How to get a chemical-free night's sleep

If you are among the growing number of people whose lives are made almost intolerable by chemical sensitivities, changing to an organic mattress and organic bedding may be the answer to getting a good night's sleep.

Even if you are not especially intolerant of the chemicals used in the manufacture of conventional cotton, polyurethane foams and adhesives, but are concerned about what they may be doing to you over time, a switch to an organic mattress and organic bedding will instantly reduce your exposure by about one third – or whatever proportion of the day you spend in bed.

One of the highest potential chemical pollutant risks may come not so much from your conventional mattress itself as the surface treatment often applied to make it fire-proof. One of the most common fire retardants – boric acid – is also used to kill rats.i

Despite fierce opposition from doctors and health campaigners, legislation has recently been passed in the USA to make flame-proofing compulsory on all new mattresses soldii. This means that Americans now need a doctor's prescription to buy a mattress that does not contain toxic and potentially carcinogenic chemicals!

In Canada, researchers are calling for a ban on flame-retardant chemicals that have been found in the breast milk of Inuit womeniii. Because of the patterns of atmospheric circulation, these pollutants tend to settle in cold regions, where they get into the food chain and become concentrated in fatty tissues.

The UK is currently the only European countryiv to require specific flame-testing of furniture fillings and we use around 1500 tonnes of bromine-based chemical fire retardants each year. Bromine is a naturally-occurring substance, which has a range of toxic effects. The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention comments:

“No specific antidote exists for bromine poisoning... The most important thing is for people to remove themselves from the exposure site and seek medical treatment as soon as possible.”v

So far, research into the long-term effects of such chemicals seems woefully inadequate. One of the UK Department of Trade and Industry's own publications states:

“It is not possible with the presently available information to make quantitative estimates of the exposures by people using consumer products containing flame retardants. There is limited recent work in this area (e.g. CPSC 1997, 1998b) and there is the need for further work. ”vi

Despite this admission, the report continues:

“The limited work available and the application of basic judgement (in the absence of other guidance) suggests that exposures to flame retardants in consumer products are unlikely to be greater than a few μg/kg-bodyweight/day. Therefore we can conclude that at the low levels of exposure envisaged flame retardants of low toxic potency are unlikely to have adverse toxicological effects.”

Do you feel safer now?

All organic bedding products sold by Greenfibres use natural materials derived from organic farming methods, thus avoiding all toxic fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Not only does this offer great benefits to the farmers and the environment, but also enables you to choose products made according to strict organic certification standards, which will be inherently safer for you and your family.

Needless to say, we use no fire-retardants..

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P J Chandler
www.greenfibres.com
mail@greenfibres.com
01803 868001


Further information

http://www.lifekind.com/catalog/chemical_glossary.php A useful chemical glossary.

http://www.peopleforcleanbeds.org/ Campaigning site with a lot of information about toxins and the US regulations on flame-proofing mattresses.

http://www.chemicalfree.co.uk An excellent site for UK readers with chemical intolerances.