Mattresses are Making Us Sick

Like the food we put into our mouths, our skin also eats. The skin is the largest organ of the body, and certainly the most vulnerable entry point for toxins to wreak havoc on our system.

Logically, the items we clothe ourselves with and sleep on must certainly impact our overall well-being. From the never-ending supply of material produced by the textile industry, the waters are tougher to navigate than ever.

Manufacturers are not even required to disclose all materials they use, like in a mattress. There’s a vast range of suspect chemicals in our environment that leach into our bedding. From flame retardants to VOC’s, what do these all mean and why are they important to us?

Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) are simply gasses that are discharged into the air from products, many known to cause cancer, like formaldehyde.

Flame retardants, counterintuitive to its name, are not helpful because of the unintended health consequences. They are a host of chemicals aiding in the prevention or slowing of fire, if present.

The prevailing notion thus far is that chemicals are bad. Chemical irritation is a trigger to a spectrum of disorders in the body. This phenomenon has been coined a term, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), which may have been laughed at decades ago, but now recognized by 22 federal agencies, is a concoction of symptoms such as nausea, coughing, shortness of breath that are associated with exposure to petroleum based, synthetic materials.

To date, there are 120,000 man made chemicals in our environment. A man made chemical is something that doesn’t occur naturally on Earth, composed of synthetic organic chemicals (e.g. pesticides) or volatile organic chemicals (e.g. gasoline).

Unfortunately, despite many chemicals being recognized as carcinogens, they still lurk in not only our environment, but in our bodies. For instance, DDT, a synthetic insecticide associated with adverse reproductive effects in humans. DDT has been banned since 1972 yet somehow according to the EPA, 99% of the population has some level of DDT in their blood to this day. Where are we ingesting these carcinogenic chemicals?

A culprit for such toxic exposure can be found in the chemical laden bedding we rely on for comfort every night. Walter Bader, in his book, Toxic Bedrooms, puts it succinctly, “while your mattress label may tell you what your mattress is made of, it does not tell you what those materials are made from.”

Some other notable materials that make their way into our mattresses are vinyl chloride monomers, TDI’s, and boric acid.

Vinyl chloride monomers, a colorless gas, are classified as a human carcinogen, associated with liver damage, blood disorders, and breathing problems.

Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) is the prominent chemical used in the production of polyurethane foam (also known as “memory foam”), the industry’s leading mattress. It is a human carcinogen, known for its respiratory problems, such as bronchitis and asthma.

Boric acid is one of those things in which you learn its origin, and in return, want nothing to do with it ever again. Boric acid is a roach powder, often used in mattresses. Ensuing conditions are liver, kidney, and reproductive problems.

There’s no shortage of examples of the toxic world we live in. It’s no secret the mattress industry in particular is toxic, compounded with its dubious labeling practices. Because labels are unregulated, for the consumer who investigates even in the slightest, taking caution is secondary because of the gibberish and confusion a general materials list consists of. Who’s taking the time to investigate what toluene diisocyanate means?

Even if you do your due diligence regarding your petrochemical of concern, your standard google search results in a barrage of information, some more threatening than others, leaving you more confused than when you started seeking information on this mysterious chemical embedded in your mattress. The term petrochemical needs to be dumbed down to a simple phrase: petrochemicals equals bad. Yes, it’s that simple.

A great fear of the health conscious, anti-chemical population is the refusal of compliance from industry. Post World War II is a pinned point in history in which man made chemicals not only reached a premium but started to be mindlessly applied to products, like furniture, that had no business being treated like such. Nor was there even a need, other than for these gargantuan companies to keep their cash flow intact to impress wall street.

In 2013, Monsanto, a prominent agrochemical company, received backlash over the safety of their most revenue generating product, roundup, which contains the controversial herbicide glyphosate. They made several proclamations to the public about how glyphosate, this herbicide which was a defining feature in many of their products, was safe for human health. Yet, in 2015, the WHO (World Health Organization) publicly classified glyphosate as a carcinogen. Despite this, the product roundup still dominates the marketplace as the prevailing product to kill weeds. If such a claim, that glyphosate is a carcinogen, can’t ruffle the feathers of industry, who’s going to seriously entertain foreign concepts like multiple chemical sensitivity, indoor air pollution and outgassing? Particularly, as it pertains to our furniture, the mattresses in which we spend one third of our lives on. The question rides off into the sunset for now in the public domain after being shot down by industry, but we must not relinquish in the pursuit of punishing the chemical industry by voting with our dollar.

Pesticide free natural fibers, organic backed products are ones that should be captivating the average household in lieu of this petrochemical nightmare. Believe it or not, there are valuable certifications on the market that are instrumental toward promoting health on a consumer and producer level. GOTS-certified is a label gaining notoriety as it pertains to mattresses, bedding, and clothing. The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) ensures organic fibres. Suitable to consumer needs, their website provides a certified suppliers database in which an individual can search for anything from clothing to footwear that possesses the GOTS certification.

It’s important to not be swayed by greenwashing in pursuit of healthful products. Greenwashing, advertising a product in a deceitful or misleading way to make a product sound more environmentally friendly than it actually is, serves a reason for why consumers find it so difficult to make impactful decisions for the environment and for their health. Blanket terms such as eco-friendly, recyclable, provides energy, are unsubstantiated claims that don’t mean anything. Rather, it’s important to focus on the gold standard of the GOTS certification.

References

Association, A. L. (2023). Volatile organic compounds. Retrieved Feb 27, 2024, from https://www.lung.org/clean-air/indoor-air/indoor-air-pollutants/volatile-organic-compounds

Australian Government. Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Retrieved Feb 27, 2024, from https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/fact-sheets/vinyl-chloride-monomer-vcm

Bader, W. (2010). Toxic bedrooms: Your guide to a safe night’s sleep SCB Distributors.

EPA. (2009). Publication no. 13: Man-made chemicals in private drinking water wells. Retrieved Feb 27, 2024, from https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Departments-and-Agencies/DPH/dph/environmental_health/pdf/13ManMadeChemicalsinPDWWpdf.pdf

Home – GOTS. Retrieved Feb 27, 2024, from https://global-standard.org/

Lugavere, M. (2024). 370: How to detox common environmental pollutants that cause inflammation and disease | stephen cabral, ND

Zucco, G. M., & Doty, R. L. (2021). Multiple chemical sensitivity. Brain Sciences, 12(1), 46. doi:10.3390/brainsci12010046