Considering how we spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping, this works out to be about 26 years for an average lifespan of 80 years. That is a substantial amount of time on our mattress! Just how well do you think you know your mattress?
What lurks beneath?
So let’s assume that you are a regular mattress sleeper. How much do you know about what goes into the making of that comfy material you lay on every night? The majority of us probably know a thing or two about mattress comfort in terms of how firm or soft the material is. But just how many of us take time to find out about the kinds of materials that go into the making of the mattress? Environmental toxins or allergies ring a bell? Perhaps for some of you, allergies are so prevalent in your life that you have readily taken steps to rid them. But have you considered your mattress to be a source of toxins?
The typical mattress can have a dizzying array of materials contained within it. Most have some sort of foam material used as cushioning. This can come as latex foam or visco-elastic foam commonly known as memory foam which is basically polyurethane foam, a synthetic material. Most latex foam is made from blending latex from the rubber tree with synthetic latex made from petrochemicals including styrene and butadiene. This is where off-gassing or evaporation of these volatile organic compounds (VOCs) take place. Styrene and butadiene have both been associated with skin, eye, respiratory irritation, with styrene also known to cause headaches, fatigue and organ toxicity.
Latex fillers are typically added to bring down costs of production with such fillers including titanium dioxide, calcium oxide, kaolin clay. Furthermore, flame retardants are added to mattresses in order to meet fire safety standards in many countries. Health Canada has set fire safety standards that require mattresses to resist catching on fire from a smoldering cigarette. A class of widely used flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are typically used. PBDEs are chemically related to the infamous polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which were banned in the 1970s due to human toxicity. So far, multiple animal studies have found health concerns around thyroid hormone disruption, neurotoxicity, learning and memory impairment and cancer. Over time, PBDEs have also been shown to accumulate in human breast milk. Although further human studies have yet to be conducted to assess human risk, do we want to wait till a ‘sufficient’ level of PBDEs build up in our bodies before we decide to err on the side of caution?
The term ‘organic’ has been thrown around so loosely that it has become an art in itself when deciphering a true organic product from one that is not. Even words such as ‘natural’, ‘green’ or ‘eco’ should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism
You probably have seen organic food produce in the supermarket aisles, but an organic mattress? Well, just like food produce, fibers such as cotton or wool and other textiles can meet organic standards. Organic cotton, organic wool, natural tree rubber or other kinds of organic fiber are typically used in an organic mattress. Wool in fact is a natural flame retardant. That is not to say it is flame proof. Many manufacturers do not want to and are not required to declare the use of chemicals so they can state that they use ‘wool’. However, the wool may have been doused with a healthy dose of flame retardants in order to meet the ‘open flame test’ which is a fire safety standard that is a lot more stringent than the smouldering cigarette test. Always check with the manufacturer if you are unsure.
The Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) is the international processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers. This is where the post harvesting stages (spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing, manufacturing) are monitored to ensure standards are met. There are many GOTS approved certifying bodies throughout the world and these certifying bodies further approve local facilities that meet GOTS standards. To find out if your local mattress supplier meets such standards, ask them for the name of the certifying body that certifies their products as organic. GOTS approved certifying bodies can be found at www.global-standard.org.
Other labels to clue you in on a more natural and less toxic mattress would be to look for a name such as ‘Greenguard’ which certifies products and materials for low chemical emissions. There are other third party organizations which conduct independent laboratory testing on the various materials used, assessing their emission levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), content of formaldehyde, PBDEs and any presence of heavy metals. Looking out for these third party organization labels can be helpful too.
Now you know the What, let’s discuss the Who and Where!
Perhaps it’s time you tossed out that bed of toxins but before you kick down the door clamoring for that organic mattress, here’s a list of websites for you to get started.
Finally a great resource for more information can be found at www.organicmattress.caLeave a reply
Kwa kuzingatia kwamba tunatumia karibu theluthi moja ya maisha yetu kulala, hii inamaanisha kuwa miaka 26 kwa wastani wa maisha ya miaka 80. Hiyo ni kiasi kikubwa cha muda juu ya godoro letu! Unafikiri unaijua vizuri kadiri gani godoro lako? Ni nini kinachotuzunguka? Kwa hiyo hebu tuseme kwamba wewe ni mtu wa kawaida anayelala kwenye godoro. Unajua nini kuhusu jinsi ya kutengeneza nguo hiyo yenye starehe unayolala kila usiku? Wengi wetu tunajua kitu au mbili kuhusu mattress, kama vile jinsi ya kuimarisha na kuimarisha. Lakini ni wangapi kati yetu wanachukua muda wa kujua aina ya vifaa vinavyotumiwa kutengeneza godoro? Je, sumu za mazingira au mzio unakujulisha jambo fulani? Labda kwa baadhi yenu, mzio ni jambo la kawaida sana katika maisha yenu hivi kwamba mmechukua hatua za kuondoa mzio huo. Je, umewahi kufikiria kwamba godoro lako linaweza kuwa chanzo cha sumu? Kitanda cha kawaida chaweza kuwa na vifaa vingi sana ndani yake. Nyingi zina aina fulani ya nyenzo ya povu inayotumiwa kama kifuniko. Hii inaweza kuja kama latex foam au visco-elastic foam, inayojulikana kama kumbukumbu foam, ambayo ni polyurethane foam, nyenzo ya synthetic. Nyingi latex foam ni alifanya kutoka kuchanganya latex kutoka mti mpira na latex synthetic alifanya kutoka petrochemicals ikiwa ni pamoja na styrene na butadiene. Hii ni ambapo off-gasing au evaporation ya hizi kemikali za kikaboni volatile (VOCs) kutokea. Styrene na butadiene zote mbili zimeunganishwa na ngozi, macho, kuchochea kupumua, na styrene pia inajulikana kusababisha maumivu ya kichwa, uchovu na sumu ya chombo. Kwa kawaida, kujaza kwa latex huongezwa ili kupunguza gharama za uzalishaji na kujaza kama hizo, ikiwa ni pamoja na titanium dioksidi, oksidi ya kalsiamu, udongo wa kaolin. Isitoshe, dawa za kuzuia moto huongezwa kwenye godoro ili kukidhi viwango vya usalama wa moto katika nchi nyingi. Canada imeweka viwango vya usalama wa moto ambavyo vinahitaji godoro kukinza kuwaka moto kutoka kwa sigara inayowaka. Kwa kawaida, aina ya retardants ya moto inayotumiwa sana kama vile polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) hutumiwa. PBDE ni kemikali ya polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) ambayo ilikatazwa katika miaka ya 1970 kwa sababu ya sumu ya binadamu. Kwa sasa, utafiti wa wanyama umegundua wasiwasi wa afya kuhusu usumbufu wa homoni za tezi-kibofu, sumu ya neva, upotezaji wa kujifunza na kumbukumbu na saratani. Kwa muda, PBDE pia zimeonyeshwa kukusanyika katika maziwa ya mama ya binadamu. Ingawa masomo zaidi ya binadamu bado hayajafanywa ili kutathmini hatari ya binadamu, je, tunataka kusubiri hadi kiwango "kifaa" cha PBDE kujengwa katika miili yetu kabla ya kuamua kukosea upande wa tahadhari? Neno "kibichi" limetumiwa kwa urahisi sana hivi kwamba limekuwa sanaa yenyewe wakati wa kufunua bidhaa halisi ya kikaboni kutoka kwa moja ambayo si. "Hata maneno kama ""asili"" au ""kijani kibichi"" yanapaswa kuchukuliwa kwa kiasi kizuri cha kutilia shaka. ""Huenda umeona bidhaa za chakula cha kikaboni katika vijia vya maduka makubwa, lakini kitanda cha kikaboni?" Kama vile bidhaa za chakula, nyuzi kama vile pamba au sufu na nguo nyingine zinaweza kutimiza viwango vya kikaboni. Kwa kawaida, pamba ya kikaboni, sufu ya kikaboni, mpira wa asili wa mti au aina nyingine za nyuzi za kikaboni hutumiwa katika godoro la kikaboni. Kwa kweli, sufu ni dawa ya asili ya kuzuia moto. Hilo halimaanishi kwamba haishiki moto. Watengenezaji wengi hawataki na hawahitaji kutangaza matumizi ya kemikali ili waweze kusema kwamba wanatumia "wool". Hata hivyo, sufu inaweza kuwa doused na dozi nzuri ya retardants moto ili kukidhi <unk>mtihani moto wazi<unk> ambayo ni kiwango cha usalama wa moto ambayo ni mengi kali zaidi kuliko mtihani smoldering sigara. Sikuzote angalia na mtengenezaji ikiwa huna uhakika. Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) ni kiwango cha kimataifa cha usindikaji wa nguo zilizotengenezwa kutoka nyuzi za kikaboni. Hapa ndipo hatua za baada ya kuvuna (kuzunguka, kufuma, kushona, kupaka rangi, utengenezaji) zinapofanyiwa ufuatiliaji ili kuhakikisha viwango vinatimizwa. Kuna mashirika mengi ya vyeti yaliyokubaliwa na GOTS ulimwenguni kote na mashirika haya ya vyeti yanaidhinisha zaidi vifaa vya ndani vinavyokidhi viwango vya GOTS. Ili kujua kama muuzaji wako wa godoro la ndani anakidhi viwango hivyo, waulize jina la chombo cha kuthibitisha kwamba bidhaa zao ni za kikaboni. Vifaa vya uthibitisho vilivyotambuliwa na GOTS vinaweza kupatikana kwenye www.global-standard.org. "Mfano, kama vile ""GreenGuard"" ambayo inathibitisha bidhaa na vifaa kwa ajili ya uzalishaji wa chini wa kemikali." Kuna mashirika mengine ya tatu ambayo hufanya majaribio ya maabara ya kujitegemea kwenye vifaa mbalimbali vilivyotumiwa, kukadiria viwango vya uzalishaji wa misombo ya kikaboni ya mvuke (VOCs), yaliyomo ya formaldehyde, PBDEs na uwepo wowote wa metali nzito. Kutafuta kwa ajili ya hizi tatu chama shirika lebo inaweza kuwa na manufaa pia. Sasa unajua nini, hebu kuzungumzia nani na wapi! Labda ni wakati wewe kutupwa nje kwamba kitanda cha sumu lakini kabla ya wewe kick chini mlango clamoring kwa kwamba kitanda kikaboni, hapa ni orodha ya tovuti kwa ajili yenu kuanza. Kwa hivyo, kwa sababu ya kuvutia kwa watumiaji, unaweza kupata bidhaa za asili za asili kwenye tovuti ya www.organicmattress.ca.