absorption. You inhale and ingest VOCs and lightweight chemicals suspended in the air — they come in through your breathing passages and are swallowed, as well. You ingest about 50mg of dust daily (children ingest 100mg daily!) by touching dusty surfaces and hand-to-mouth contact. Finally, flame retardants and other chemicals are very small and as they make their way out of mattresses, can pass through skin and be dermally absorbed.

What is CertiPUR foam?

CertiPUR foam is polyurethane foam, but it’s hard to know what is actually in it. CertiPUR prohibits the use of formaldehyde, heavy metals, some (but not all) phthalates, and some (but not all) flame retardants.

Is CertiPUR foam actually non-toxic?

No, probably not. While it’s certainly a good thing that stannous octoate (which can harm unborn children) is now banned in foams carrying the CertiPUR logo, it was still permitted in CertiPUR foams until 2023. In other words, people buying CertiPUR foam until recently were misled into thinking it was “pure” and safe. I understand that not everything can be completely pure, and that it is practical to allow small amounts of harmful substances in things for a period of time, because of the major changes to industry that a rapid ban would cause — OEKO TEX does a great job of this, for example — you can see that over the years, they are continually lowering the acceptable amount of BPA allowed in products, and in 2025, the level is almost down to zero. If they had demanded that instantly, it wouldn’t have encouraged more companies to slowly change over time. However! CertiPUR doesn’t disclose what is on their list, or what levels are acceptable, like OEKO TEX does. It is almost completely opaque. All we know is that some things are banned, but not all of them, nor in what amounts. The surprise of stannous octoate also shows that their stance on health is conservative and reactionary, rather than health-centered and forward-thinking. From what I understand, the lack of disclosure is potentially partly because CertiPUR is not a third-party certification. It is a second-party certification, meaning the synthetic foam industry itself created the standards and chose a lab to test its products for them.

What does GOTS certified mean?

GOTS is short for the Global Organic Textile Standard.

It is the gold standard 3rd party certification for organic fabrics made from natural fibers like wool, cotton, linen, and others.

Fabric with the GOTS-certified organic label means that at least 95% of the starting fibers are certified organic, and ensures that the fabric remains healthy throughout the entire manufacturing process. This means the dyes and other chemicals used are safer for human and ecological health than standard fabric processing methods. No harmful finishes may be added to the final product.

What is latex?

Latex is the same thing as natural rubber. It comes from the Hevea brasiliensis tree. It is a milky white liquid that can be baked to form a springy, foam-like substance. It is often confused with synthetic (lab-made) latex, which is the chemical mixture styrene-butadiene.

What is GOLS certified latex?

GOLS, the Global Organic Latex Standard, is the gold standard 3rd party certification for organic rubber latex. Latex with the GOLS-certified organic label means 95% of the final product is organic latex, and also ensures that the processing stages (mixing, baking, etcetera) of the product are safe for human and ecological health.

For GOLS certified Dunlop, the latex must be from an organic latex tree farm, grown without pesticides. The latex rubber “milk” from the tree is poured into a mold, mixed with Zinc, Sulfur, and soaps to make it a “gel,” then is baked into shape. It’s washed to remove impurities, and then is baked again to dry it out. This process has been used for about 100 years, and the result is a dense foam. To meet the the GOLS standard, it must be composed of at least 95% organic latex. Because the Dunlop process uses minimal ingredients, and is from organic trees, it can meet this requirement.

To be sold as GOLS latex, the distributor must also be GOLS certified, ensuring that they didn’t add anything to the product after the latex was received and sent to customers. This can be an expensive certification, so you will see it more with large companies. Smaller companies may forgo this but still be honest about their use of organic latex and not adding anything unhealthy. In my opinion, transparency and eagerness to answer your questions is the best indicator about this.