Climate & Clean Energy Notes from the Panther Lounge What's off-gassing in your bedroom? Off-gassing in the bedroom is not cool. Does your mattress contain eco-friendlier ingredients? (Credit: kobiz7 via Flickr) February is "Bedroom Month" where I dish on all things bedroom-y! Week 3: Birth control Week 4: Clothing storage Fart jokes aside (for now), nighttime gas in the bedroom is not cool. Especially volatile organic compounds (VOCs) off-gassing from polyurethane foam! Avoid nightmares about VOCs, fire retardants, antibacterial protection (some made with nanosilver particles) and stain-resistant finishes. Conventional mattresses tackle these with chemical treatments and toxic compounds, but wool naturally repels dust mites and natural latex foam is fire-resistant. Remember s — synthetic chemicals added as fire retardants? They're not produced in Canada, but imported by manufacturers and in consumer products (e.g., televisions, furniture and carpets).
Subscribe to the Queen of Green digest Mattresses made in Canada generally do not contain these flame retardants, but it's always good to ask. Also avoid additives used to repel stains and water. Although natural fibres are better — wool, organic cotton, hemp and natural rubber — you'll need a separate savings account. Petroleum-based contents are what make regular mattresses affordable (i.e., cheap). Note: Natural rubber is natural latex but latex/rubber can also be synthetic! Short on (wallet) green? Choose a mattress protector made from wool or organic cotton to create a barrier between you and that polyurethane foam mattress! And prioritize a natural crib mattress for babies (see a few options below). Some eco-friendlier mattresses (claims and products not tested, ranked or rated): Essentia (made in Montreal) with natural rubber or latex and a 20-year warranty! Majestic Sit & Sleep made in Canada from 100 per cent certified organic Dunlop latex (with three per cent unnatural binding agent), wool and organic cotton.
Obasan made from natural rubber, organic wool and organic cotton — and can be customized. Organic Lifestyle uses wool, natural rubber (made in Canada) and innerspring with organic cotton (from the USA). Shepherd's Dream made from wool. What are your reviews of natural options? Comment on this blog to win pajamas for your little one from My Little Green Shop (draw date March 10th, 2014)! Lindsay Coulter, a fellow Queen of Greenlast updated: Feb 17, 2017The latest scam the mattress industry is fishing with is eco memory foam mattresses or plant-based foam mattresses. So what are these "soy mattresses" and "soy pillows" all about? Let the truth be known!Only 5-20% of the mattress is actually made up of plant-based ingredients like soy. That means over 80% is still petroleum based chemicals. This would be fine if companies marketed them as eco-friendly mattresses which contain X% of soy. However, companies mislead you, calling them eco memory foam mattresses or plant-based mattresses and pretend they're healthy, safe and natural.
I guess saying it's 20% healthier for you wouldn't be as effective.Misleading the public into thinking products are green, natural or eco-friendly is called greenwashing. There is no monitoring of these claims.Natural memory foam mattresses do exist and we're the only ones who make them. They're made from rubber tree sap, NOT petroleum based chemicals. There is very little benefit to putting soy in a mattress.In fact, the company behind soy-based ingredients called BiOH® polyols, is Cargill.Cargill is widely known for environmental and human rights abuse and is America's 4th worst polluter according to Environment America's 2016 report.Cargill is also the world's largest soybean processor and trader. Their soy-based ingredients are also genetically engineered.Genetically modified foods are still banned in 19 Europen countries and more than 40 countries now require GMO labeling. USA and Canada are not among them.3,800 barrels of oil are saved when 100,000 mattresses are manufactured with soy-based foam.
You'd expect considerable savings for the consumer right? Soy-based memory foam mattresses or bio-foam mattresses are actually more expensive than regular memory foam even though they cost less to produce. Companies overcharge since they can promote the “eco-friendly” characteristics.Replacing a portion of the chemicals in foam makes it 5-20% healthier. Is 5-20% good enough?No. The expansion of soy plantations in countries such as Brazil and Argentina means that rainforests are being completely slashed and burned, eliminating critical habitats for many plants and animal species.Every day 86,400 football fields of rainforest are cut down to mainly make room for livestock, soy, palm, and corn.Genetically modified soy accounts for 94% of all soy grown in the United States as of 2012.People who’ve purchased eco memory foam mattresses are experiencing strong chemicals odors, smells or off-gassing.Soy does not produce this odor, the odor derives from the harsh chemicals used to make these synthetic foams.
Green tea extract or industrial perfumes are often added as an attempt to mask the odor.Eco memory foam mattresses are often wrapped in bamboo fabric. The percentage of bamboo is anywhere from 20-60% bamboo.Bamboo fabrics are far from eco-friendly. It takes so much processing the final product is considered man-made, so they're not biodegradable.According to the OTA, Organic Trade Association, "bamboo may be a more ecologically sensitive source of feedstock for rayon production, the rayon itself is not distinguishable from rayon produced from any other feedstock, and uses a lot of toxic chemicals in the process. So while the bamboo itself may be considered environmentally friendly, the production of rayon is not, and the public should not be misled into thinking that the bamboo-derived fiber can be considered "natural" - it is clearly synthetic. There are a lot of misconceptions about the "natural" label too, whether it is related to food or textile products."Soy memory foam mattresses and soy pillows have been seen on QVC in the U.S. and The Shopping Channel in Canada.