Last month we went to a barbeque and we ran into a young couple that is getting ready to have their first child. They knew they were having a girl and of course the ladies started talking about the nursery, the glider, the colours, the crib and eventually, something I was interested in, the crib mattress.

It was their first child and Mary commented that there was no way their child was going to sleep on anything with chemicals in it. She got this “How to raise your Baby Green”, book and I guess it kind of freaked her out when she read about all the chemicals that are around us in everyday life.

After reading the book, it became an obsession to try to buy everything that was as organic or as green as possible; especially, anything that will come in close contact with her child. Eventually, Mary settled on a mattress that was recommended by a friend. It had the word “organic” in its name and cost about $320. However, she is still not very clear on what her new-born daughter will be sleeping on.

It must be true, I saw it on the Internet

“The Internet is full of tips on how to cook organic food and where to buy organic cotton clothes”, said Mary,  “however, when it came to buying a crib mattress I was truly lost”.

In stores and on the Web, she found plenty of mattresses labeled “organic,” “natural” or “eco-friendly,” but little guidance about what exactly that meant, or what made any one of them better or different from the other or compared to a conventional spring mattress. She also discovered vast disparities in pricing, from as little as $69 to close to $600. This only added to the confusion.

Believe it or not a lot of people shop like that. They think just because they paid more for something that it must be better and more natural. In actual fact, we have lost sales in our factory direct showroom because we were not priced high enough. We actually over-heard a couple say, “Foamite’s mattress can’t be as good as the one we saw in the store. The store price was $1,000 more, therefore, it must be better”. Sorry, I digress.

Consumers, on the other hand, want to buy the most natural products for their children but when they hear the high prices that are thrown around by some baby boutique stores; they will change their minds and settle for something that is not as natural – but good enough.

What’s it all about? It’s about healthy living and buying the right products from a trusted and reputable source that can educate you about what really exists in the marketplace. If you are interested in things like organic food and natural baby products, you should know that your child is actually getting a greater exposure to toxic chemicals from their mattress than from anywhere else.

Toxic chemicals are everywhere

Most people don’t realize that most foam is made from petro-chemicals and that foam is on every mattress that you buy. Foam is the key comfort ingredient and without it, you might as well be sleeping on the floor.

I think that people need to start paying more attention to what they’re sleeping on. They need to stop going into stores and believing everything that salespeople tell them. They need to take personal responsibility for their family’s health because nobody is regulating what you or your baby are sleeping on and all foam is not created equal.

Consumers don’t really know what to look for in sleep products. They will buy what they are sold. Therefore, the onus for better and more natural sleep lies with the sleep products manufacturers, like Foamite, to educate people and to supply them with the best and most natural options available.

A consumer can only hope, when shopping for a crib mattress or any mattress, tthat they deal with salespeople who are open and very candid. However, most salespeople earn a living by selling things. Thanks, Mr. Obvious. What I mean to say is that if they don’t have a particular product they will pick one, amongst those that they do have, and call it the best.

As a manufacturer, we sell organic crib mattresses with 100% natural latex that are covered with a certified organic cotton ticking. But we also sell mattresses with polyurethane foam that are made with fire retardants, for a lot less. We don’t hide the fact that it’s a poly-foam, and that it off-gasses. We give you all the options that are available in stores, at a lower factory direct price, and then we let you decide what combination or level of natural is right for you.

We would rather sell organic crib mattresses to everyone. They are better for you and the environment. However, most people cannot afford organic; especially, if it is the real McCoy and they buy it from a retail store – with outrageous mark-ups. And of course as you become more green, it becomes more expensive.

Final Word

You don’t have to be rich for your new-born baby to sleep soundly on a truly natural mattress that is “certified-pure” and free of any harmful chemicals and substances.

For $269, you can buy a crib mattress, factory direct from Foamite, that is made with 100% Natural Latex, a firmer certified-pure Koosh Natural core and an organic bamboo cover. The cover is made with a zipper all around it – so you can look inside. The same mattress sells in a Baby Boutique downtown for $589. Our least expensive crib mattress is $89. You will pay double that price, for a similar grade of foam, if you bought it in a store.

Sincerely,
FOAMITE INDUSTRIES INC.

R.C. (Bob) Dimas

Be the best that you can be by doing whatever is necessary to improve the quality of your sleep!