This article is provided by Peter Byl
FOUNDER OF ORGANATURE ®
Creators of the Australian Organic Cotton Bedroom and Baby Nursery™
How To Achieve Better Health
From inception our aim was to assist with the understanding, education and the incredible health benefits which can be achieved by using mattresses, bedding, bedlinen and garments made from Certified Organic Cotton.
Using Certified Organic Cotton mattresses, bedding and bed linen in our home has dramatically alleviated my own reactions to Chemical Sensitivity and enabled me to live a more productive and happier life.
Health benefits will also be achieved when using our Australian manufactured hardwood products (bed bases, bedside tables etc). Australian hardwood timber has been kiln dried so off-gassing of the volatile oil (eucalypt) has been minimized. Pine on the other hand, being a soft wood, outgasses volatile terpenes (turpentine).
The major benefits with purchasing and using our manufactured hardwood furniture are that the timber is from local sources keeping as low as possible carbon footprints and final product made in Australia thus avoiding the fumigation requirements of imported timber products.
What Does Certified Organic Really Mean?
‘Certified Organic’ bedding and textiles are not always understood. There is a lot of misleading advertising, claims that products are ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘eco’ when clearly they are not, and certainly not Certified organic. Lately we also see ‘certified natural’ which is also a “CON” as that does not mean certified organic.
Certified means that an independent company makes regular inspections from farmer to production, and at each stage the company performing the certification inspection issue certificates which are the assurance of the ‘certification’. This gives you the confidence that you are purchasing products which do not contain harmful chemicals and that the raw cotton, plus any further processing is without harmful chemicals. Organature receives such a certificate with each and every individual invoice/shipment from the mill.
What About Items Which Are ‘Organic’, ‘Natural’, ’Eco’?
A word of warning: There are many incorrect statements made and misleading information given, regarding organic merchandise. Organature is not in this venture just to sell products. Foremost we are available for consultations and education from personal experience, about the benefits of Certified Organic Cotton in your bedroom, nursery and on your body. Also to inform you about other, incorrectly stated, so called natural and organic textiles products and to explain about those toxic chemicals in conventional products which are harming our health.
Facts, Fiction, Misconceptions & Myths Revealed
Various claims have been made about ‘organic’, ‘natural’, ’eco’, etc. Many of those advertisements are misleading. Here are some examples:
Bamboo textiles are synthetic, not certified organic.
Bamboo fibres are converted with chemicals to produce the yarn. This makes the process ’manmade’ and therefore synthetic, not natural and certainly not certified organic. Bamboo the plant is anti-bacterial; Bamboo textiles are not anti-bacterial because the chemical treatment destroys the anti-bacterial function.
Chemicals are often used in plantations.
In many instances the plantations are sprayed with chemicals, many of these chemicals do not wash out. Rubber has a very strong odour. E.g. smell rubber tyres. A chemical ‘ULTRA FRESH’ is used in mattresses to counteract and hide that smell. Frequently we are told by clients that they have purchased a (latex) mattress and ‘cannot stand the smell’.
Foamed rubber has fillers similar to, or the same as talcum powder.
This ‘unnatural’ latex in your mattress, together with the synthetic outer fabrics and other synthetic components inside the mattress, does not allow the body to breathe properly. We have been informed by clients that they suffer with overheating and perspiration problems. Shedding of moisture builds up inside the mattress and promotes mould growth, just another thing to cause allergic symptoms and make you sick.
Memory foam, Tempur® is a plastic base.
Memory foam is no better than foamed rubber.
“Natural” does not mean without chemicals.
Some mattresses and futons are frequently referred to as natural bedding; but natural does not mean without chemicals. In many instances these mattresses contain plant products which are imported and according to the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service regulations plant and tree products must be fumigated. During some research I have been informed that in some instances this fumigation is done overseas prior to shipping and sometimes again when it arrives in Australia.
Not all Organic Standards are as high as ours.
Some brands of organic cotton bedlinen imported and sold in Australia contain chemicals such as OB, Optic Brighteners, which are used to produce very white fabrics. This anomaly is possible because the Australian certifiers accept the overseas certifications without question and there are no restrictions for the use of this unnecessary chemical in Australia.
The mattress or futon may contain wool or cotton.
Wool often comes from farms where chemicals are used on pastures and on the sheep. Many people have allergies to wool, even to organic or biodynamic wool. Cotton in those mattresses and futons would be conventional cotton which is heavily sprayed during growing, and before picking it is sprayed with a chemical to defoliate. (Agent Orange was used to defoliate in Vietnam War!)
Fire retardant chemicals are frequently added to mattresses by manufacturers.
These chemicals are classed in Europe as cancer causing. Retailers promote fire retardants as a sales tool and some tell their clients that it is a requirement by law which is false and thankfully is not the case in Australia. Organature products do not contain fire retardants.
Some More Information About Organature
- Around our home property (where the fledgling Organature venture began), in addition to the many mature trees already established, we have planted over 150 more trees and shrubs. We have installed solar panels and collect rain water on our property for our use, without using water from other sources.
- We now also provide that same filtered rainwater for all the staff in our recently opened shop in Newhaven, giving them safe (without chemical chlorine or fluoride), water to drink and use with their Organature supplied certified organic coffee and tea.
- We strongly believe that we are now manufacturing our bedlinen and bedding carbon neutral and in addition, provide some offset for water used in the manufacturing of our fabrics.
- Our products are packed in Certified Organic cotton fabric bags or biodegradable cellulose film with final packaging for freight/post in cartons, the only plastic we use is to protect mattresses and rolls of fabric for transport.
- We sell direct. This way you are able to purchase the safest quality Australian made products for bedroom, nursery and bathroom, your baby, your child and yourself, direct from the manufacturer at the most reasonable prices. This direct sell provides you with products not contaminated by outside sources.
- Our products are made from 100% Certified Organic Cotton. All our fabrics and the filling for mattress and futons are “GOTS Sustainable Textiles” (Global Organic Textile Standard), and certified.
- Our bound edged towels are “Made in Australia” in our own sewing rooms from GOTS Certified Organic cotton fabrics produced in India.
- Our fabrics cannot be manufactured in Australia; there is no equipment here to produce the fine yarns or weave the fine quality fabrics we choose to use for our linen and other bedding. We import direct from certified mills, no middlemen, our imports are not fumigated.
- Organature products do not contain fire retardants.
- Our Innerspring and Futon mattresses, Quilts and Pillows are Australia Made using our “Certified Organic” Cotton fabrics and filling, and made to our strict organic certification specifications.
- All of our bedlinen and other bedding products are made in Australia in our sewing and show room.
- Our cutting tables and shelving are Australian hardwood; we do not use chipboard or MDF, no chemicals are used anywhere in the Organature operation.
- We are a family business, none of whom uses chemical fragrances or chemical personal care products, no perfumes, no after shave which may permeate the fabrics and cause a problem for those who are chemically sensitive. We use non-petro chemical washing powders, dishwashing liquid, personal and household cleaners. Chemical pest or weed control is not used, no chemical anti-bacterial are used, simply vinegar.
- We also follow the European certification standard which does NOT allow certain chemicals to be used in fabrics, (such as OB, Optic Brighteners, which are used to produce very white fabrics). Our fabrics have a unique and naturally beautiful colour and texture.
Are You Considering Buying A Futon Or Topper?
Should you be considering the purchase of futon or topper please note: Futons, toppers and pillows filled with 100% natural fibres such as cotton, wool, kapok, straw etc. are not the same as conventional products. Even these natural ones vary in construction and sleeping comfort.
If you have never slept on, or used a futon, topper or pillow filled with 100% natural fibres we prefer to talk to you before proceeding with order.
Organic Cotton Mattresses with Springs Are Safe To Use
Springs in organic cotton mattresses do not cause ill health. You may have come across information regarding an article written by an astrologist or one by a neurologist in reference to the danger of springs in mattresses. This is controversial and has never been properly researched or scientifically proven, it is an opinion! If any testing was done it would have been on a conventional mattress, not on an organic cotton mattress. Any adverse re-action experienced by a person sleeping on a conventional mattress would more likely have been provoked by the chemicals in the mattress outgassing rather than the springs. Over the last 15 years I myself, have done a lot of testing on organic cotton mattresses with and without springs, (futons) and it made no difference to my health. At least, a combined total, 13 of those years I have used the innerspring and in fact my health has improved having changed over to a totally Organic Cotton Bedroom.
Some people will argue this point, however we have clients who thought that springs would/did cause them problems but found after they purchased the Organature 100% Certified Organic Cotton they slept like they had not slept for a long time.
FURTHER READING: https://organature.com/is-there-a-health-risk-from-emfs-and-innersprings-in-mattresses/
Please talk to me if you would like to discuss this further.
Do You Have More Questions?
We pride ourselves that with 25 plus years of experience of bedding and bedlinen in the conventional market, my own devastating years of experience with MCS injury caused by the out-gassing of chemicals in non-organic products and consequent research into MCS and with the subsequent 15 years of experience with Certified Organic bedding and linen, many come to us not just for products but initially with questions and seeking advice.
Therefore please do not hesitate to ask questions either by email or phone. Most times phone is easier and better as that way we can be more detailed and informative. Many times answers to questions lead to more questions.
We hope some of this information helps you to understand the way we are often misled by the advertising of many companies and the government.
