No matter what you believe or stand for politically we know liberals and conservatives will agree on at least this one environmental issue , that Earth friendly mattresses are important to us all. When I first mentioned it to friends and family that we were going offer our customers the choice of organic mattresses some laughed and scoffed accusing me of hopping on the green band wagon, while others said manufacturers didn’t go far enough. After listening to their opinions we decided to offer them what we thought was the best choice for our business, the planet, and our customers. Whether  you believe an organic mattress is a good or bad idea, with a little organic mattress education and an open mind all readers will soon learn all natural mattresses may be the smartest invention since the invention of the wheel upon this great planet we all share. Their non-toxic chemical free, replenishable, and customizable durable design makes the most well rounded mattress built today.

If absorption or inhalation of chemicals while your sleeping for 7-9 hours concerns you, we know you will be impressed with the beds organically designed surface cover, which is built from the replenishable resource cotton. This cotton is grown on land that is certified as organic. Not only that but the organic cotton is certified organic and is documented as such through strict oversight. This is to see to it that dangerous pesticides or herbicides are not being used in curing the growth process. When you are shopping be sure to ask for copies of the organic cotton certification.

Today all beds must meet or exceed the mandatory mattress fire retardant law, known as 16 CFR Part 1633. It is a performance standard that restricts heat discharge in the case of a mattress fire. The majority of mattresses are using chemicals to comply with this law; some have not been tested while others are known to be dangerous. There are only two ways you can avoid such exposure to chemicals. One is with a prescription from your doctor or locate a mattress that passes the federal burn tests using natural components like certified organic wool, which is used in many of the best organic mattress brands sold today.

Organic Mattresses from manufacturers like Land and Sky offer their top mattress covers in two versions. Zippered and non zippered, which are sewn shut using a traditional tape edged method. Although the zipper may not be a favorite choice of strict environmentalist, these people should reconsider, zipper models allow for replacement of bad parts, customization, and exchange of layers for comfort or health reasons. Most importantly we can save a landfill from the disposal of an entire mattress set. Mattresses are one of landfills biggest problems due to poor decomposition and the fact that they can take up more space than a refrigerator.

Lastly we will talk about the core mattress component Dunlop All Natural Latex Rubber. The Dunlop Process of making rubber all be it a process, is one of the most environmentally smart mattress components built today. This is because of its virtually chemical free composition, cleanliness, low odor, durability, and versatility. People always seem to question its durability and shouldn’t. It is all natural rubber not petrol based foam. Rubber and its flexibility and elasticity are used from everything from rubber balls to car tires making it perfect for the construct of mattresses. Petro based foams are known typically for breaking down quickly causing deep uncomfortable body impressions in regular coil spring mattresses.

STLBeds, local retailer of Organic Mattresses: would like to make its readers aware of a local event they may want to attend. If you are concerned about recycling, green products, and sustainability we would like to give a shout out to The St. Louis Eco Expo, which is presented by The St. Louis Missouri Botanical Gardens. The green event will be located at the St. Louis Science Center, Saturday April 18 through Sunday April 19 2009. According to www.ecoexpostlouis.com their schedule of events will be publicized soon.

The Saint Louis Eco Expo is intended to motivate and increase awareness for St. Louis and it’s surrounding communities about their environments. The Eco Expo hopes share  eco information through entertainment, education, and give access to businesses that are dedicated to attaining sustainability. This unique occasion is an opportunity for the entire family to discover and learn about uncomplicated changes that can be made which can make a great impact.

The Eco Expo is a two-day experience that will provide inspiration and ideas for all aspects of how we want to treat the environment from home life to work, home building, construction, and eco-fashion & beauty. All who attend can speak directly to experts whose services and products are designed to lend a hand to each of us, so we can all lead more environmentally responsible life.

Take time to learn about low cost and no cost tips to reduce your energy bills and consumption. There you and your family will see newest gadgets and demonstrations to hit the market and find out what is considered a “green” product. Visit the beer garden and enjoy home-grown musical artists unplugged. The kids will have a great time as well discovering the wonders of science in the Eco Expo’s green experiments lab.

Free to the public and family-friendly The Eco Expo will be a great place to spend the day. There will be bike parking available. For more information about the Eco Expo event, you may contact Ellie Sertic at esertic@stl.emmis.com. Or (314) 613-7966

Please take a moment to read through the
Eco Expo Scheduled Exhibitors and Sponsors

Water  Furnace
Vatterott
Trumpet Homes
The Energy Experts
Stone Mill Design
STITT Energy Systems
St. Louis Composting
St. Louis Cardinals
St Louis Regional Clean Air Partnership
St Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management District
Southwestern Illinois Housing Advancement Fund
Sigma Aldrich
Schlafly
RSL Lighting
RSI Kitchens & Bath
Rhino Shield Siding
Renewal by Anderson Windows
Redwood Creek Wine
RCGA
Pure Power
Owens Corning
Nortiz Tankless Water Heaters
Missouri/Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR
Missouri Solar Living
Missouri Department of Conservation
Missouri Botanical Garden
Missouri American Water
Metropolitan Sewer District
Metro East Parks and Recreation
MERS Goodwill
Meeting of the Rivers Foundation
Laclede Gas
International Mulch
ICF Construction
Human Development Corporation
Heartland Alternative Energy
Habitat for Humanity of St. Louis ReStore
Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County ReStore
Great Rivers Greenway
Going Green Kits
General Mills
Fuel Freedom International
Frieze Harley Davidson
Extreme Toy Store
Eco Expo Scheduled Exhibitors
Design Extra
DALO Glass Tinting
Cort Furniture
Clean USA
Citizens for Modern Transit
Carpenters District Council of St. Louis
Big Shark Bikes
Barefoot Wine
Anji Mountain Bamboo Rug Co.
Allied Waste

Yahoo Answers recently had a person ask this question.
 
Do you think this ‘organic’ thing is getting out of hand?
I understand being choosy when it comes to the food you eat, but I just saw organic mattresses. Seems like a money grab to me.
 
As a retailer we have done our best to avoid ” money grab” products. 5 years ago I would have agreed 100% that an organic mattress was nothing more than a cash cow for the bedding industry. After much intense research and nearly 2 years of positive customer feedback, I believe that they may be the very best mattress choice available today.

Compare Organic Mattresses to Regular Mattresses.

1. Most typical mattresses wear out in eight years. Consumer Reports said that. In fact if you research organic mattress made from all natural latex foam rubber it typically offers great long lasting shape and support 15 to 20 years.
2. All natural latex rubber comes from a quick growth tree. Standard Polyurethane Foam (PU) foam in mattresses is a derivative from oil. Can’t grow that or replace it.
3. Standard PU foam in standard mattresses quickly gets body impressions or body indentations because companies opt to fill them with low-grade foam. Organic latex rubber does what rubber does best, bounces back and keeps it shape like a ball, tire, or rubber band.
4. PU foam is a synthetic chemical coagulation or plastic. Latex rubber is virtually chemical free and very simple in it composition.
5. Organic mattresses do not off gas and good ones have minimal smell. Conventional mattresses, memory foam mattresses, and even waterbeds have strong chemical smell when they are first unpackaged and chemical smells can linger for quite a long time.
6. Nearly every mattress made today brand name and non brand name uses chemicals to comply with federally mandated laws for fire safety and fire retardancy. Most organic mattresses comply naturally using organically raised wool to limit mattress burn rates and comply with the CPSC law TB1633FR in a healthy manner.
7. Chemicals used as fire retardants have not been tested in long term or short term sleep applications. The result for us is sales pitches from manufactures claiming only trace chemical amounts. So we really do not know what or if we are breathing nauseous chemicals and dealing with absorption of chemicals through the skin that we don’t understand much less what their affect might be.
8. Mattress manufactures are not required to disclose what chemicals are contained in mattresses to make them FR compliant. Do you know what is in organically raised wool? If it is certified wool like most organic mattresses, No chemicals.
9. Naturally grown thread made from organic cotton makes not only a high quality and very durable cover, but again limits the human body to no harmful chemical exposure. On the other hand the typical mattress and boxspring fabric cover is comprised of mostly synthetics with very minimal amounts of natural material.
10. One strips and rapes the Earths land while giving back absolutely nothing. The other is built from renewable, sustainable, replenishable, and healthy resources and is almost 100 recyclable.

Unveiled at the Healthy Planet Natural Living Expo STLBeds, and Land and Sky shows St. Louis MO the chemical free way to sleep on a green earth friendly mattress.

Land and Sky has been manufacturing natural sleep products over the last 35 years. They have led the way by pioneering the specialty sleep industry. The selection Land and Sky offers of all natural, and organic sleep products have been put together with earth-friendly sustainable resources. Renewable and sustainable natural resources like, untreated lumber, latex rubber, organic cotton, and organic wool.  For example, their all natural latex mattress cores  are formed from the oil of rubber trees using a natural extraction procedure. In this way the oil is collected leaving the leaves, pardon the pun of the tree and the sap safe & sound and unharmed in their natural environment.

Within the cover we use a soft layer of 100% virgin certified organic wool. The organic wool has been scoured and washed in order to remove the natural burrs and excess oil from the fibers. The wool is long lasting, won’t mat, and makes a superb natural fiber insulator, keeping your body cool in the summer months and warmer when it’s cold. The pure natural wool also has a nice feature. It has the benefit to wick and keep moisture from building up between the body and underlying material. Our natural covers are then finished with 100% organic cotton ticking and then meticulously inspected. There are no harmful chemicals used in the mattresses creation process. With these Land and Sky organic beds, you can rest assured knowing that your family is sleeping on the finest materials that earth and nature can provide.

This naturally elastic, 100%- all natural latex mattress, which molds to your body’s shape and cradles it with effortless support. Naturally conforming and gentle to the weight and curves of your body, your new mattress will provide an environment blissfully free of the pressure points. Painful pressure points are the primary cause off tossing and turning. Natural Latex Rubber provides comfort and support to help relax sore muscles and helps you to fall asleep faster. You can sleep deeply and soundly only to wake up feeling thoroughly refreshed and energized.

Interested in learning more about chemical free and organic mattresses? Be sure to contact us or call 1-888-STL-BEDS for more information.

If you are shopping for a new mattress these days, latex and memory foam are two of the most popular mattresses to be had, but which is better?

The truth is they are both excellent mattresses, one is foam and the other is rubber. 100% All Natural Latex Mattress, Is It Foam or Rubber? When comparing the overall durability of 100 percent all natural latex to memory foam I would have to say that latex wins the toughness battle hands down after all one is used to make car tires while the other is not.

Comparing an all natural latex mattress to memory foam in the usage of chemicals.
When putting a 100% All natural latex rubber mattress side-by-side to a memory foam mattress, you must first determine what model you are comparing. At this time memory foam is not available in an all natural or organic versions, so most latex mattresses will beat memory foam because latex includes very few chemical. There are some eco friendly memory foam mattresses that use plant based oils like soy, but these generally speaking are still loaded with chemicals. All though the name might imply something different, some all natural latex mattresses are made using a synthetic latex blend mixture of about 70/30. However the winning edge still must go to latex mattresses, which is widely available in a 98 to 99 percent pure form, this according to virtually every manufacturer of all natural latex mattresses. Side note: most consider these to be organic latex mattresses.

Which is more comfortable memory foam or latex?
Feel is very subjective to the sleeper, we would recommend trying them for yourselves and making up your own mind. Memory foam is often a love or hate feel. More people initially respond with a more positive first impression to all natural latex mattresses. With that said memory foam still out sells latex mattresses across the country. In fairness memory foams larger sales volume is primarily due to the significant advertising campaign on the part of companies like Tempur Pedic, the largest producer of memory foam mattresses in the world.