For anyone out there looking to catch a good night’s sleep, it invariably boils down to choosing the right mattress.
You may have come across GOLS-certified latex mattresses or similar terms while mattress hunting, but do you actually know what these certifications mean?
While price and comfort are undoubtedly the two important guiding factors, certifications also play an important role. It primarily has to do with using Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) used during manufacturing. As such, they are known to break when exposed to room temperature and can dissipate as harmful gas.
Because some people are prone to allergies or suffer from a medical condition, choosing a mattress by checking the certification is always a wise call.
However, with multiple certifications for a mattress, like GOLS-certified, Certi-PUR, Greenguard, and others, it’s easy to get baffled. Fret not! We’ve got you covered.
In this post, you will get to learn about six crucial certifications that can be found on a mattress.
Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS)
In GOLS-certified latex mattresses, “GOLS-certified” means Global Organic Latex Standard, which is the first standard to regulate natural rubber production.
Pioneered by the international certification program called Control Union, GOLS certification is commonly found across products like pillows, toppers, natural latex mattresses, pillows, and more.
A product is said to be GOLS-certified if it uses at least 95% or more amount of organic latex. In case it uses any other fabric like wool covering or cotton, it will either be eco-INSTITUT or GOTS certified.
Both GOTS and GOLS-certified products, like GOLS-certified latex mattresses, follow strict reserved standards across environmental needs, farming, manufacturing, and social test criteria.
Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)
GOTS stands for Global Organic Textile Standard, which acts as valid certification to check the organic integrity of products right from their harvesting phase across packaging and final labeling.
The certification is valid for organic as well as inorganic offerings and comprises at least 70% organic products. Also, in the case of organic grade textiles, it is required to have no less than ninety-five percent organic fibers or more.
All fibers that are naturally grown, like wool, silk, cotton, and bamboo, are eligible to receive GOTS certification. Major textile products include blankets, tablecloths, rugs, bedsheets, etc.
Greenguard Gold
In addition to GOLS-certified latex mattresses, it is advisable to look for Greenguard certification. A Greenguard Gold-certified product undergoes testing for no fewer than ten thousand chemicals and VOC emissions. In other words, all products with a Greenguard certification promise low VOC emissions for much cleaner air inside your room.
Greenguard Gold, as the name suggests, is a certification that is one notch above the standard Greenguard-certified products. It’s particularly handy in cases when Greenguard certification standards fail to cover certain chemical contaminants. Take formaldehyde levels, for instance, in a typical Greenguard Gold Certified product, the formaldehyde level has to rest lower than 7.3 ppb, which is in stark comparison to a 50 ppb limit for Greenguard Certification.
Oeko-Tex Standard 100
Oeko-Tex Standard 100 refers to one of the best-known product certification levels applicable to all raw textile materials, both intermediate as well as final.
The certification is known to cover several human-ecological attributes, along with harmful substances that are strictly prohibited by law and parameters followed to safeguard general health at large.
It has a pre-set product class for each kind of material; Class I materials are meant for toddlers up to three years of age, Class II for textile materials coming in direct contact with skin, Class III for materials that form minor skin contact, and Class IV comprising furnishings and decorative stuff.
Certipur-US
Similar to other mentions in this list, CertiPUR-US certification is reserved for mattresses that use memory foam. It is also applicable equally for all furnishings that are known to contain polyurethane foam that has been tested to qualify over certain characteristics that include:
- No presence of ozone depleters or heavy metals like lead or mercury
- Low on VOCs
- No formaldehyde or Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs)
All those who are concerned about indoor air quality, especially when you have infants at home, should check for a CertiPUR-US certification when buying a new mattress.
USDA Certified Organic
For a mattress to bear the USDA Certified Organic seal, it should use no less than 95% organic materials. Additionally, the finished product should have been processed without using any potentially harmful chemicals.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as well as the Federal Trade Commission, any piece of clothing or fabric that calls itself “organic” will have to mandatorily make use of organic fibers that come from crops that are USDA-certified, like flax or cotton.
Compared to all other certifications, only a handful of companies meet the USDA Certified organic certification standards. Incidentally, the regulation for this particular certification is pretty flaccid.
Wrap up
From GOLS certified to USDA Certified Organic, this guide helps you avoid confusion every time you go mattress shopping.
If you are still in doubt always check back on the details of each certification and what they stand for.
No matter what kind of mattress you choose, always ensure to bring home something that doesn’t use any toxic materials and is not harmful to the indoor air that you breathe in.