100% Natural Bedding: Latex Mattresses, Toppers and Pillows



It's Not All Fluff: Sleep On a Sound Decision

Filed Under: Health Issues
Written by - Author Listed Below

Emily Main/National Geographic Green Guide

 

Who knows what dreams may come during a night's sleep on off-gassing conventional pillows? If not filled with petroleum-based polyester or polyurethane foams, which deplete non-renewable resources, "natural" pillows can be made with conventional cotton, which is responsible for billions of pounds of pesticides and synthetic nitrate fertilizers. Synthetic fillings also absorb moisture, providing an optimal breeding ground for dust mites: Ten percent of the weight of a two-year-old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings. As for moisture- and stain-resistant finishes, they employ everything from perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA (also used in Teflon) to formaldehyde, both likely human carcinogens according to the EPA.

 

Buckwheat

Asian cultures have used buckwheat-hull pillows for centuries, and many doctors recommend the body-conforming filling to patients with neck pain and insomnia. Buckwheat is a pesticide-free crop and requires very little fertilizer. "It's a really sensitive plant—any type of pesticide will kill it," says Tom Bilek of the Buckwheat Growers Association of Minnesota. It's also naturally pest-resistant, good news for sufferers of dust-mite allergies, but be sure to ask merchants whether the hulls have been thoroughly cleaned, as lingering dust can trigger asthma attacks.

 

Kapok

Kapok pillows provide a similar loft to down, and, because the fibers are very water-resistant--they've been used as fill for life preservers--they are inhospitable to mites and mildew. Kapok also avoids the cruelty issues posed by down, which, according to United Poultry Concern, is frequently gathered from maltreated, factory-farmed birds. Instead, this fiber comes from the seedpods of the tropical kapok tree.

Traditionally, the seedpods naturally break open and fall to the ground, then the fibers are gathered. "The harvest of kapok is only potentially damaging if the tree is cut down to get the fruits or if all the fruits are taken, seeds and all," says Catherine Woodward, president of the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation.

 

Wool

Also water-resistant, wool wicks moisture off your skin and dries quickly. Look for the "Pure Grow Wool" label, representing 200 farm families in California who conduct humane sheep ranching without pesticides.

 

Natural Latex

Help support tropical rainforests—and your neck—by choosing this product of tapped (not logged) rubber trees.

 
 
Emily Main is The Green Guide's Senior Editor.

 

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