The Environmental Working Group is reshaping the landscape of mattress manufacturing that highlights new safety standards for the industry.
Naturepedic is the first brand to meet EWG’s rigorous criteria, underscoring its commitment to health and ingredient transparency, by introducing a collection of 26 mattresses that meet stringent criteria for health, ingredient disclosure and transparency. These Naturepedic mattresses proudly bear the EWG VERIFIED® mark, setting a new benchmark for mattress makers.
“This is an important milestone for EWG, Naturepedic and the mattress industry,” said EWG President Ken Cook. “This new category of EWG VERIFIED products represents a new era in mattress safety, giving consumers peace of mind and empowering individuals and families to make informed purchasing decisions.”
For more than two decades, EWG has provided chemical hazard evaluations and practical suggestions to help consumers protect themselves from exposure to potentially harmful substances in everyday products. EWG VERIFIED standards and criteria are backed by science and developed after painstaking scrutiny by EWG’s team of researchers and toxicologists.
Why most mattresses are problematic
Most mattresses contain and release chemicals that can compromise a home’s air quality and expose people to chemicals that pose health risks. From petroleum-based compounds to foam, plastics and flame retardants like fiberglass, most mattresses lack adequate safety evaluations and regulations, despite the fact that they have prolonged contact with our bodies.
Manufacturers aren’t required to disclose all the materials used in their mattresses, leaving consumers unsure about potential health risks.
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, emitted by polyurethane foam used to make mattresses can cause respiratory irritation, asthma symptoms and long-term health risks.
Exposure to mattresses treated with harmful flame retardants, often undisclosed, may lead to hormone disruption and cancer because of harmful chemicals like antimony, a cancer-causing heavy metal.
And some manufacturers’ mattresses include “fragrance,” a mystery blend of any of more than thousands of chemicals. Fragrance can be used to camouflage odors created during production. Some chemicals in these scent mixtures can cause allergic reactions and sometimes contain hormone-disrupting phthalates.
For adults, who spend nearly nine hours a day sleeping on average, the potential for harm is significant. When time relaxing in bed is also counted, it adds up to a significant portion of our lives. Babies spend an average of 13 hours a day sleeping, while toddlers sleep as much as 12 hours, and many crib mattresses also contain harmful chemicals that pose a potential risk to the baby’s well-being.
“Naturepedic is proud to debut the world’s first EWG VERIFIED mattress,” said Naturepedic founder and technical director, Barry Cik. “Today’s consumers are discerning and seek more from the products they purchase. They want assurances about product ingredients and how they’re manufactured. Naturepedic is at the forefront, understanding and meeting the evolving demands of consumers by offering mattresses that meet the highest standards for health.”
“At EWG, we’re striving to make clean and healthy consumer products the norm,” said Homer Swei, Ph.D., EWG senior vice president of Healthy Living Science. “And I’m hopeful other companies will follow Naturepedic’s lead to clean up the mattress market,” he said.
The EWG VERIFIED mark on a product signals to consumers that a brand has gone above and beyond inadequate regulations, prioritizing full ingredient transparency, avoiding harmful chemicals and adhering to stringent safety standards.
EWG VERIFIED mattresses must be:
- Made with transparency, publicly disclosing all ingredients and materials used.
- Made with safer product materials and lower-emitting VOCs.
- Prohibited from using harmful chemical flame retardants and fiberglass.
- Prohibited from using PVCs and the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS
