Mattress Comparisons

Conventional mattresses versus Eco-Cloud organic mattresses

Eco-Cloud organic mattresses are covered with organic cotton fabric and padded with all natural latex and organic wool. Big name brand mattresses are not. Regardless of the brand name, their construction and materials used are fundamentally the same. These days they are all one sided which means they cannot be flipped in order to even out the wear in the polyurethane foam. Whichever brand you buy, your mattress will be made with about two inches of hard poly foam below the springs and several inches of varying densities of polyurethane foam above the springs. If you choose a top of the line version, it will have even more polyurethane foam with an inch or two of memory foam or blended latex on the top. It will also have some form of chemical fire retardant laden fabric or fibers under the cover. The polyurethane foam itself will be rated FR meaning that it is blended with fire retardant chemicals. The blended latex will have a percentage of natural latex mixed with a petroleum based material called SBR that will off gas. The reason conventional mattresses are made with polyurethane foam is simply because it is incredibly cheap. A one inch thick queen size layer of this material costs the manufacturers of the mattresses about a dollar. The price of the same size layer of natural latex is close to $100. Latex will keep its shape and be resilient and comfortable for more than 20 years. Polyurethane will compress and stay compressed in a matter of months. Which would you rather have in your mattress?

Temperature sensitive memory foam mattresses

Memory foam is a type of polyurethane foam that will mold to your body in a few seconds as your body temperature warms it. You will feel yourself sinking into it. If you test a memory foam mattress and you love the way it feels, you may be very happy with it. Often people are presold by the marketing of this type of mattress and after they get it they find that they want a divorce. In order for memory foam to be effective it needs your body to warm it and therefore these mattresses are made with just a thin fabric cover over the foam. There is no insulation, so it will reflect your body heat back to you and that’s why it will sleep warm. Another unusual aspect of memory foam is that since it molds itself to your body shape, when you need to change position in your sleep it will resist turning over in bed. The third concern with memory foam is the smell from off gassing when the mattress is new. With the exception of Keetsa memory foam mattresses you may find the odor objectionable.

“Traditional” mattresses made in San Francisco

These mattresses have been made locally for many years and have developed a brand conscious following because they have been made in almost the same way for a long time. They are traditional in that they are still made with equal padding on both sides and can be flipped. They used to be made with cotton batting for padding, but a few years back they changed. The cotton is now blended with polyester fiber and the top inch of padding is all polyester fiber. None of the materials used are organic. They use the polyester fibers because when the mattress is burn tested the polyester will melt rather than ignite. This is a step up from the chemicals used in conventional mattresses, but polyester does not offer the temperature regulating benefits of organic wool.

“European” mattresses

These mattresses are sold in the East Bay. They are made with pocketed coil springs and will have one or two inches of latex for padding. They are similar to Eco-Cloud organic mattresses, but our spring based mattresses have four inches of latex and certified organic wool with much nicer organic cotton covers. We offer three spring systems using soft, medium or firm springs and have widest range of firmnesses available anywhere.

“Swedish” mattresses

This company manufactures its mattresses in Sweden and sells them in their own stores. Because of the low value of the dollar versus the euro and the cost of shipping these mattresses are priced somewhere in the $5000 to $8000 range for a queen. For that amount of money you get one inch of polyester fiber on one inch of latex and springs. No magic here folks, keep moving.

Wedding dress designer “organic mattresses”

One of the major mattress manufacturers has recently acquired the rights to use the name of a famous designer of wedding dresses on some of their mattresses. This year they introduced a series of what they call organic mattresses. The cover of the mattress has the words “organic cotton” woven in the fabric. This “organic cotton” is bright white in color. In order for cotton to be bright white it must be bleached. Ask the retailer what they use for bleach. If you look at the lettering you will notice that it is shiny. There are no shiny cotton plants. Ask the retailer what makes those letters shiny. Additionally, these “organic mattresses” do not have any wool. Ask the retailer what they use for a fire blocker. This is a prime example of what the mattress industry refers to in sales meetings as a story. In this case it is an organic story. This means that the sales people can talk about this offering as “organic” even though they do not know what this really means. Unfortunately gullible shoppers may buy it thinking they are getting the real thing. Caveat emptor!

Other brands of organic mattresses

There are several companies selling organic mattresses on the internet. This is another instance of buyer beware, because you really do not know what you are getting until it arrives. It is more important than ever to choose an organic mattress, but if the mattress you receive does not feel the way you want it to you have wasted your money. Our concept is to offer the widest range of firmness levels possible in organic mattresses possible. We are not interested in trying to guess at your comfort level in a phone conversation. We manufacture and sell our mattresses in the bay area. We want you to come to one of our stores and take your time in choosing the organic mattress that is just right for your comfort and support. If you find after sleeping on your choice that it is either too firm or too soft, we will come to your home and adjust the firmness by changing the top layer of latex. We care about your comfort and want you to love your Eco-Cloud mattress. We hope that you will tell everyone you know how great it is!