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The best eco-friendly mattresses combine non-toxic certifications, healthy organic materials, and unbeatable comfort.
They're better for the environment (because they're biodegradable and sustainably made) and better for your health (because they don't off-gas any toxic chemicals into your bedroom).
In contrast, conventional mattresses are made from synthetic fossil-fuel-based materials like polyurethane foam, and treated with chemical flame retardants that do off-gas. A 2024 study found high quantities of up to 100 VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in the bedroom during sleeping hours.
Since 2011, my team and I have personally tested over 100 organic mattresses in our homes. We evaluated each mattress based on comfort, material quality, certifications, durability, and real-world testing to determine which models stand out in different categories.
Today, I'll reveal my top 10 healthy mattress recommendations for different needs (such as affordability, back pain relief, cooling, and firmness), plus 21 great alternatives you can choose from if my top picks aren't quite right for you.
Let's take a closer look at the mattresses that impressed our team in testing.
✔ Exceptional Comfort
✔ Organic Certifications
✔ Back and Hip Pain Relief
Why It's Best Overall: PlushBeds Botanical Bliss stands out as the best overall eco-friendly mattress because it combines customizable firmness, an outstanding range of organic certifications, and back pain relief features.
The Botanical Bliss is made of certified organic materials that are environmentally friendly, sustainably sourced, and biodegradable. It's fully certified non-toxic and is completely free from mercury, lead, and other heavy metals. It won't off-gas any harmful chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons, chloroform, cyanide, or PBDE flame retardants.
This is what I call a Layered Latex mattress. It's different from most solid latex mattresses because it is comprised of 6 different layers which all work together to deliver optimum comfort.
Why It's Best for Back Pain: The fact that the Botanical Bliss mattress is frequently recommended by orthopedic specialists and chiropractors indicates just how effective it is at reducing or even eliminating back pain.
It offers outstanding contouring, lumbar support, and pressure point relief which sets it apart from most competitors.
Personal Experience: The Botanical Bliss is the most comfortable mattress I ever tried, bar none. We went for a split King with a medium-firm side for me, and a medium side for my wife who is a side sleeper.
We both feel the PlushBeds Botanical Bliss gives us the best sleep we've ever had. That's the reason why, of all the new mattresses I've tested, this is the one I still sleep on today.
Thanks to the Botanical Bliss I wake up every morning with zero backache, and I've seen many other customers report the same thing. It's a true game-changer.
This isn't the cheapest organic mattress on the market, but in my opinion, it is the best value for money and worth every penny. What's more, PlushBeds regularly offers significant discounts of up to 50%, and even free bedding as part of the deal.
You can compare more options in our Organic Mattresses for Back Pain guide.
✔ Side Sleepers
✔ Low Motion Transfer
✔ Eco-Friendly Certifications
Why It's Best Hybrid: The Avocado Green Mattress stands out from its competitors thanks to its certified organic materials, customizable firmness options, and balanced hybrid construction. It's a healthy choice that is fully certified as non-toxic.
Avocado, as a brand, is highly committed to sustainability and eco-friendly practices, including owning the entire supply chain. This is their most popular mattress. Most customers love it, with 90% awarding it 4 or 5 stars according to Yotpo.
Why It's Best for Side Sleepers: The medium and plush versions of this mattress offer extra pressure relief that is essential for people who sleep on their side. It helps relieve sore hips and neck, and improves sleep quality for any side or combination sleeper.
Personal Experience: My wife loved the low motion transfer on the Avocado Green Mattress. I have been accused in the past (probably fairly) of being a restless sleeper, but with this mattress, she wasn't disturbed at all whenever I decided to turn.
I have to agree this is a very comfortable mattress. Everything about it feels perfectly balanced. The combination of comfort, an impressive range of certifications, and a fair price point make the Green Mattress a great choice for almost any type of sleeper.
The only small downside is that it isn't fully biodegradable due to the steel coils and perimeter, but this would be the case for any hybrid mattress as metal is inherent in the design. When compared to other hybrids, the Avocado Green is the mattress I would recommend.
You can view and compare more options in our Organic Mattresses for Side Sleepers guide.
✔ Certified Organic
✔ Chemical Free
✔ Low Price
Why It's Most Affordable: The Eco Terra Beds Hybrid Latex Mattress is our pick as the most affordable organic mattress because it's a handmade, non-toxic, and fully organic product at a very reasonable price point. At just $1099 for a Queen, it's cheaper than comparable products from PlushBeds, Avocado, and Naturepedic.
The trade-off is that it lacks some features that make those brands special. But if budget is a concern for you, this is a very solid entry-level product.
Personal Experience: I tested the medium-firm option and found it to still be a little on the soft side. If you like a firm mattress, this might not be the brand for you.
However, the average customer feedback score of 4.9 suggests that most people find it very comfortable, and there is a lot to like about the brand. I think this is great value and perfect for anyone who wants a healthy mattress on a budget.
✔ No Springs or Coils
✔ Sustainability
✔ Non-Toxic & Organic Certification
Why It's the Best Latex Mattress: The Avocado Organic Latex Mattress stands out due to its sustainability and comfort. This is a solid latex mattress made from a minimum of 95% certified organic latex and a fire-resistant layer of natural wool. It's cooler than memory foam, and much better for the environment because it doesn't contain any synthetic material.
This organic mattress contains only pure latex (no blends) and contains no chemical flame retardants, foams, or adhesives. That's why we rate it as one of the most environmentally friendly mattresses available right now.
Personal Experience: I was very impressed by this new and improved Avocado Organic Latex Mattress.
In the past, I tested the previous version of this mattress and it was very firm. But this redesigned version comes as a medium, rated 5/10 on the firmness scale, which is just right for the majority of people. It feels like you're hovering above the mattress rather than actually pressing into it.
My wife and I both appreciated the low motion transfer which helped us both get an undisturbed night's sleep. I love the fact that it contains no springs or memory foam, so it's perfect for your health and the environment.
✔ Stomach Sleepers
✔ Left/Right Side Configurable
✔ After Sales Care
Why It's the Best Firm Organic Mattress: Naturepedic's EOS Classic Organic Mattress is our pick as the best firm option because it can be fully customized with a choice of 5 different firmness levels (up to Extra Firm). On the Queen, King, and California King sizes these can be configured separately on the left and right sides.
Naturepedic gives you the option to swap layers for free as many times as you like within the first 100 days after purchase. This allows you to find your perfect comfort level with the full backing of the brand's excellent support team.
Even if you find the extra firm mattress is too hard, it's easy to swap for a setting that's just right.
Personal Experience: The Extra Firm configuration gave the firmest feel of any of the natural and organic mattresses I tested.
This surface is ideal for regular stomach sleepers. But since this doesn't suit everybody, the fact that you can configure the left and right sides separately is essential for couples like my wife and me who have different needs.
I have full confidence in Naturepedic's environmental commitment and the quality of the organic materials used to make the EOS Classic. So I am happy to recommend this to anyone looking for a firmer mattress that's certified organic and chemical-free.
✔ Side and lightweight sleepers
✔ Pressure Relief
✔ Soft but still Supportive
Why It's the Best Plush Mattress: The Plush (Box-Top) version of the Organica by Amerisleep mattress stands out from other plush options because it is an 8-layered hybrid that provides an incredibly soft yet supportive feel. It's free from fiberglass, chemicals, and adhesives for a healthier sleep.
Amerisleep designs and makes its mattresses in California using certified organic materials, which support local farming and manufacturing.
Personal Experience: My eldest daughter is a side sleeper who prefers a soft mattress, and has been looking for a new mattress that offers a soft yet supportive sleep surface. In the Organica Plush, she's found the perfect balance of plushness and pressure relief.
I checked the mattress over and it's obvious to me that the build is very high quality. The certifications confirm that the mattress is safe, and that the materials are sustainably harvested, healthy, and free from harmful chemicals and VOCs.
✔ Certified Non-Toxic
✔ Low Price
✔ Cooler than Regular Memory Foam
Why It's Best Memory Foam: The Brentwood Home Cypress mattress is better than regular memory foam options because it is CertiPUR-US certified, which proves it has very low emissions that are well within safe limits.
Most memory foam mattresses on the market are made from 100% viscoelastic polyurethane foam derived from fossil fuels and treated with chemical blowing agents. To make things worse, they're sprayed with chemical flame retardants, which can off-gas harmful VOCs.
In contrast, the top layer of the Cypress mattress is BioFoam which is partially plant-based. It's free from PBDEs (Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers), CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), ozone depleters, formaldehyde, lead, and mercury.
If you need a latex-free mattress due to allergies but want to avoid all the harsh chemicals that most memory foam mattresses contain, then the Brentwood Home Cypress is the safest memory foam mattress at an affordable price.
Personal Experience: As a hot sleeper, I normally shy away from memory foam because it's known to sleep hot (not to mention its health and environmental issues).
The Brentwood Home Cypress is better for the environment than conventional mattresses, although not as good as the other organic mattresses I've listed on this page.
The good news is that with the Cypress, I was able to get a decent night's sleep without overheating. That's because this mattress is charcoal-infused and comes with cooling technology that makes it supportive and breathable.
This, combined with the non-toxic certification and plant-based materials, means that I'm happy to recommend the Cypress as a much better, more eco-friendly, and healthier alternative to regular memory foam.
✔ Breathability
✔ Temperature Regulation
✔ Pressure Relief
Why It's Best for Hot Sleepers: The Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress stands out over its competitors thanks to its unique vented airflow channels, which further improve air circulation.
It's true that natural latex mattresses are much better than regular mattresses in terms of their cooling properties, because organic latex is a naturally breathable material. But Saatva's unique design means it gets the vote in this category.
The organic New Zealand wool layer and organic cotton cover are moisture-wicking to enhance the cooling effect even more.
Personal Experience: I'm a hot sleeper, but not excessively so. If like me you only sleep slightly hot, then the advanced cooling properties of the Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress might not be necessary for you.
The fact is that most of the other organic latex and latex hybrids I've listed have excellent cooling properties that are perfect for most hot sleepers. However, if you have a serious overheating problem at night, then the Saatva Latex Hybrid is certainly the best organic mattress you'll find in terms of breathability.
The Saatva Latex Hybrid is a medium-firm mattress and isn't customizable, so it may not suit those who want an extra plus or extra firm surface. I certainly found it very comfortable.
The manufacturing quality is excellent, as you would expect from a mattress at this price point, and the materials are certified organic, chemical-free, and sourced sustainably.
✔ Complete Motion Isolation
✔ Edge Support
✔ Choice of Firmness
Why It's the Best Organic Mattress for Couples: The PlushBeds Luxury Bliss is perfect for couples who share a bed because it offers complete motion isolation. That means that the design of the mattress ensures that when one partner moves, the other isn't disturbed (also known as motion transfer).
The Luxury Bliss mattress also has strong edge support, which means both partners can use the full width and length of the bed without causing the mattress to sag or risking rolling off.
PlushBeds offers a choice of firmness levels (medium or medium-firm) for all sizes, which should suit most people. For extra customization (or for couples who just can't agree), you can order the Split King size and choose a different firmness for the left and right sides.
Personal Experience: As a restless sleeper, I can confirm from my testing that the PlushBeds Luxury Bliss does completely eliminate motion transfer. In my case that makes for a rested and happy wife, and therefore a happier life!
Although we personally opted for the Botanical Bliss which is slightly more comfortable and eco-friendly, I would say that the Luxury Bliss is a better option for couples where one partner is a restless sleeper.
It's slightly cheaper too, but still carries all the organic certification you need in a healthy natural mattress.
✔ Supports Bodies up to 500lbs
✔ Strong Edge Support
✔ Chiropractor Approved
Why It's Best for Heavy Sleepers: The Saatva HD is best for heavy sleepers because it's a luxury hybrid mattress that has been specifically designed for larger body types.
The extra strength of heavy-duty components such as the high-density foam and reinforced steel coils (which are 25% stronger than the industry standard) means that the mattress can support heavier individuals weighing up to 500 lbs (227 Kg).
The HD mattress is chiropractor-recommended. It's endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association and has a seal of approval from the Congress of Chiropractic State Association.
Despite the focus on durability, Saatva hasn't neglected the essential health and environmental criteria. The Saatva HD still retains the non-toxic certifications and eco-friendly materials of other organic mattresses.
Personal Experience: I was very impressed by the Saatva HD, this is one seriously heavy-duty mattress that looks and feels as if it could withstand an incredible amount of wear and tear with ease. I particularly like the reinforced edge support which is designed to make it easy to get into and out of bed, even for heavier people.
One thing to note is that you can't use the HD mattress with adjustable bed frames, or with regular foundations or box springs. You can use it on a solid platform or base, or one with a minimum of 3" wide slats. Alternatively, if your bed frame does require a foundation, Saatva offers a special HD foundation (sold separately) that is specially designed for use with this mattress.
To choose the best eco-friendly mattress, you should examine its certifications and evaluate how the design, features, and price meet your individual needs.
Certifications are a great way to confirm whether a mattress is genuinely organic, healthy, and environmentally friendly. They make it easy for you as a consumer to verify a brand's claims and prevent greenwashing.
The following environmental & organic certifications help you identify mattresses made from organic materials that are non-GMO, sustainably grown, and responsibly harvested.
By their nature, organic materials are free from harmful chemicals, pesticides, synthetic materials, and toxic dyes.
However, these labels are not enough to confirm that a mattress is healthy and chemical-free because they usually only apply to specific materials and not the mattress as a whole. For example, typically a mattress might be labeled as containing GOTS-certified organic cotton, and yet still contain other potentially harmful synthetic materials.
To verify the safety of a mattress, you also need to check for health certifications.
The following certifications and labels are used to confirm that a mattress is safe, healthy, and non-toxic.
Ideally, an eco-friendly mattress should have at least one certificate from each of the above lists to verify that it is both sustainable and non-toxic.
Once you've checked the certifications, there are various other criteria to consider according to your personal needs and preferences.
The following criteria have been included in each of our mattress recommendations above and are relevant to different people depending on your circumstances.
When we conduct mattress reviews, we consider each of these factors as part of our overall review process.
Our stringent review process involves a thorough evaluation of the environmental, social, and sustainability policies of each mattress company. We then check their products, analyzing their material composition and verifying the validity of any certifications.
This gives us a shortlist of mattresses to test.
When testing mattresses we ensure that a member of our team or their family personally sleeps on a mattress for a minimum of 30 days. We take into account all of the criteria listed above, as well as the overall comfort and feel of the mattress and how it performs in real-world scenarios.
The resulting scores are compared on a like-for-like basis, taking into account value for money and existing consumer feedback, to produce the final set of recommendations you've seen in this guide.
A new mattress is a significant investment. But given the many benefits of organic mattresses, we know just how important it is to have all the information you need to make a clear and informed choice.
The key benefits of eco-friendly or organic mattresses over regular synthetic mattresses are that they are significantly less harmful to the environment and your health.
The main environmental benefits of organic mattresses are listed below.
As well as benefiting the planet, the natural materials in organic mattresses provide a range of health benefits that enhance sleep quality and the air quality in your home.
The main health benefits of organic mattresses are listed below.
In contrast to the safety and sustainability of organic mattresses, conventional mattresses can introduce toxic chemicals and environmental concerns that impact both health and the planet.
Conventional mattresses present several notable disadvantages concerning health, environmental impact, and durability. They are typically made from synthetic materials such as the following.
The finished products are often treated with chemical flame retardants, adhesives, and VOC-emitting finishes.
All of this can have a significant impact on the environment.
More than 18 million mattresses are discarded in the US every year. Around 14.7 million of these end up in landfills, according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). This is a huge problem when you consider the fact that most conventional mattresses are made from synthetic materials that won't biodegrade.
The presence of polyurethane mattresses in landfills can lead to the slow and steady release of microplastics and other harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, according to a 2023 study "Solving the plastic dilemma: the fungal and bacterial biodegradability of polyurethanes" (Parth Bhavsar et al).
Producing synthetic mattresses uses up a considerable amount of fossil fuel resources. A 2021 study titled "Material Flows of Polyurethane in the United States" (Chao Liang et al) found that domestic PU production uses approximately 1100 kt of crude oil and 1100 kt of natural gas annually.
The PU production process involving these fossil fuels generates significant carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to increased levels of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere
The synthetic materials used in regular mattresses can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde, toluene, and benzene into the air in your home.
Most mattresses on the market are full of chemicals that can pollute the air in your bedroom, and harm your body, according to the EWG (Environmental Working Group)'s Healthy Living Home Guide.
Prolonged exposure to VOCs can lead to potential health issues such as headaches, respiratory irritation, and, in severe cases, increased cancer risk according to Dr Will Cole, a leading functional medicine expert.
It is estimated that 92% of synthetic mattresses are treated with chemical flame retardants. These can cause endocrine and thyroid disruption, immunotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, cancer, and adverse effects on fetal and child development, according to the NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences).
Conventional mattresses, especially those made with lower-quality materials, have a typical lifespan of between 8 and 10 years, less than half that of organic mattresses. They usually degrade faster, leading to sagging and loss of support, which in turn can cause discomfort, sleep loss, and back pain.
Synthetic mattresses are cheaper, but because they need to be replaced more often, they represent poor value for money over the long term. Plus, every replacement means yet another old mattress typically ends up in a landfill.
Taking into account the numerous disadvantages of synthetic materials, it makes no sense to buy this type of mattress when organic and eco-friendly materials can be used instead.
When you switch to a mattress that is eco-friendly and/or organic, there are no potentially harmful synthetic components. Instead, the following healthy and sustainable materials are used.
Not every organic mattress will contain all of these materials. The exact composition depends on the manufacturer and the mattress type.
Organic mattresses come in three main types: Latex, Hybrid, and Memory Foam. There are some differences between these types that you should be aware of before deciding which to buy.
Latex mattresses are constructed using one or more layers of natural latex, usually with a natural wool layer on top which acts as a fire barrier. All of this is wrapped in a certified organic cotton cover. They do not contain springs. The layers are often joined using hand-tufting in place of glue.
This type of mattress is the most durable and can be 100% organic and biodegradable. However, it is also typically heavier and harder to move, and can be the most expensive.
Example: Avocado Organic Latex Mattress
A hybrid mattress is made up of multiple layers made from different materials. Typically, a layer of steel coils will go at the bottom, with a latex "comfort layer" on top, then a wool batting layer as a fire barrier. Individual layers may be encased in organic cotton, with the entire mattress wrapped in an organic cotton cover or encasement.
Hybrid mattresses are typically cheaper than pure latex. They offer good support and excellent motion isolation. The downsides are that they are not fully organic (due to the steel coils) and the coils can wear out quicker than solid latex.
Example: Avocado Green Mattress
An eco-friendly memory foam mattress uses plant-based or CertiPUR-US-certified BioFoam instead of traditional petroleum-based polyurethane foam.
They are typically the cheapest option. However, the trade-off is that they are the least durable, and they can sleep hot unless the manufacturer adds a cooling gel layer. Also while the foam is non-toxic, it can still contain a percentage of synthetic material, which means even an eco-friendly memory foam mattress is unlikely to be fully biodegradable.
Example: Brentwood Home Oceano
Our core values mean we always prioritize sustainability over profit. We carefully evaluate and personally test every product to ensure they meet our high standards. All products recommended in this article were tested in accordance with our Review Methodology.
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