Mattress Pads & Toppers
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This bedding category sits on top of the mattress, providing additional support and creating a more comfortable sleeping experience for firm mattresses. Toppers are thicker and more supportive; pads are thinner and can sometimes double as mattress protectors. Conventional toppers and pads are most often made from polyurethane foam (including memory foam variants), polyester textiles and/or blown polyester (down-alternative) filling, and on the more natural side down/feathers. We would recommend against these materials for a number of health reasons, including the high chemical & additive load required for polyurethane foam and polyester, in addition to performance and finishing treatments. For down & feathers, while these are a natural material, we generally do not recommend due to their tendency to encourage dust and allergen accumulation, and the potential for microbial growth. None of our recommendations will, to our knowledge, contain flame retardant treatments, antimicrobial treatments, PFAs, phthalates or other endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, or other chemicals of concern, and will not emit formaldehyde or other toxic VOCs - as will most conventionally manufactured toppers & pads to some degree.
Prioritize Natural materials including Dunlop latex (GOLS preferred), Talalay latex (C2C Gold/100% NR only), Organic/GOTS certified Cotton & Wool. Wool is a natural fire barrier, negating the necessity of flame-retardant treatments for many natural bedding products and mattresses.
Avoid The synthetic materials mentioned above, including CertiPUR certified polyurethane foam (see our certifications section for information on CertiPUR). Bonus that natural latex sleeps much cooler than polyurethane foam (as it has natural moisture wicking and cooling properties, and is not made out of petrochemicals).
Coyuchi
GOTS & MADE SAFE certified organic cotton mattress pad - and it's washable! Not as thick as mattress toppers, particularly some of the latex options, but for a bit of mattress protection and additional comfort that's easy maintenance, a great choice. Coyuchi also has two wool options, a pad and topper, the latter being slightly thicker and both of which are machine washable - which to our knowledge is unique in the world of wool pads and toppers. To achieve this, the fill is 85% Wool and 15% plant-based PLA (polylactic acid, which does not contain petrochemical ingredients). While the wool is traceable and ethically sourced, the two wool options lack advanced certifications, and we had a hard time getting answers from Coyuchi as to how the wool was processed. A toss up based on your priorities, then, compared to our Holy Lamb recommendation below - which is likely a cleaner all around choice, though not machine washable.
OVERALL SCORE
Best/Better
CERTIFICATIONS
Avocado
Avocado offers two latex topper options, from which we recommend the Eco Organic Topper in Medium, made with GOLS certified Dunlop latex wrapped in GOTS certified cotton. The cotton layer is not removable or washable; we recommend covering it with a protector. One other non-latex option includes Alpaca wool encased in GOTS certified cotton - potentially a good (if expensive) option for chemical sensitivities, as Alpaca wool does not contain lanolin and is hypoallergenic.
OVERALL SCORE
Best
CERTIFICATIONS
My Green Mattress
One topper offered, and it’s two inches of GOLS certified organic Dunlop latex wrapped in a GOTS certified organic cotton cover that is removable and hand washable - but not machine washable. Covering the topper with a mattress protector and airing the cover on a sunny day are equally recommended.
OVERALL SCORE
Best
CERTIFICATIONS
Holy Lamb Organics
Holy Lamb offers two wool-based topper options - their All-Natural Quilted Topper and Certified Organic Quilted Topper. Both are encased in GOTS certified cotton, and the fill difference is their Premium Eco Wool for the Natural, and GOTS certified wool for the Organic. Both fills are equally adherent to Non-Toxic ethos and practices, but one has the certification and corresponding higher price point. Neither are machine washable, with a mattress protector cover and sunning recommended - sunning will revitalize and help keep the wool clean. Holy Lamb added a new offering as well, two inches of GOLS certified Dunlop latex wrapped in their Eco Wool and GOTS certified cotton, for another great (though on the more expensive end) latex option.
OVERALL SCORE
Best
CERTIFICATIONS
Earthfoam
Earthfoam is the more millennial-marketed spinoff of Sleep on Latex, which has been producing no frills certified organic mattresses for the past decade. Price and products are equivalent, and from what we can tell through conversations with their customer service team, marketing is the only difference. They manufacture their mattresses and toppers themselves, all with GOLS certified Dunlop latex, but outsource their pillows which are made of Talalay. Earthfoam offers one topper option, two inches of GOLS Dunlop latex wrapped in GOTS certified wool and cotton. The cover is not removable or washable. A great latex topper option.
OVERALL SCORE
Better
CERTIFICATIONS
Lifekind
Lifekind has two straightforward Non-Toxic mattress topper options - both fully GOTS certified, with GOLS Dunlop latex wrapped in GOTS cotton. One is sculpted, with egg-crate like peaks and valleys, while the other is a clean slab of latex. Care is spot cleaning only, and includes the recommendation to cover the mattress topper with their flannel mattress pad - two layers of GOTS cotton flannel that is hand-washable. Fantastic quality products, though alongside Savvy Rest, our highest priced recommendations in this category.
Better
Savvy Rest
Savvy Rest offers two topper options - Harmony and Vitality. Harmony can be made with GOLS certified Dunlop or C2C Gold Talalay latex, and Vitality is all Talalay. Both are encased in GOTS certified wool and cotton, and can be added directly to their mattresses or purchased as a stand-alone option. Generally, we recommend Dunlop as a better option than Talalay, and for the most part don’t recommend Talalay as the manufacturing process requires a higher number of additives - which is why Talalay cannot be certified organic. But Savvy Rest uses C2C Gold certified Talalay that is 100% natural rubber and does not contain any SBR (styrene-butadiene (synthetic) rubber, which is the cleanest you can get, and we feel confident recommending. These are the highest price point toppers in our recommendations, and our score reflects that below - great materials, but very high price.
CHECKOUT CODE: CLEANLIST
OVERALL SCORE
Better
CERTIFICATIONS
CHECKOUT CODE: CLEANLIST
OVERALL SCORE
CERTIFICATIONS
Turmerry
Turmerry offers a GOLS certified Dunlop latex topper, naked in either 2 or 3" thickness (with an optional organic, though not GOTS, cotton cover), or a 4" with a cover included, all at a relatively affordable price. The cover is not machine washable, though pairing a machine washable mattress protector with one of the bare latex toppers would do the trick.
OVERALL SCORE
Better
CERTIFICATIONS
PlushBeds
PlushBeds offers 2 or 3" thickness GOLS certified Dunlop latex mattress pads, with an option to add a GOTS certified cotton cover. Spot cleaning only recommended for the cover, not washable. Our recommendations for PlushBeds products are highly product specific - as many items in their wider range of mattresses, toppers and pillows often contain synthetic materials (including CertiPur foam and polyester fibers), and which we would not consider to be Non-Toxic.
OVERALL SCORE
Better
CERTIFICATIONS
