Mattress Certifications: What to Know

There are so many different kinds of verifications out there for mattresses! It can be overwhelming and rather confusing trying to keep up with all of them. Which is why we are going to break it down in order to make it all a bit easier on you. First, we will go over some of the main different kinds of certifications out there. After that we will cover some answers to popular certification questions. Follow along for our full guide on Mattress Certifications.

Types of Mattress Certifications

Health & Safety Focused Certifications:

The list below is made up of certifications that ensure a product is safe to be used in your home.

For many consumers having organic materials is one of the best ways that you can ensure a product is safe for you to use in your home, especially in your bed. Which is why many of the following certifications have something to do with organic.

While many others are mainly focused on ensuring no harmful chemicals are used in the production of the mattress.

• CertiPUR-US
• OEKO-TEX Standard
• GreenGuard Certified – Gold
• GOTS Organic
• OEKO-TEX
• GOLS Organic
• USDA Organic
• Oregon Tilth Organic
• MADE SAFE nontoxic
• Organic Content Standard
• Cradle to Cradle
• American Chiropractic Association (Endorsement)

Environmentally Focused Certifications:

Looking to sleep on a mattress that was consciously made in a way that will cause as little damage to the environment as possible?

Then these are the certifications for you. Some of these certifications cover individual materials, while others cover full products or business practices.

We would like to note that often growing something organically is also environmentally friendlier than other forms of farming. However, we placed those in the health and safety group. All of these tend to go hand in hand. The following is a list of some of the most popular environmentally conscious

• Sustainable Furnishings Council
• Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC)
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• U.S. Green Building Council
• Rainforest Alliance
• CarbonFree®
• Climate Neutral
• Eco-INSTITUT
• Green America (Green business)
• Cradle to Cradle
• Clean Energy Partner
• Certified B Corp
• Green America
• CertiPure

Peace of Mind Certifications:

These certifications are the ones based in trying to make the world a better place. So, whether you are trying to do so by living a vegan lifestyle, and wanting to support companies that are fair trade certified.

These certifications will give you the peace of mind knowing that this product or the materials that they use are meeting those specific requirements.

• Fair Trade
• Peta Approved (Technically not a “certification” just a seal of approval)
• Vegan (vegan.org)
• Certified Humane (Raised and handled humanly)
• DoneGood

Top Certified Mattresses:

Certified Organic Mattresses:

Below is a list of mattresses. All of these beds are made with certified organic materials. Many of these mattress brands use a number of different Organic materials and many of them have far more certifications than just organic, so there are a lot of great features to these beds. Click the name of the mattress to learn more about it.

• Avocado Green Mattress
• Idle Sleep Mattress
• Spindle Mattress
• PlushBeds Mattress
• Brentwood Home Latex Hybrid Mattress
• Happsy Mattress
• Naturepedic Mattress
• Boll & Branch Mattress

Certified Vegan Mattresses:

All of the following mattresses have been Approved by PETA as vegan mattresses and some of them have also been certified by Vegan.org. Which of course means that these beds have been made without any animal products.

You can rest peacefully knowing that your bed is made without harming any animals. Many of these beds are also made with organic and natural materials. Click the link to learn more about these vegan beds.

• Avocado Vegan Mattress
• Vegan EOS Trilux by Naturepedic
• Love & Sleep by Nest Bedding
• Natural Bliss by PlushBeds
• Crystal Cove by Brentwood Home
• Joybed Mattress

Certified Eco-Friendly Mattresses:

There are a lot of different ways a mattress can be considered eco-friendly. The follow mattresses all have some kind of eco-friendly certification.

They are the real deal natural beds made with the planet in mind. They also happen to be incredibly comfortable. Click the link to learn more about these environmentally friendly beds.

• WinkBeds Mattress
• Birch Mattress by Helix
• Idle Sleep
• Zenhaven Mattress
• Spindle Mattress Review
• EcoCloud Hybrid by WinkBeds

Click HERE to see how you can create the Ultimate Vegan Bedroom.

Common Mattress Certification Questions:

Do You Really NEED Certifications?

You want a natural mattress, that is vegan, or organic, or made without any potentially toxic materials. Does a mattress need these certifications in order to meet any of those requirements?

Getting a mattress that is exactly what you are looking for, does not require any certifications. Certifications are there as a third party to verify claims and set a standard.

Whether it is OEKO-TEX verifying that a product does not contain certain chemicals. Or the USDA certifying that a brand made a material organically. Whatever certification you like, a product could technically have all of those features you desire and be sold without a certification. The reason we love certifications for shoppers is that this third-party certifier has done all the research for you to ensure that the product you are looking to buy indeed meets their requirements for their certification. Allowing you to shop with confidence.

What is Greenwashing?

If you use certifications as a way to find environmentally friendly products, natural materials, organic materials, and so on. Then we want to make sure you are aware of what greenwashing looks like. People are willing to pay more for a environmentally friendly product. Which is why companies will do everything possible for their products to appear natural and eco-friendly.

Just because a product is being called “green, natural, eco, earth friendly, etc.” or using lots of natural looking textures, colors, and photos of nature does not mean they have eco-friendly practices, organic materials, or do not use dangerous chemicals on their products. Which is why we suggest relying on third part certifications and not marketing to know what a company is really all about.

Top Tip: Companies will even make donations to charities supporting the environment before they change their own production practices. Keep an eye out for greenwashing and trust certifications.

Are Certifications For Products, Individual Materials, or Brands?

This is a great question. They actually make different certifications that they give to all three. For example, often a pillow or mattress will be called The Organic Pillow, yet it is only the cotton cover that is certified organic and not the entire pillow. This can make a huge difference depending on what you are purchasing.

Some brands will design their mattress with organic materials from top to bottom. Making a truly all organic mattress. However, if only the cotton is certified organic that could mean that the latex or other materials are not. Sheets tend to be different, this is because they make sheets primarily out of a single material.

Keep in mind that this is not a hard and fast rule and there are certain certifications that are given to finished products, just be sure to take a second look to see whether a product is certified or just one of its materials. While this may or may not bother you or sway your decision on a purchase, it is a good thing to at least be aware of with how the certification process works.

How Can I Verify A Certification Is Real?

Just because a company puts a logo on their website, how can you ensure that they product or brand has been properly certified? A lot of the time underneath a certification logo, there will be a number. This number can be used in order to verify and learn more about this product and its certification.

If there is no number, you can always ask for certification codes or head direct to the certifier and see if they have any information on that brand or product on that end. This can help to verify that a brand is not blatantly lying about their certifications. Although, we do not find that this is very common, especially when you are dealing with brands directly like the online mattress brands we often review.

Mattress Certifications Overview:

At the end of the day, certifications exist in order to make your life easier. While it may take an extra minute to find the kinds of certifications you like, in the long run they are going to save you a lot of time and effort.

Once you see that little certification emblem connected to your mattress, it lets you know that this mattress meets those standards. No more research necessary. So whether you want to ensure your mattress is Non-toxic, Organic, Eco-friendly, Free Trade, or Vegan, there is a certification out there for you!

For more content like this, check out some of our favorite natural mattress options.