Best Non-Toxic Mattress Shopping Guide 2025

Fire “Safety” in Mattresses

Mattresses are required by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to meet flammability laws. This previously meant that they were almost always treated with bromated or chlorinated flame-retardant chemicals, typically one of the first three on this list:

• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers. PBDEs are associated with hormone-disruption and neurodevelopmental delays, including lowered IQ. The European Union has banned the use of PBDEs in electronic devices. Studies show that children in the United States have higher levels of PBDEs than adults do. Oh, and here’s the kicker: they don’t even work very well at stopping fires!
• Firemaster 550. This nasty chemical cocktail is made with bis (2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH). Yes, you saw that word in there: phthalate. TBPH is nearly identical to DEHP, the phthalate banned in children’s products (including mattresses!!) due to evidence of carcinogenicity and developmental toxicity.
• Chlorinated tris. This is the notorious chemical that was removed from children’s pajamas in the 1970s because it was shown to cause cancer.
• Halogen-free flame retardants. This newer class of chemicals (such as ammonium polyphosphate, aluminium diethyl phosphinate, and melamine polyphosphate) is believed to be much less likely to bioaccumulate than bromated flame retardants. I still prefer my mattresses to be free of even these.

In addition to these notoriously toxic flame retardants, companies may use some of the following ingredients to pass flammability tests: boric acid, silica, melamine, vinylidene chloride, and fiberglass.

The Importance of Fiberglass-Free Mattresses

Fiberglass isn’t a chemical flame retardant, but it can still come with some serious health risks.

Here’s just two reasons that buying mattresses without fiberglass is important:

• No more itchy nights. Fiberglass particles can easily escape from mattress covers. This can cause itching, redness, and respiratory issues like coughing and wheezing. This is especially concerning for children and those with sensitive skin or allergies.
• Better indoor air quality. Fiberglass dust can also float around, potentially triggering coughs, wheezing, and generally messing with your respiratory system.

A Myth About Off-Gassing

Many of my clients think that their mattresses are okay if they are old because they have “already off-gassed.” Unfortunately, this is not true in the case of foam mattresses. In fact, as the foam degrades, more PBDEs (hormone-disrupting flame retardants) may be released.

Are Mattress Coils Dangerous?

There has been a lot of online chatter in recent years regarding metal coils in mattresses. We paid close attention to this and did some research, and we arrived at the conclusion that steel springs present no established danger.

We simply cannot find any credible evidence showing that metal coils can act like an antenna and concentrate EMFs into our sleeping bodies. Phew–one less thing to worry about!

What Is the Least Toxic Mattress Material?

A toxin-free mattress will likely contain some combination of the following materials:

• Organic wool (untreated) is naturally flame- and mildew/dust mite-resistant.
• 100% natural latex (made from rubber trees) is safer than latex blends. The latter may contain petroleum-based polyurethane. It’s important to note that no latex foam mattress can be 100% natural or organic. Turning latex rubber to foam necessitates the use of chemicals, period. Certified latex mattresses simply have less chemical content.
• Organic cotton (grown in untreated soil, without pesticides) can be used for batting or mattress wrapping. There is a robust debate about whether or not the herbicides and pesticides used on cotton crops will wash/bleach out as the cotton is processed. Most studies show that it does, but some folks believe that a residue remains. We believe that the risk of sleeping on a mattress or sheets made from conventionally grown cotton is tiny. Still, for the good of the planet, we should all choose organically-grown cotton whenever possible.
• Trusted certifications from third-party certifying bodies mean that some ingredients in the mattress have been vetted by organizations committed to improving air quality. This also means a safer sleeping surface for you. However, all certifications are not created equally, as you’ll learn below.

Dunlop Versus Talalay Latex in the Best Non-Toxic Mattress Brands

You’ll probably read a lot about Talalay versus Dunlop latex in your search for the best organic mattress. In terms of comfort, Dunlop is firmer and Talalay is lighter and softer. If you’re looking for a GOLS-certified mattress (more on this below), you’ll need to choose a mattress made of Dunlop latex.

Don’t Be Fooled By…

The mattress industry is full of greenwashing. Here are just a few claims that should alert you that a brand may be Sneaky Stuff.

• “Natural latex.” Petroleum comes from the earth, so petroleum-based mattresses can be “natural.” A “natural latex mattress” may only contain only 50% natural latex and may be blended with polyurethane foam and treated with various VOCs. Look for mattresses that specify that they are made from only 100% natural latex.
• “All-natural wool,” “pure wool” or “eco-wool.” Unless wool is certified organic, it is likely processed conventionally with a variety of chemicals. You may or may not be okay with this (I feel that the flame retardants are more concerning). In some cases, a wool producer may not bother with organic certification, despite organic practices.
• Biofoam. Soy- or plant-foam is still made of mostly polyurethane. Biofoam mattresses typically contain less than 20% plant material.
• Certifications. Oftentimes, these certifications apply only to certain parts of the mattress, not necessarily the mattress as a whole. In some cases, the mattress company creates its own certification. You will read more about these certifications in a moment.

Bottom line: There is a lot of deceptive marketing in the mattress world. It is not illegal to throw around terms like “natural,” “green,” and even “organic” without actually having to prove anything.

What to Know About Mattress Certifications

Sorting through mattress certifications is maddening. Here’s just some of why that is:

1. First of all, not all certifications are created equal. Some offer great assurance that your new mattress will be non-toxic, while others are essentially meaningless.
2. What’s more, just because a company shows a certification doesn’t mean all of the material in that mattress is certified. One of our readers wrote to us about a mattress that contained Oeko-Tex 100 certified wool, but the company wouldn’t confirm that they solely purchase the wool from this source. Thus, in this case, it would be impossible to know if the mattress you’re purchasing contains the certified wool or not, to say nothing of the other materials in this mattress.
3. Sometimes, a mattress will claim to have a certification that they don’t really have. One of the most common deceptive practices is when a manufacturer claims to have GOLS certification for their latex mattress, and even display the GOLS logo on their website. They might even show an actual copy of it on their website, complete with date and signatures. If, however, the certificate is not written to the same name as the manufacturer, it is not particularly meaningful. They are commonly written to a latex supplier out of Sri Lanka, India or South America. Such a certification shows only that the latex was certified up to that point on its journey to becoming someone’s bed. Between Sri Lanka and your bedroom, all sorts of things can happen to the latex to cause it to be more toxic than the certification implies.

So, how do you know if a mattress is non-toxic?

Best Non-Toxic Mattress Certifications

The two certifications to look for in your mattress are GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard) and GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard).

(And again, the best non-toxic mattress brands have these certifications written directly to the mattress manufacturer.)

To obtain a GOTS certification, at least 95% of the mattress must be made of certified-organic materials. Certain chemistries are prohibited entirely, even for that other 5%. A GOTS certification on a mattress means that the entire manufacturing and distribution process is environmentally safe and socially responsible.

Prohibited materials and contaminants in a GOTS-certified mattress include:

• Polyurethane foam
• Heavy metals
• Formaldehyde
• The fire retardants listed above

One thing we love about GOTS certification is that in order to obtain it, a mattress must be produced in a facility that is also certified. In fact, GOTS certifiers visit production facilities as part of the certification process. (If you are curious about a brand that we don’t review in this guide, you can check for GOTS certification in the GOTS database.)

Similar to GOTS, a GOLS certification means that the mattress is made of at least 95% organic latex. This means that 5% of the latex can be made of synthetic materials, although these are still restricted in some important ways). A GOLS certification requires third-party testing and inspections by certifiers.

Good Non-Toxic Mattress Certifications

While OEKO-TEX Standard 100 doesn’t require any organic materials to be used in a mattress, it does set limits for VOC emissions (such as formaldehyde). It also prohibits the use of dangerous flame-retardants and dyes. When looking at mattresses, the highest level of OEKO-TEX certification is Class 1.

Greenguard-certified mattresses have been tested for, and are within limits of, several hundred VOCs, including formaldehyde. Greenguard Gold has stricter standards than plain old Greenguard, but they are not testing for flame retardants or PFAS.

Okay Non-Toxic Mattress Certifications

Organic Content Standard 100 just means that some of the ingredients are organic. This certification doesn’t ban flame-retardants or other harmful chemicals.

CertiPUR was developed “by members of the global foam industry,” although it does ban the use of some chemicals, such as PBDE flame-retardants and formaldehyde. It’s important to know that CertiPUR does not certify an entire mattress, only the foam portion.

A Sneaky Mattress Certification

NAOMI (National Association of Organic Mattress Industry) was created by Pure Rest Organics, which is a mattress company. Obviously this means that a NAOMI certification no way independent or third-party

The Bottom Line on Non-Toxic Mattress Certifications

When it comes to mattress certifications, most are of SOME value, but they can be used sneakily by mattress manufacturers.

You really need to ask to see the actual signed certification, keeping in mind that if it’s out of date, it’s worthless. You also want to make sure that the entire factory that produces your mattress is certified to be free of toxins, particularly flame retardants. This will guarantee that you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination and mattress health issues.

If You Can’t Afford the Best Non-Toxic Mattress

Maybe you’ve looked all the way down to our Okay Stuff category and checked out the coupons (top of this page), and you simply don’t have it in your budget to upgrade to a safe mattress right now.

Readers often ask: “How do I protect myself from a toxic mattress?”

Unfortunately, there’s no way to wrap a mattress to protect yourself from VOCs. However, running a robust air filter will go a long way towards purifying your indoor air. I have the Austin HealthMate PLUS Air Purification System in my bedroom because while I do have a toxin-free mattress, I also have other furniture and rugs that aren’t as clean. I love knowing that the air filter is mitigating the damage!

You also might consider a futon as an alternative to an expensive, non-toxic mattress. They are much more comfortable than they were in your childhood, and I love the ones by Soaring Heart in particular. (Conventional or Sneaky futons will be loaded with all the same scary chemicals as mattresses.)

Here’s where I explain the difference between a mattress and a futon: