Friday, February 12, 2010

Your Child's Mattress Stinks


How many well meaning parents do you know that upon learning of their expectant child have prepared the best nursery possible? New paint, new carpet, new furniture, new clothes, etc... Has the parent-to-be made their own paint, purchased low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint, installed natural fiber carpet with natural latex or jute backing, made or purchased furniture without pressed wood, made or purchased natural fiber clothing? If not, then they have unsuspectingly created a ultra-toxic environment for the newest addition to their family.

Children are especially sensitive to chemical exposures. Evidence is emerging that because of a child's dynamic growth and development, they have an increased risk to certain diseases in part from exposures to environmental chemicals during childhood.



The Crib Mattress
Crib-size mattresses are usually waterproof which means that the covering is made out of some kind of plastic (oil). Typically, plastic coverings are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) covered with cotton or polyester layers, which as you probably guessed emit toxic fumes that are suspected carcinogens and can cause acute toxicity to the respiratory tract.

A popular material used to fill mattresses is polyurethane which of course is made from petroleum and highly flammable. Additionally, polyurethane is found to not break down in landfills therefore contributing to long term waste problems. Polyurethane poses a high fire hazard, thus enters the use fire retardants.

According to this blog, in 1972, California passed legislation requiring flammability standards for upholstered furniture and baby products like high chairs, strollers and nursing pillows. Manufacturers met these new standards by using inexpensive, toxic and untested flame retardant chemicals. In each animal species studied, these brominated and chlorinated flame retardants were shown to cause cancer, birth defects and neurological, reproductive and endocrine disruption. As mentioned in my pillow blog, the most pervasive fire retardant contaminant is polybrominate dipheylethers (PBDEs) which can increasingly be detected in mother's breast milk. Californians, in fact, have earned the dubious honor of having the highest amount of toxic flame retardant chemicals in their bodies of any people on the planet.

USA Today: Fire Retardant found in toddlers' blood


Solutions 
Choices are limited when it comes to finding a mattress that has not been treated with fire retardants. Because wool naturally absorbs and releases water and is resistant to fire, dust mites and mold, it is an excellent choice for a mattress. Make sure you get organic or 'PureGrow' wool. Another option is organic pure latex (rubber). Be sure the latex is not a blend and has not been treated with drying chemicals. Like wool, natural latex is antimicrobial, resistant to dust mites, mildew and fire and breathes which wicks moisture away from the body. Organic cotton mattresses are also an improvement but due to federal regulations they are treated with a fire retardant.

If purchasing a new mattress is not in the budget you can seal in some of the synthetic fumes from mattresses and pillows by using a barrier cloth encasement. Barrier cloth is made of cotton that is so tightly woven (often 300 threads per inch) that it blocks fumes from passing through its weave. Make sure it's organic and not made of plastic which will outgas chemicals, totally defeating the purpose!

Helpful Resources

 I do not have children and a wool mattress is an expensive endeavor so, unfortunately, it still sits on my wish list. My newest mission is to search out an organic barrier cloth. We have a mattress pad now but I'm sure if I looked I would see that at least part of it, if not all, is made out of polyester. More toxic outgassing in addition to Eric's farting. Ha! I can't wait to get an organic wool mattress for healing, rejuvenating sleep!



Next Time: Children's Sleepwear and Fire Retardants.


Sunday, February 7, 2010

Pillow Talk


I suspect that there is a great misconception that the products we can purchase from a business must be safe for our use. How else could they be available to us? Somebody has done the testing to ensure a products safety right? Well, this isn't always the case, which puts the responsibility on the consumer to do their own research.

You think, hey I need a new pillow so I'll run out and get the cheapest one I can find. But have you asked yourself, what is that pillow made of and what possible chemical treatments have been applied to this pillow? We spend approximately 1/3 of our life in bed. So why not make it as safe and healthy as you can? This blog is the first in a series that will peel back the covers of your bed.

We spend our nights tucked into our beds with our noses buried in or next to our pillows. Because of this, your pillow is the most important part of having a healthy bed. Unless you have a pillow made of natural fibers, you are unsuspectingly breathing in fumes that the pillow is outgassing.

Consider a polyester fill/cotton shell pillow. Polyester is a synthetic material (plastic) that is made from polyethylene terephalate (PET), a derivative of petrochemicals (oil). It can give off fumes of plastic, like when you smell a new ziploc bag. The weave of a pillow case is too loose to block these plastic fumes. Also, Polyester/cotton-blend bedding is heavily treated with a formaldehyde-based resin which also outgasses. Low levels of exposure to formaldehyde can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, cause skin problems, serious breathing problems and can increase your risk of certain kinds of cancer. OSHA regulates formaldehyde as a cancer-causing substance.

It's very likely that your pillow has also been treated with a fire retardant. A significant source of human exposure to one type of flame retardant chemical comes from polybrominated dipheylethers (PBDEs). These chemicals are long-lasting in the environment, our bodies and are being linked to irreparable developmental and reproductive disorders.

Does any of this sound like something you want to be breathing at least 1/3 of your life while trying to enjoy restful and peaceful sleep?

Some Natural Fiber Alternatives:
Organic Cotton
Organic or "PureGrow" Wool
Buckwheat
Kapok
Down
Syriaca Down

I purchased my "PureGrow" Wool pillow several years ago at a local eco-friendly store. Wool is naturally flame resistant, inhospitable to dust mites and resistant to mold and mildew but does tend to lose some of its loft. To freshen my pillow, I simply hang it out on the clothes line in the sun. It has been a wonderful and welcome addition to my healthy sleep habits. More than likely, you will not find these natural fiber alternatives at a Walmart or Target and will have to seek out either a local eco-friendly store or online resources which there are now many. Please always make an attempt to find a store close to home.


Next time.........A look at fire retardants and the chemical applications used on children bedding products.