Mattress entrepreneur Walt Bader has done more than any one today to educate Americans about the hazards lurking well, if not underneath their beds, then, specifically, within their mattresses. 

The CEO of Lifekind Products, America’s only manufacturer of certified organic mattresses, says that, although millions of Americans who waken with morning aches link their pain to poor sleeping support, comparatively few associate their mattresses with potential chemical toxicity, reproductive hazards, and even possibly absorption of chemical toxins into their tissues.  But this is what is occurring to millions of Americans, and the results could be devastating, leading to autoimmune disease, allergies, skin conditions, reproductive effects, and possibly increased cancer risks.

Chemical Beds

Fueled by the post-World War II petrochemical explosion, “The modern mattress has now become an amalgamation of petrochemical components,” Bader told us.

Even the cotton used in virtually all mattresses sold today is grown with petrochemical pesticides and is also treated with highly toxic fire retardant chemicals.  Recently, the mattress industry discontinued use of polybrominated compounds such as diphenylethers as fire retardants, because of experimental studies showing levels as low one part per billion were causing behavioral changes in offspring.  But the substitute chemicals might not be any safer; they are chemically related to diphenylethers.

Although all mattresses are required to come with labels that provide legally required information detailing what mattresses are made of, they do not tell us where these materials come from or about the environmental impacts of their entire lifecycle. 

“For example, polyurethane foam [listed on labels] is one of the commonest materials used in modern mattress construction,” he said.  “However, the label will not give you any information about the potential hazards that can be caused by the chemicals used to make polyurethane,” including offgassing of urethane residues, a highly toxic carcinogen.

With starter materials like acrylonitrile, polyethylene, teraphthalic acid and ethylene glycol, “Unfortunately, the safety of these chemicals alone or in combination is not well understood,” he added, “but what we do know suggests they could be causing significant damage to our health.”

Be a Green Patriot

For greater personal health and to do something patriotic for your country and improve our national security, all you need to do, at least in this case, is rest easy at night.  No wonder consumers are flocking by the droves to greening their patriotism, particularly as to how they spend their consumer dollars. 

Consumers are beginning to see the big picture:  petrochemical mattresses pose not only possible personal health risks but are even more likely to hurt workers; they are also part and parcel of our nation’s extreme reliance upon foreign oil from unfriendly or enemy governments. 

So can we have it all?  Can we do something great for our health, great for our country, and important to our future generations?  Can we do all this and enjoy a great sleep? 

One way is with our shopping choices, and we can’t think of all that many choices more important than your choice of mattress and bedding. 

Once you try a certified mattress from Lifekind Products, you will never be able to go back to the old petrochemical monster you’ve been sleeping on.

The facts tell the story.  Lifekind purchases more certified organic cotton and wool than any mattress manufacturer and operates the only certified organic mattress factory in the United States today.  Other companies sell so-called organic mattresses but they are really just distributors, and the mattress might be manufactured in a facility where petrochemical mattresses are also constructed.  The Lifekind manufacturing facility in California is certified to be completely organic and to handle only organic natural products and materials. 

Have a fit with dust mites?  Lifekind mattresses use real natural rubber, not some synthetic petrochemical derivative.  The advantage of real rubber is made clear by one astounding fact.  The average chemical mattress will double in weight every ten years because of the accumulation of dust mites.  However, Lifekind mattresses are made from natural rubber, which dust mites, like many pests, abhor.  What would it be like to sleep without dust mites?  Think of how much better your skin will look without those little critters’ bites!  Plus, all Lifekind mattresses pass all state and federal nonflammability standards. 

And this is just the beginning… of sleeping easy and sleeping green.

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Healthy Living staff