Last week, The New York Times helped demystify the meaning of Thread Count. Today, they've moved on to the greenwashing of mattresses — how do the labels organic, eco-friendly and the very vague natural measure up? Do they mean anything?
The Greenwashing of the Mattress Industry
The New York Times 1.15.09
Basically — no, they don't. The jist of it:
"No government agency regulates the labeling of mattresses as “organic” or “natural,” and trade groups like the International Sleep Products Association and the Specialty Sleep Association offer their members no guidelines for using the terms."
So, buyer beware, it's marketing, marketing, marketing! Whether your mattress is made from "soybeans, stuffed with coconut husks, infused with green tea and treated with aloe vera" doesn't really matter. The New York Times created a fascinating graphic that charts the responses of 17 mattress companies and what they would disclose about their products. The full article, The Stuffing Dreams Are Made Of? and the graphic are must-reads for anyone looking to buy a mattress.
Comments (9)
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I work in advertising and, yes, there is a lot of green BS out there.
I will say, though, that anyone looking for a mattress should look first to their local "we make 'em, we sell 'em" store. You'll be getting an American-made product and won't have to worry about what "Chinese manufacturers may have screwed up this time."
view modtramp's profile
WOW! What an eye opener. Thank you AT!!!!!
view sofina's profile
i think the bigger story is that they charge a grand or more for mattresses that only cost a couple hundred to make. really. that is a huge markup.
let's just say i knew someone who worked for a mattress store. she got to buy herself a mattress at cost, and then ones that had damage, she could buy for $150 or something. she got us a queen size because the tag on one rubbed some ink on the mattress and left a mark.
i guess we just assume since a mattress is so big that it SHOULD cost that much. but it shouldn't.
view puck's profile
The Magniflex Geo-Ethic collection is all certified by European agencies which are far more strict than American. http://www.magniflex.com
view ChrisNYC29's profile
vivetique is also an insanely shady company. I went to their "showroom" to check out their mattresses and couldn't believe the state it was in. Hard to imagine someplace so grimy looking would take a lot of care in making sure their mattresses follow a certain standard of "eco-ness". I ended up buying my mattress elsewhere but placed an order for a wool duvet, that basically NEVER CAME (4 weeks moved to 6 to 8 etc etc). i made them refund my money but still lost some deposit $ (i think this may have been my vendor's fault) but either way, i would never recommend this company.
view acslater's profile
wow...so good...I was thinking of finding such a site on google but you have provided me good stuff...thanks for sharing...
view pss_seh's profile
I want to get it in Spain
view pss_seh's profile
thanks i am going to purchase it photo printers
view internet money's profile
I know first hand what's going on. Couple of doozies for you.
- Companies using certified organic covers with poly fill.
- Others claiming wool passes the Fire Retardant test when it's not entirely true.
- Soy memory foam is only 5-20% soy.
- Organic latex...there's no such thing.
Most companies don't manufacture their own products. They sincerely believe they know what's in their mattresses which makes their pitch convincing. ;-)
You can learn more on our website www.essentiadirect.com
view jdw's profile