5 Healthy Reasons to Choose a Green Mattress

If you’re in the market for a new mattress, there are at least five good reasons why choosing one that’s green makes sense.

#1 – Conventional Mattresses May Contain Toxic Glues and Chemicals – Conventional or synthetic mattresses are usually made from components that contain toxic chemicals that could affect you or your family to varying degrees.

Three of the most common are:

• VOCs – Petroleum-based polyester, nylon and polyurethane foam all emit VOCs, carbon-based compounds that can increase some people’s risk of health problems. Several studies suggest that exposure to VOCs may make symptoms worse in people who have asthma or are particularly chemically sensitive (as I am). Short-term exposure may irritate the eyes, nose or throat, cause headaches or nausea, and make people dizzy. Long-term exposure could cause cancer, liver or kidney damage, as well as problems with the central nervous system. Mattresses emit the most VOCs when they’re brand new, but they will continue to “off gas” for some time thereafter. If your mattress is 10 or 15 years old, it’s probably not emitting many VOCs at this point. But if you’re buying new, take VOCs into account.

• PBDE flame retardants. Mattresses made with synthetic foams, batting, or fabrics must be treated with flame-retarding chemicals to meet the federal open-flame flammability test. These “polybrominated diphenyl ethers” are “toxic to both humans and the environment,” says the U.S. EPA. While their use has been phased out by U.S. mattress manufacturers, mattresses made in foreign countries still may contain PBDEs. And the alternatives some U.S. companies are using may not be much safer than what they replaced.

• Organophosphate flame retardants. Flame-retardant chemicals in mattresses that contain any amount of polyurethane foam are called organophosphate chemicals. Unlike VOCs, these chemicals do not become gases. You won’t be able to smell them, and their concentration may increase over time, rather than decrease. The levels emitted are usually low. But since you’re spending so much time on your bed, and inhaling deeply when you sleep, it’s definitely an important consideration.

#2 – Conventional Mattresses May Pollute Indoor Air – The synthetic chemicals found in conventional mattresses easily “off gas” into the atmosphere.  Even if you’re not sleeping on a new mattress yourself, you could feel the effects once it’s in your home because you could potentially be inhaling the gasses emitted by your conventional mattress.

#3 – Conventional Mattresses May Get Moldy – All mattresses are prone to mold, since bodies sweat during the night and that sweat can penetrate the mattress. It’s a good idea to use a mattress protector, no matter what kind of mattress you have. Amerisleep says that the “breathability of our foam/cover helps manage moisture by keeping you cool.”

#4 – Conventional Mattresses Could Provide a Breeding Ground for Dust Mites – In the mattresses Amerisleep manufactures, says the company, the dense structure of the foam it uses makes it dust mite “resistant,” meaning that it’s more difficult for dust mites to nest and feed. By the way, beware companies that make claims that their mattresses are “dust mite free.” That is probably not possible.

#5 – Manufacturing and Delivery Make a Difference, too – When buying a mattress, think about it’s entire “life cycle,” in other words, how it was manufactured, what it is manufactured from, and even how it is delivered to a store or directly to you. For example, Amerisleep says it “uses a patented process for creating its foam called VPF (Variable Pressure Foaming). This helps the company avoid using chemicals like CFC/HCFC (which deplete the earth’s ozone layer), methylene chloride, and carbon dioxide,” which contributes to climate change. The company factory recycles essentially 100% of its internal waste. It also packages up the mattress in a roll rather than deliver it flat, which reduces its shipping fuel consumption, an average of 80%.

What To Look For Instead

There are no federal regulations or standards that a company needs to meet in order to claim its mattress is “green,” “eco-friendly,” or “natural.” Your best bet is to look for companies like Amerisleep that back up their green claims with the following information:

• Specific details on what the mattress is actually made of. Plant-based foam, untreated wool, organic cotton and natural latex derived from rubber trees are greener options than synthetic foams.

• Independent certification of its product claims. It’s always reassuring when a company backs up its green claims by showing that it’s met independent and meaningful environmental and health standards. That’s the difference between ‘green’ and ‘greenwashing.’

• Manufacturing location. Look for mattresses manufactured in the U.S. or Europe, where standards regulating use of toxic chemicals in mattresses may be more stringent than those manufactured in Asia or Latin America.

Note: Sponsored posts enable us to provide expert content at no cost to you. Thank you.

The post 5 Healthy Reasons to Choose a Green Mattress appeared first on Big Green Purse.

I don’t remember how much milk we’d all drunk before the mistake was discovered. I do remember watching the television news reports of the incident. Over 500 contaminated Michigan farms were quarantined. Approximately 30,000 cattle, 4,500 swine, 1,500 sheep, and 1.5 million chickens were destroyed, along with over 800 tons of animal feed, 18,000 pounds of cheese, 2,500 pounds of butter, 5 million eggs, and 34,000 pounds of dried milk products.

I’ll never forget the feeling I had watching millions of gallons of milk being destroyed. But what I also came to realize was that it was far easier to get rid of that tainted milk than it was to eliminate the fire retardants that had accumulated in my body as a result of drinking it. Fire retardants – also known as PBBs – cause cancer in lab animals and are thought to be endocrine disruptors – chemicals that interfere with hormones.

How many of you are mothers? How many people have or had a mother? That’s where so many environmental concerns begin, don’t they? After all, a mother’s body is the first environment any of us experience. I remember thinking back in 1974, even though I wouldn’t have children for another 14 years, that perhaps my ability to have healthy babies had been compromised by drinking the most harmless thing in the world, a glass of milk.

Between then and now, I’ve had two children. I never had my breast milk tested for fire retardants. I never subjected my hair to analysis for heavy metals. I have not had my blood and urine examined to determine how many unnatural chemicals they contain.

But if I did, in all likelihood I’d discover a toxic soup of contaminants that I’ve been unwillingly exposed to and that now wait to surface in some kind of disease or cancer. Even worse, I would probably also discover a whole host of toxins – my personal “body burden” – that I have unwittingly passed on to my kids.

I started Big Green Purse as a way to protect ourselves from exposure to the toxins that cause our kids harm.  Given the enormity of the challenges facing government, it may be years or decades before we significantly reign in the pollution that makes us sick. We must continue to press for stronger environmental health and safety laws and regulations. But let us not forget: The way we spend our money is our first line of defense. 

As we observe this Mother’s Day, let’s renew our commitment to shifting our spending to products and services that offer the greatest health and safety benefits, not just for the planet, but for us and our children as well.

The post What’s in YOUR body, Mom? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Environmental Working Group (EWG) studied 20 dogs and 40 cats. The researchers discovered that the animals were contaminated with 48 of 70 industrial chemicals tested. Average levels of many chemicals were substantially higher in companion animals than is proportionally typical for people, with 2.4 times higher levels of stain-and grease-proof coatings (perfluorochemicals) in dogs, 23 times more fire retardants (PBDEs) in cats, and more than 5 times the amounts of mercury, compared to the average levels the CDC and EWG found in the people they studied.

How do our pets get exposed to these toxins? They walk across lawns that harbor pesticide residues. They breathe in indoor air pollutants. They lie on furniture or carpeting that’s been treated with fire retardants. Pets play close to the floor, often licking the ground as well as their paws, a habit that greatly increases both their exposures to chemicals and the resulting health risks. And because their lifespans are compressed – dogs develop and age seven or more times faster than children — pets also develop health problems more rapidly.

For pets as for people, the result of seemingly harmless actions is a body burden of complex mixtures of industrial chemicals never tested for safety. Health problems in pets span high rates of cancer in dogs and, as with my Midnight, skyrocketing incidence of hyperthyroidism in cats.

How can you protect your pet?

· Avoid lawn chemicals. Stick to organic fertilizers if you maintain grass. Keep your pet off lawns that have been chemically treated. Replace your own lawn with native grasses, stones, and other groundcovers that require nothing other than local climate conditions to grow.

· Eliminate products that pollute indoor air. Replace aerosol air fresheners and fragrance-based cleansers with fragrance-free options. Substitute non-toxic bug repellents for chemical pesticides. Open windows to air out rooms. Simmer cinnamon sticks and cloves in a small pot of water to refresh your home.

· Clean furniture and carpets with vegetable- based soap and water. Avoid industrial- strength floor cleaners whose left-behind ‘shine’ contains chemicals that could compromise your pet’s health. Ask professional carpet cleaners to use certified eco-friendly cleaning products.

· Buy an organic cotton towel or throw rug for your pet’s bed and for your furniture. Protect your pet from the fire retardants found in most upholstery and carpeting with organic fabrics you can launder in biodegradable detergent.

· Choose safer toys. Muttropolis sells toy flowers for cats made from recycled plastic and certified organic catnip. Olive Green Dog sells toys made from non-toxic plastic for dogs, as well as shampoos, soaps, cookies, and more.

Want a short-cut to more eco-friendly pet supplies? Check out our Amazon store.

Want to read other pet posts?

Spoil Your Pup and Protect the Environment

The post Green Pet Care How-To appeared first on Big Green Purse.