How can a crib mattress be waterproof and organic?

When the Naturepedic waterproof organic crib mattresswas first introduced four years ago, I dismissed them as not being truly organic. After all, they are “plastic-coated” I would tell customers; why would you want to take an organic mattress and coat it with plastic? Doesn’t that compromise the purity of the organic cotton?

 

I was having this argument with a customer recently who insisted I should do more research. She had investigated thoroughly, and concluded the Naturepedic baby mattress was organic, allergy free, and met her primary need: it was waterproof.

 

I countered as I usually do that the waterproofing process compromises the “organic” aspect of the mattress. She didn’t give up; detailed how Naturepedic uses Polyethylene a food-grade safe and non-toxic substance used to make produce bags for grocery stores, we put our kid’s sandwiches in them, and we eat off Polyethylene plates at picnics.

 

Hmm, I was intrigued, enough to do some digging on my own.

 

According to the Naturepedic website, “Polyethylene is an environmentally friendly plastic that is used throughout the food packaging industry for its purity and non-toxic properties. It has a very simple molecular structure that does not require chemical additives (as opposed to vinyl/PVC) and is favored by environmental groups all over the world. Naturepedic uses only polyethylene specially formulated to meet food contact standards. Polyethylene is easy-to-clean and highly stain resistant, and also provides an excellent barrier to dust mites and other allergens.”

 

Yes, but could Naturepedic pass the real test: Asking their competitors what they thought? I made some calls and not one said a negative thing about this waterproofing process. In fact, one mattress distributor said the Polyethylene coating was simple to apply to any fabric, and harmless. In my experience, if a competitor can bash another manufacturer, they will. This time not even the most notorious scaremonger had a bad word to say.

 

Result? We now carry the complete line of Naturepedic waterproof crib mattresses. I’m resting easy about the decision.  

Comments

[dining tables]

Thanks for sharing! I found it very informative. We often thought that if a product is made of plastic they are harmful. Because we thought that plastic does not biodegrade.