Sleep Clean: Avocado’s New Eco Organic Mattress
When I first began working to live a more conscious, sustainable lifestyle about three years ago, two of the first things I learned about were waste (as in trash, specifically within production and supply chains) and chemicals (and all the various impacts they can have on the environment, our bodies and health).
Because of government regulations and business practices, products of all kinds- food, clothing, furniture, appliances, self-care/hygiene- are saturated with a wide variety of chemicals throughout the production cycle. Furniture and home goods are an area we don’t give much thought to in this regard. Mattresses especially are a source of serious toxicity.
By releasing toxic chemicals, these materials contaminate our air, water, food supplies, and environment through the processes of volatilization (off-gassing), abrasion, leaching, and oxidation. Because of this, indoor air has the potential to be 5x more polluted than outside air. And with most people spending 90% of their time indoors, and one-third of that time in bed, we’re all at risk of being exposed to these chemicals. There are countless studies showing that the chemically-treated materials commonly used in our manufacturing and building processes negatively impact human health.
Avocado is working to change all that.
(Scroll to the end of this post to see my personal review of their new Eco Organic Mattress!)
Avocado Green Mattress is a brand on a mission to be one of the world’s most sustainable brands and the most respected source for organic and natural mattresses, pillows, and bedding at comparable prices — while maintaining environmentally conscious, ethical, and sustainable business practices across their entire supply chain — to help safeguard your health and protect the planet.
Here’s some reasons why they’re awesome:
- Their products are made in America! Avocado products are designed in New Jersey and handcrafted in Los Angeles, California, in their independently-owned factory (which is GOTS organic and FSC® certified — and powered entirely by renewable energy, and approaching zero waste).
- As a Certified B Corporation® they adhere to strict environmental laws and labor standards, providing their team members with living wages and comprehensive benefits. They prioritize quality over quantity (products that are made quickly and cheaply) because they understand that mindful and conscious consumerism is also about quality and durability. Longevity is sustainability.
- They are the world’s only Climate Neutral Certified® mattress and bedding brand.
- Most of Avocado’s products are Greenguard Gold and MADE SAFE® certified.
- They donate one percent of all revenues to environmental nonprofits through membership with 1% For The Planet.
- Their mattresses feature a 100 night sleep trial, a 25-year limited warranty, financing, and free shipping.
- Transparency. If you visit their website, Avocado provides you with information on every step of their supply-chain and production process.
- Their mattresses and bedding are certified organic and non-toxic.
- They use no flame retardants of any kind; instead they use 100% GOTS organic certified wool, which is naturally flame-resistant. They use no toxic chemicals, no rayon, no fiberglass fiber ‘fire socks,’ and, of course, no boric acid or other undisclosed chemical treatments on their organic materials. They don’t use any solvent- or water-based chemical adhesives in their products, as these can off-gas and so pollute indoor air and harm human health. Instead, “the layers of an Avocado mattress are skillfully tufted together by hand, with long steel tufting needles, cotton straps, and rosettes”.
- Unlike traditional mattress covers (that rely heavily on polyester, which does not stretch, does not absorb sweat, does not breathe — and is treated with thousands of toxic chemicals during production), Avocado uses only 100% GOTS organic certified cotton ticking on the top, sides, gussets, and even on the beautiful herringbone-patterned canvas base.
- Avocado materials include GOLS certified organic latex, GOTS certified organic wool, GOTS certified organic cotton, and GOTS certified organic kapok fiber. All of these materials are sourced from ethical and sustainable farms and collectives, managed directly by Avocado to ensure that proper regulations and standards are upheld. You can read more about this here.
- Products are biodegradable and recyclable. “Old mattresses don’t go away easily. Mattresses are bulky, generally not reusable, and difficult to recycle. Ours are different. At the end of their life, an Avocado mattress makes less impact on the waste stream. The organic materials we use can biodegrade and the steel innersprings can be recycled. Since no polyurethane foams and other toxic chemicals are used in its manufacturing, our impact on the waste stream and the environment is significantly reduced.”
To summarize, Avocado is awesome because: their products are made in the US; they prioritize sustainability along every step of the supply-chain (“farm-to-mattress” and beyond, to a product’s “end-of-life”) as well as social responsibility in ensuring their materials and products are ethically produced and constructed; as a result, your health as a consumer is not put at risk in the name of profit; they’re transparent, because without making information available to customers, credibility drops.
In addition to the previously mentioned qualities that make all of Avocado’s products “eco”, this specific mattress utilizes recycled steel for the coils, as well as the hog rings used, to hold the inside layers together. In the Queen mattress (I got a twin) there are 809 coils (8″ in size). The border coil gauges are 14.5 and interior zone coils are 12 (higher gauges make a thinner coil. Thicker coils deliver greater durability).
The Eco mattress uses organic cotton and has 1” of wool quilted into the cover, 2″ of GOLS certified organic latex within, along with lightweight GOTS organic canvas on the bottom. This model has no hand tufting, as it’s not as plush as some of their other styles (there is no pillow-top option in this model). No glue is used to bind any of the materials together. The Mattress height is about 10 inches, so about average. It has been ranked a 5/10 on the firmness scale (“perfect medium!”).
No chemical flame retardants of any kind are used. No fiberglass is involved in the materials. No adhesives are used to bind the layers. No petroleum-based polyurethane or memory foams used. You can breathe easy (literally) sleeping on this mattress.
See below for how the Eco Organic Mattress compares to other “natural” hybrid mattresses on the market, as well as comparison between other Avocado mattress models.
First Impression + Review
The Avocado Eco Mattress arrived at my home vacuum-sealed in a box. It took less than ten minutes to unpack and set up. As soon as you cut open the bag, the mattress fluffs right up- it didn’t require hours to reshape itself after coming out of the packaging.
One of the first things I noticed was that there was no odor whatsoever- no chemical smell, no need to let it air out for a day or two before putting it on my bed frame. And while this didn’t surprise me, because I already knew that Avocado doesn’t treat it mattresses with those substances, I was impressed at how little it smelled like anything. So right into my room it went!
Even coming right out of the box, it was clear this mattress is high quality. I love the feel and texture of the fabrics that make up the outer layers- sturdy but so soft. The edging, binding, stitching- all the finishing touches- are secure and as a whole the mattress isn’t flimsy in the least. I appreciate the handles that are provided on both sides of the mattress that allow for ease when rotating the mattress; these are well reinforced, and lay flat along the sides which reduces bulk under the sheet. Because of the hybrid construction of the mattress there’s no need to flip it in addition to rotating it, so it only has one top side (not like my previous mattress where you could have either side facing up).
Now, is it worth sleeping on? YES.
If it tells you anything, I’d had my previous mattress for more than half my life, and was convinced I’d never get rid of it until I got married and needed a bigger one; it was so comfortable, and I was a bit sentimental about it. But I had no issue getting rid of it (within the week) once I’d slept on this Avocado mattress.
When you first sit down on this mattress, or even just push your hand into it, it feels quite soft. It’s cozy, it’s inviting. But then when you lay down, while you still have that surface-squish, there’s a very nice underlying firmness that you can feel providing support along the length of your body. The way I described it to a couple of people was that it was like receiving a hug from a strong, sturdy friend- there’s the initial comfort of the hug and then the reassurance of that presence that’s bigger than you, if that makes sense, lol. It’s been almost two weeks that I’ve been sleeping on this mattress and I’m still stoked about it.
While I was gifted this particular mattress to review and share with you all, I would gladly spend my own money to purchase one in the future. It definitely an investment, but when compared to other “eco” models available- and the standards of Avocado as a whole- the price point is awesome (see charts above); I’d rather pay more and sleep easy knowing my mattress was created with people and the planet in mind. Highly recommend.
You can shop all of Avocado’s products on their website here.
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