A recent report on “The Project” (Feb 2020) showed some interesting statistics, that while cancer in adults is reducing, the cancer rate in babies and children in Australia has risen.
Scientists currently say that cancer in adults is often related to lifestyle factors (for example, from smoking or prolonged exposure to the sun) and environmental factors (such as exposure to asbestos etc.), and they deduce that cancer in babies and children must also be caused by environmental factors.
Peter (our founder) has been saying for years that health problems, disorders and sleep issues are exacerbated (and maybe even caused) by chemicals out-gassing from mattresses, bedroom furniture, toxic wall and ceiling paint and conventional bed linen.
When you think about it, IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. As adults we spend more time in the bedroom than anywhere else, and infants, well they can sleep an average of 18 to 20 hours a day, babies from 4 months onwards, 14 to 17 hours per day. What price would you then pay, for a cot, cot mattress and baby furniture that is guaranteed to be free from harmful chemicals?
Cheap baby mattresses! – Is it worth the risk?
Peter recently saw a cheap baby mattress on a Google Advertisement, the same one was also recommended by Choice Magazine — and because of his years of experience manufacturing and retailing, and understanding the cost of raw materials and how much labour is involved, he KNEW that a $100 dollar mattress must be imported and of questionable quality, with largely synthetic components (as these are cheap to manufacture). So he had Michael collect one from the advertiser some weeks ago, and they pulled it apart to find out more.
Look what’s inside this cheap cot mattress we bought! – Is it even safe?
Here is what Peter and Michael found when they opened it. Keep in mind that the mattress they bought has a high recommendation rating on the Choice website. See our short report, photographs and findings below.
REPORT – $100 Cot Mattress – November 2019
1. Apart from the metal springs, all other components are petro-chemical derived products. Polyester outer cover and edge binding. Synthetic foam rubber with ‘spun bonded’ polyester backing (difficult to see), polyester ‘wadding’.
2. Look at all the dirt that showed up when the mattress was pulled apart (in the pictures here), and there’s a toxic plastic mat covering on the inside as well.
Do we need to tell you more … ?
3. Yes, there are two buttons on both sides of the mattress covering 3 – 4 mm air holes. With all that ‘plastic’ covering around the mattress, these tiny holes are not enough to provide adequate ventilation and avoid moisture build up on the inside. This can easily grow mould and produce spores, which will most likely penetrate back through those same holes which your baby will be able to inhale. Manufacturers sometimes spray a mould inhibitor to help overcome this problem — but what do you think that mould inhibitor might be made of? You guessed it, more chemicals.
4. There is toxic pen ink markings exposed on one of the seams inside the mattress, which is starting to come apart.
5. No care labels, no content labels. It feels flimsy, cheap and nasty and based on the cheap price, we believe it is most likely made in China.
Has this made you think … ?
Would you still want to take the risk and purchase one … ?
FINDINGS:
I would not, and I would not recommend anyone to purchase these cheap, safety doubtful mattresses that could potentially pose a pretty serious health risk as well. – Peter Byl (Organature Founder).
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE:
This is just one of the many baby cot mattresses which Choice has given a 100% rating to. According to the Component information from the Choice website (Peter also looked at a few others with 100% ratings), they are either innerspring with synthetic components, foam rubber/polyurethane foam or memory foam — all containing varying levels of chemicals.
One of those on their list is showing the construction as: TENCEL (and next to it) Terry Cotton. But Tencel is a synthetic product, which is made from a natural plant/tree, but like bamboo, needs to be converted with chemicals to turn it into a fibre for weaving.
Tencel CANNOT be COTTON — don’t be misled by the way the contents or component information is worded.
READ MORE: Facts, Fiction, Misconceptions & Myths Revealed
ON A SIDE NOTE: Peter is strict when it comes to any descriptions and claims we make about Organature products and sometimes needs to correct my wording on the website to ensure it is completely accurate. For instance, our pillows are made from a GOTS Certified Fabric outer and GOTS Certified Cotton filling. The actual pillows once they are put together here in Australia, are not GOTS Certified, because if we were to get the Certifier in again, they would need to be sold at a significantly higher price. And the crazy part is, Organature manufacture at much higher standards than any certification body require, because Peter himself (along with many of our customers), is Chemical Sensitive and cannot be exposed to chemicals without experiencing adverse and debilitating health effects.
What you read on the internet; is it genuine, has it been sponsored, is the writer receiving a benefit from the retailer?
Years ago, it was common for someone in our family to hold a subscription to Choice Magazine. We trusted them to tell us which products they considered to be best, for price, quality, service and customer satisfaction. Then the internet came along. It became easier for all sorts of people to give their opinion on a product, and now, many of these businesses rely on making an income from sponsored articles and product reviews — not necessarily from providing real, honest benefit.
ANOTHER SIDE NOTE: That’s the very reason we DON’T use a referral program. We won’t pay people (or give them products) just so they write a nice article about us.
Our customers refer people to us because they believe in what we do, not because it might make them money – so we prefer not to use a referral system at all. That way you can be assured that anything you read about us or our Organature products on an external website, is genuine, not scripted and has absolutely no hidden agenda.
Organature cots are not fumigated. They are made in Australia from Australian hardwood timber and free from all harmful chemicals.
Organature cots are made with Australian hardwood timber, completely unique and unlike almost all other cots that are sold in Australia — although we have seen one Australian business who is claiming that their cots are made with Australian timber, which may be correct, but the timber is sent overseas where the cots are manufactured cheaply and then returned. We’re discovered that the work is usually done in China, because wages are only a fraction of what we get here and some workers even reported bring treated badly — See this post about HUMAN RIGHTS,
The BIGGEST problem with manufacturing overseas is that imported timber and timber products have to be mandatory fumigated before they pass through customs in Australia. Most times this is performed under license with Australian bio-security in the country where the cots and furniture are made. Research shows that the majority of cots are made in China and cot suppliers in Australia are reluctant to disclose this information. Some cots imported into Australia from Europe also originate in China. These may not have needed fumigation by the European authorities, but they DO require fumigation before or after arrival in Australia.
Organature cots do not contain harmful petro-chemicals; no petro-chemical paint or stains are ever used.
Ask your retailer what was used on the cot you are considering for your baby. Most likely they will not give you a satisfying answer. Most, if not all imported cots arrive in a package, including the mattress, in a cardboard box. It’s cheaper that way!
As seen by an ex-worker (who we know personally) in the warehouse of a major Australian Baby Nursery Product Retailer, the carton containing the cot and cot mattress arrives into the country with a number of fist sized holes — this is to allow the fumigation chemicals to thoroughly penetrate to the cot — however this chemical is also absorbed by the mattress inside — and when the boxes were opened by the staff of this major Australian Baby Nursery Retailer, they were almost overcome by the “wiff” from what was inside!!!
In time to come, just like exposure to asbestos has been proven to be damaging, workers in some of these Australian warehouses may also find reason to make claims for the serious health risks they are constantly facing — this worker was becoming increasingly concerned about exposure to harmful chemicals, and left as a result.
READ MORE: What’s In The Air You’re Breathing?
Organature Mattresses are not fumigated and do NOT come into contact with other fumigated products.
The Organature innerspring mattress is made in Australia with Australian metal inner coil springs, covered with a layer of heavy duty Certified Organic Cotton flannel fabric direct around the spring unit, topped with multi layers of Certified Organic carded cotton, forming an even surface with an outer cover made from Certified Organic Cotton flannel. It is NOT quilted so there’s no polyester thread under baby either. The binding around the outer perimeter is NOT Certified Organic Cotton but it is the cleanest, safest binding we can currently find.
READ MORE: How to Choose The Safest Cot Mattress For Your Baby
CONCERNED ABOUT INNERSPRINGS? READ: Is There A Health Risk From EMF’s and Innersprings In Mattresses?
How much would you pay for peace of mind?
An Organature Baby Nursery Package may be more expensive than others, but one of our customers describes how peaceful she feels having it, better than we can describe ourselves.
REVIEW: Kelly | 
|I am so happy with everything in this package. It is a great starter package, especially because it sets you up to look after your organic mattress properly… Onto the mattress. Words cannot express the peace of mind this mattress will give you. It is worth every $$$ that you spend. Did you notice how much babies love to sleep on their tummies with their face on the side and nose/mouth just above the mattress. Think about what they are breathing in. You have this mattress which is pure organic cotton bliss, then you have the average mattress with horrible synthetic materials and the chemicals they are treated with. Couple that with a tiny little babies respiratory system and body. Do your research, minimise the risks wherever you can. I did my research and the safety and quality that Organature provides is exactly what I was looking for.
Like our customer above, we recommend the Organic Cotton Innerspring Baby Mattress, however, if you were to choose Organature’s slightly cheaper chemical-free Organic Cotton Baby Futon, you are getting pure Certified Organic carded cotton layers, encased in heavy duty Certified Organic Cotton flannel. You cannot get better (or healthier) than that!
With proper storage and care, both the organic cotton innerspring mattress and the organic cotton futon can be used many times over, passed on to new babies, and, we have even seen many sold at a reasonable resale price on Gumtree and Ebay. We have been selling the same construction and quality cot, cot mattress and cot futon for many years and have not heard of any adverse situations, only praise.
Mattress Standards testing in Australia.
SELF DISCLOSURE: Our cot innerspring mattress has been tested regarding the Australia standards for firmness and did not meet the ‘firmness testing’ by the tiniest fraction – they test the firmness of a mattress by placing a CD case in a defined position on the mattress, and then laying a carton of milk on top of it, in an exact defined way – the mattress is determined firm enough for Australian standards if the milk carton does not touch any part of the mattress. One corner of the milk carton barely touched the top of the mattress, so it was deemed not firm enough.
As you can imagine – a baby sleeping on an Organic Futon Mattress which contains only layers of certified organic cotton wadding and certified organic cotton fabric covering, or the Organature Innerspring Mattress with an Australian steel spring unit, is a MUCH SAFER option for babies to sleep on – especially when compared to conventional mattresses which contain chemicals, petro-chemicals, latex and foam.
We DO NOT use waterproofing or plastic coverings.
Our mattresses and futons are NOT waterproofed. Water-proofing is achieved with a plasticizing or chemical treatment and as we believe that chemicals contribute to a wide range of health issues, including asthma, eczema, attention deficit and especially Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), we will not use it. However, along with our organic mattress protectors and organic mattress overlays or organic mattress protector pads, you are guaranteed to have the BEST ORGANIC WATER RESISTANT product that’s currently available in Australia today … and the safest!
No Polyurethane Foam. No Formaldehyde, No Chemical fire retardants, No Polyester, No Synthetics, No moth-proofing chemicals, No anti-dustmite chemicals, No ultra fresh chemical, No toxic Petro-chemicals, No harmful latex.
READ MORE: The Truth About Latex Mattresses
How to reduce the chance of your organic mattress getting soiled.
We recommend placing the mattress protector on the mattress first; then place the fleece mattress overlay with the fleecy side facing up, on next. If you would like more protection for the mattress – which is a great idea – we suggest putting the mattress protector pad on the area where your baby will be sleeping; then putting the fitted sheet on next – it will hold all of these layers in place AND provide the BEST water resistance than any natural and truly organic products, can provide.
The Healthiest & Safest Cots, Baby Mattresses and Nursery Furniture in Australia
We take the question of baby health and safety even further … it makes much more sense to be thoughtful about what babies are inhaling though their nose, ingesting through their mouth and/or absorbing through their skin, so we have thought about everything regarding the health of children, by making sure there are definitely NO harmful chemicals in any of our bedding products like there are in almost all regular bedding products, NO potential volatile oils such as you would get in pine nursery furniture, NO fumigation of mattress fillings, NO toxic timber finishes etc.
We are advised that the bassinet or cradle mattress needs to be ‘firm’ so that baby doesn’t suffocate. When the mattress is made from a natural and fully breathable medium such as Certified Organic Cotton, the likelihood of suffocation is minimised even further.
READ MORE: Don’t Make These Common Mistakes When Setting Up A Baby Nursery
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF A HEALTHY AND SAFE CHEMICAL-FREE BABY NURSERY?
Organics used to mean, more expensive — but that’s just NOT true anymore.
✔ A pack of Organic Cotton Baby Nappies that can be washed and reused over and over and over again, cost LESS than 2 packs of disposable ones.
✔ An ORGANIC BABY NURSERY PACKAGE costs LESS than a new Macbook Pro.
✔ A PURE Organic Cotton Pillow costs LESS than wool or feather/down.
✔ A HEALTHY Organic Cotton Innerspring Cot Mattress OR a PURE Organic Cotton Futon Baby Mattress cost LESS than half the price a new Apple or Samsung mobile phone.
✔ Our comfortable high quality ORGANIC COTTON SHEETS for BABIES cost LESS than the conventional cotton Sheridan ones.
It’s just a matter of what’s the most important to you.
Isn’t it wonderful, you now have a choice!
Article researched, compiled and written by Elizabeth Richardson
(Organature® Website Administrator and Editor)
P.S. Visit our ORGANIC BABY NURSERY and find out more.
