MEANING OF GREEN:
Sleep well with natural bedding
By Greg Snowden
 |
This suite of natural furniture and bedding
proves green is not only good, but beautiful.
|
First, we wanted to eat organically. That felt so good that
now, we want to sleep organically. Natural bedding—bedding
free of petrochemicals, pesticides, toxic fire-proofing, stain
guards and other substances we don’t even want to think
about—is losing its phobic, allergy sufferers-only label
and increasingly being embraced by the mainstream public who
want a purer experience in their food, in their bed and in
their surroundings.
The good news is that natural bedding is at least equal in
comfort to other types of bedding and you can sleep peacefully
knowing you are supporting your health and the health of the
planet. It is also priced competitively.
Most notably missing from natural bedding are the fire-retardant
chemicals used to meet the state’s fire rating standards
for mattresses. Instead of chemicals, natural bedding often uses
wool as a natural fire retardant and still meets the state standards.
Healthy choices for mattresses use combinations of materials,
including:
Organic cotton. No chemicals are used in the farming of this
great fiber, whereas conventional cotton farming is one of
the most environmentally destructive of all agricultural crops.
Wool. Wool is a truly amazing fiber with many wonderful natural
properties. Wool is soft, supportive and naturally resilient.
If you sleep “hot” and your mate sleeps “cold,” a
wool comforter with a cotton cover will equalize body temperature
differences between sleeping mates. Unlike down filler, which
keeps the heat insulated, wool moves heat and moisture around—it
breathes and it is also mildewand dust mite-resistant, as well
as a natural fire retardant.
Organic wool farming practices, such as the Pure Grow Wool™ program,
are currently underway at farms in Sonoma and Marin County.
Natural latex rubber. Unlike “memory foams,” natural
latex rubber is made from the sap of rubber trees in Malaysia.
The trees are valued and the forest is protected, which helps
the indigenous farmers. Rubber’s elastic properties are
like compressed mini-trampoline clouds—thousands of clouds
per square inch. It is flexible, resilient, durable, naturally
dust mite-repellent, and antimicrobial.
When it comes to mattresses, you need not fear the return of
your rockhard cotton futon from college. Natural bedding non-innerspring
mattresses are made from springy wool with natural latex rubber.
Greensleep makes a luxurious mattress composed of 9 inches
of natural latex padding zipped up in an organic cotton and
silk velour cover.
All-wool mattresses, while popular in Europe, are available
in the U.S. from only a few sources, including Shepherd’s
Dream in Montague, Calif. (California is the leading producer
of organic cotton and wool.)
Not too long ago people discovered high thread count cotton
sheets, never to return to polyester. The next wave will be
the switch to organic cotton sheets. One of the top manufacturers
of organic cotton sheets is, once again, in West Marin, where
Coyuchi in Point Reyes has been a leader in organic cotton
bedding for over 10 years And organic doesn’t have to
mean white. Anna Sova’s
line of luxury organic bedding comes in rich, wild colors,
all made without using unhealthy chemicals or dyes.
This article originally appeared in HOME WEEKLY - MarinRealEstate.
Download
this article as a PDF file (236 Kb)
