Healthy Tot

So I mentioned it in my finding a safer crib article, and I am back on it today because we are in the process of buying a new mattress for my daughter. She’s going to be 3 in a few months and we decided to move her into a twin size bed. We settled on using the bed I had growing up, a nice solid oak twin made by Vermont Tubbs. If you don’t know about them, check them out, their products are well-made, on the greener side, use water base glues, and use finishes that do not contain formaldehydes or metallics. They don’t make my exact bed anymore, but it is a timeless style and still beautiful at 25 years old.

Anyway, back to the mattress search. I’ve been reading so many articles lately about mattress safety and fire retardant chemicals as I am sure many of you have been as well. You want a fire-safe, but chemical-free safe place for your little one to sleep. Let’s face it, many of the chemicals added to products to help us, in the end may be hurting us. The chemicals in mattresses have been linked to cancers, hormone disruption, thyroid problems, cognitive delays and more. So what you’ve likely seen is that organic mattresses are expensive, and unless your lucky to live near a showroom that has them, you’re buying them sight unseen online. That is tough when you want something you’re investing in for 10 years, that’s not cheap- you might end up safe but uncomfortable. Your head spinning yet?

There are many organic/natural mattresses to choose from online, but as mentioned earlier, very expensive. One of the most reasonable ones we found in made by Naturepedic, starting at $599 for a twin. Another affordable option, while it’s not organic, seems to be Ikea, where company-wide their furniture, including mattresses are PBDE-free. Other mattress companies that have ceased using PBDEs: Sealy, Serta, Simmons, and Spring Air. But bear in mind they are using some other chemical fire-retardants that conform to US regulations.

Some articles that I have read that were informative and helpful:
About PBDEs fire retardent
Cornell Study on PBDEs
Reducing your exposure to PBDEs
The European Union has banned the use of the most toxic PBDEs. To avoid PBDEs, choose furniture made with natural fibers such as cotton, wool (no fire retardant is necessary for wool) or natural latex.- The Green Guide