Green Mattresses (Crib through Adult)

[Pluddle]

For those eco-friendly / green parents out there, I've found a great solution for a crib mattress. Hand-made in Seattle, Soaring Heart Futons offers 4 prices of crib mattress that are made from all natural materials. I just bought a crib mattress for my soon-to-arrive baby and had a wonderful experience with them. My brother/SIL also used them for several years for their own mattress and their kids' mattresses and he has nothing but great praise for them as well.

If you get a note from your doctor, they can make you a 100% organic futon without fire retardant in it. The fire retardant they use is boric acid which also kills bed bugs and helps keep the mattress as close to allergen free as possible. For as concerned as I was about my baby breathing in chemicals, I bought the Standard Mattress (non-organic w/ boric acid) w/ Latex.

Regarding latex, the latex they use is natural as opposed to synthetic, which provides a firmer surface for the baby to sleep on. The latex makes up the core and is wrapped up in cotton, so if you have latex allergies, not to worry - you will never be in direct contact with it.

On an aside, something I learned during my research is that latex is actually rubber, a natural product from the rubber tree. "Synthetic latex" is also made from natural rubber but is suspended differently during the process to make it, which makes it weaker. In a sense, both are "natural".

Link to crib mattress:http://www.soaringheart.com/productDetail.cfm?topCategory=naturalbeds&CategoryID=16&ProductID=37

Link to kid's mattresses:http://www.soaringheart.com/category.cfm?topCategory=naturalbeds&category=fKidsNaturalBeds

Hope this helps! I've also done a lot of research into diapers, pine furniture, toys, and plastic if anyone is interested.

-A Seattle "soon-to-be" Mom

[beachmoms]

These items look great. I am on the east coast, I do not see any prices listed on the site. I am thinking you cannot buy directly from the company? I also am a soon to be mom (late June) and would be interested in what you have found during your research about diapers, plastics, toys and anything else you care to comment on. Thanks!

[Pluddle]

Beachmoms,
The prices are on the right hand side of the page (for the top link). :)

Crib mattresses are:
Standard Cotton - $110.00
Organic Cotton - $225.00
Standard Cotton/Latex - $260.00
Organic Cotton/Latex - $320.00

On the second link, click on the picture to take you to that section.

We just picked up our mattress last night and it looks great!!! No smell, very clean, professionally made. And the best part is that it took them less than a week!

I hope this helps! I'll post more on green baby stuff next week when I have more time.

Pluddle

[JulieC]

What have you researched about pine furniture?

BTW, I bought the nature pedic mattress, which is also great.

[Pluddle]

Pine furniture - when I was researching cribs, I spoke with several "green" furniture distributors / makers / carpenters. I was told that pine is absolutely the worst lumber to make furniture...especially children's furniture...out of because pine pulls in pollutants and stays in the wood, which is then made into furniture. Young children and pets that gnaw on furniture (for kids that would be cribs) then ingest those pollutants.

That said, I tried to find any scientific reports on this topic and wasn’t able to find any. I only spent minimal time searching, so there’s likely information that I missed. But those who work with wood often have told me that the harder the wood, the less likely for it to pull in toxins. For example, oak or walnut are much more preferable than pine.

I hope this helps! If anyone can find an article or a study on this, I’d be very interested in reading it. Please post!

[Kindra178]

Is is true that they require a dr's note to get a flame retardent mattress? That's crazy.

[Pluddle]

yup! It is. Flame retardant is mandatory in all sleeping items for children. It's in the matresses, clothing...anything that has the word "sleep" in the description. The only way to get around the mattress chemicals is to have your own made and get a doctor's note to opt out on medical reasons.

Based on what I've read so far, your child has more of a chance of inhaling and acquiring more toxins in their system than they do of being saved by them in a fire. These laws go back to the days (50's - 80's) when houses were burning down by people falling asleep while smoking and it wasn't yet a forefront issue.

[liltxgirl]

i've been doing some research, trying to find a nontoxic crib mattress. was wondering what you thought about the latex mattresses with the organic wool--for natural flame retardant properties. any reason to shy away from those??

[pamomma]

I've also been doing some research on green crib mattresses, and have found them to be much more expensive than the conventional ones. I didn't want to get my dr. involved either, in what I consider a personal choice (they have to write a prescription should you opt for a non-flame retardant mattress). Nontheless, I wanted a safe option for my baby w/out the excessive flame retardant chemicals, so I looked seriously at the Ikea crib mattresses. They state on their website that they have banned the most hazardous flame retardants on all mattresses they sell in the US, using instead, "phosphor organic" flame retardants. Full details can be read on their website under mattress/mattress guide/greater quality/testing procedures/flammability. While I wanted no chemicals at all, I settled for an Ikea mattress as it seems the company has taken the appropriate steps to bridge the divide between safety, environmental concerns and affordability. I bought the Sultan Blunda crib mattress for $40 and the shipping was about $15 more (for those who don't live near an Ikea store, they do ship nationwide). I've been very pleased with this purchase.

[pamomma]

I've also been doing some research on green crib mattresses, and have found them to be much more expensive than the conventional ones. I didn't want to get my dr. involved either, in what I consider a personal choice (they have to write a prescription should you opt for a non-flame retardant mattress). Nontheless, I wanted a safe option for my baby w/out the excessive flame retardant chemicals, so I looked seriously at the Ikea crib mattresses. They state on their website that they have banned the most hazardous flame retardants on all mattresses they sell in the US, using instead, "phosphor organic" flame retardants. Full details can be read on their website under mattress/mattress guide/greater quality/testing procedures/flammability. While I wanted no chemicals at all, I settled for an Ikea mattress as it seems the company has taken the appropriate steps to bridge the divide between safety, environmental concerns and affordability. I bought the Sultan Blunda crib mattress for $40 and the shipping was about $15 more (for those who don't live near an Ikea store, they do ship nationwide). I've been very pleased with this purchase.

[freedom]

I'm considering one from ikea, the perfect balance from serta, and this one from amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Naturepedic-Compromise-Organic-Baby-Mattress/dp/B000UN30Q8/ref=pd_sbs_ba_2

Anyone else compare these three?