You Are My Sunshine

Organic Mattresses

Why Organic Mattresses?

While your furniture can be an issue, such as your child chewing on the polyurethane finish of a crib or the potential Formaldehyde (and other VOC’s) build up in the air of your nursery or bedroom, the mattress you sleep on can more directly affect the health of you or your child.

Over the last 30+ years, crib mattress materials have been replaced with cheap petroleum-based synthetics. Nearly all crib mattresses today contain polyurethane foam, vinyl (PVC), phthalates, chemical fire retardants or barriers, and an extensive list of added industrial chemicals. Recent studies have questioned the use of these materials.

There is growing concern among physicians, health professionals, public safety officials, environmental advocacy groups, and consumers regarding the possible effects of these chemicals on our children. Many researchers suspect that toxic chemicals are playing a significant role in the dramatic increase in childhood disorders. (Read this study: Problems With Crib Mattresses)

Just as lead paint was once widespread before it was recognized as toxic and banned, many components of today’s baby mattresses, even though currently legal, are likely to eventually be banned as well. In fact, certain chemicals which have been widely used in baby mattresses for many decades have already been banned and/or voluntarily removed over the last few years with more sure to follow.

Babies and toddlers spend 10-14 hours a day sleeping and playing on a crib mattress. Furthermore, a child’s every breath inhales air no more than six inches away from these chemicals. As such, for the first few years of a child’s life (the most important developmental years of their life), the mattress is the single most prominent object in their environment.

*****On February 10, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) bans the manufacture of child care articles and toys containing phthalates (pronounced “thalates”). Phthalates are harmful platicizer chemicals commonly found in crib mattresses and mattress pads. Please read more about the ban & Phthalates