Organic Mattress Association

The Maturing of the Organic Mattress Industry

During 2008 one web site published standards for a “National Association of Organic Mattress Industry”, using the acronym NAOMI. The standards listed at the end of this post are quoted directly from the web site in November 2008. The acronym is catchy, but is it supposed to be an industry association or a set of standards applied to an industry? It’s impossible to know from the awkward name.

Aside from grammatical and spelling errors, it is clear that the standards below were not written by a chemist, but by a somewhat knowledgeable salesperson. It is a good start for standards for an organic mattress association, but hardly adequate.

If you were to read the original web site, it would lead you to believe that the only company fulfilling these standards is the company that wrote them. That’s called self-certifying, and self-certifying is disingenuous unless it is clearly stated. The site would also lead you to believe that the only member in the NAOMI organization is the site that created the association. What kind of association has only one member?

The organic mattress industry does not have an association as of this writing in 2008. The closest related organization would be the Organic Trade Association.

Unfortunately, there has been little talk about creating an organic mattress association among the makers of mattresses that call their products organic. There will come a time when organic mattress producers realize that our biggest competitors are not each other, but the manufacturers of conventionally made mattresses.

For several years Savvy Rest has owned the domain name www.organicmattressassociation.org, and we will certainly make it available when a group of organic mattress manufacturers are ready to participate. Unfortunately, that time has not come yet. Meanwhile, we are not silly enough to proclaim the existence of an “Organic Mattress Association” of which we are the only members – and conveniently, the only company to meet those standards because we made them up ourselves!

A cooperative and legitimate set of standards will be created for such an association with the relevant participants when the time is right. We think that’s a more honest approach that will benefit everyone, consumer and seller alike.

Standards for NAOMI member manufacturers

1. Must be free of synthetic fabrics
2. No fabrics may be treated with any chemicals suspected of being toxic, even at low levels
3. All wool must be from sheep raised according to organic standards
4. Wool must be processed according to organic standards and be free of Polyester fibers. This requires that the wool is processed at a facility that does not process polyester or chemically laden cotton batting
5. Any wool used must be tested free of arsenic and lead
6. All inner, hidden fabrics and fibers, must be certified according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards)
7. All cotton batting used must be certified organic and processed according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards)
8. Any other natural fibers used must be certified organic (cotton, silk).
9. Fibers used must also be processed according to GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards), no chemical processing allowed
10. Any rubber used must be tested free of benzene, toluene, pthalates, SBR, petroleum additives, formaldehyde, arsenic, lead at under .001 ppm
11. Any glue used must be free of formaldehyde, phenolated compounds and must be disclosed

The only exceptions are: thread, metal springs, rubber as these have no certifications in the works anywhere in the world.