Let’s start with going over why you may want to consider going with a natural or organic mattress.

First, the exterior of a mattress usually consists of a cotton cover. Here’s a quick newsflash for you. Cotton is the most heavily sprayed crop in the world. Lots of pesticides are used on cotton crops and unfortunately, the pesticides that are used on most of them contain lots of extremely harmful chemicals, some of which are known human carcinogens. When cotton is harvested and then used to make the thousands of items that we buy, all those pesticides don’t magically disappear. So, avoiding cotton that was ever treated with pesticides is a good thing. It’s good for the people who use the product and it’s good for the environment.

Mattresses are also required to have a fire barrier. Fire barriers are a good thing and you can be sure that all mattresses have them. Have you ever stopped to wonder how the fire barrier is made? Yea, I never thought about it until recently either, so don’t feel bad if it hasn’t been at the top of your priority list. Basically, most fire barriers are made by treating fabric with chemicals. Some of those chemicals are toxic. The more you can avoid chemicals, the better off you are.

Now that we’ve covered what’s wrong with a lot of mattresses; I’ll quickly explain what constitutes a natural crib mattress.

First, the mattress should have a cover that is made with 100% organic cotton or some other renewable fabric that isn’t treated with chemical. Bamboo is also a great choice.

Second, the fire barrier should either be made of wool, which is a great fire retardant, or treated with non-toxic chemicals. Obviously, wool is better as no chemicals are required.

Last, if you can find a crib mattress that utilizes any recycled material, that’s a good thing. For example, if a mattress has steel springs, check to see if they are made with recycled content.

Now that you know what a natural crib mattress is, you’ve just got to figure out where to buy one. Unfortunately, my favorite eco friendly mattress company, Keetsa, doesn’t yet make crib mattresses. If you’re in the process of making a baby, and you’d like to do it on an organic mattress of your own, be sure to check out my post on Keetsa mattresses.

Back to finding a natural crib mattress, the best one that I have found is the Naturepedic Organic Crib Mattress.

Naturepedic Organic Mattress

It’s a bit pricey at almost $350, but it meets all of the criteria needed to be considered a true natural crib mattress. It also has 242 coils (made with 70% recycled steel, no less!), which is well above the suggested amount. Last, it’s extremely well-made and high quality.

If you are looking for a less expensive mattress, check out the Affordable Organic Cotton Crib Mattress. It’s a bit more reasonably priced at $259. The trade-off is less coils. The coils in this mattress are not made with recycled steel, but if you can give that up, it’s a great buy for the price and it’s still an eco friendly option.

Affordable Organic Crib Mattress

Are you using a natural crib mattress? Which one? How do you like it? Share your experiences here!

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