Here are our top picks for mattresses made with safe, natural materials that won’t off-gas VOCs into your home when unboxed.
We spent over 200 hours reviewing more than 50 mattresses, a process that involved contacting and interviewing manufacturers and cataloging the most important mattress certifications.
We also slept on a bunch of the best mattresses, so we can offer more meaningful insights into how these mattresses really perform.
The most important certifications
In compiling this list, mattress brands with these key mattress certifications were given extra points.
- Eco-INSTITUT
- GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard)
- GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)
- Made Safe
- Greenguard Gold
- B Corp (Benefit Corporation)
- 1% for the Planet
- GRS (Global Recycling Standard)
- Fair Trade.
Leaf Score top picks
Avocado Green Mattress
Why it’s non-toxic: Avocado’s eco-friendly bed-in-a-box mattresses carry the rare Made Safe and Eco Institut certifications and are a joy to sleep on.
- Pricing (with Pillow-Top): $1,799 – $3,199 (Queen is $2,499)
- Materials: Organic Fair Trade cotton, organic wool, organic Dunlop latex, upcycled steel coils
- Certifications: GOTS, GOLS, Made Safe, GreenGuard Gold, Climate Neutral certified, FSC, Responsible Wool Standard, Formaldehyde Free (UL), Eco Institut, Fair Trade, 1% for the Planet, B Corporation, Sustainable Furnishings Council
- Sleep Trial: 365-night sleep trial
- Firmness: Gentle-firm (with pillow-top)
- Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Double/Full, Queen, King, Cali King
- Best for: Lighter side-sleepers
The Green is Avocado’s signature mattress and is a great choice for almost all adults, especially if you are worried about toxins in mattresses like we are. These mattresses are Made Safe and Eco Institut certified whuch means they will never offgas and don’t contain even trace amounts of nasty VOCs.
Avocado also offers this mattress wool-free and PETA-approved for vegans.
The Avocado Green stands out from its competitors thanks to the smart coil unit design. Avocado uses upcycled 16 gauge perimeter coils for reinforced edging, narrower 17 gauge coils in the middle of the mattress, and wider 14 gauge coils at the shoulder and hip. This makes it one of the few zoned hybrid latex mattresses available.
Avocado excels at transparency and traceability, with ethical sourcing of materials and labor. As the most vertically integrated mattress company around, Avocado uses latex from its co-owned cooperative farms in India and Guatemala and sources its GOTS organic wool from its co-owned farmer’s society in India.
The pillow top wasn’t our favorite as we compared different Avocado models. A better option, if you’re on the fence about the pillow-top, is to purchase the Green without the topper and then add an organic topper if you need one later. This also makes for more flexibility should your sleep needs change or should you decide to use this mattress for a guest room or other family member later.
Avocado is the first mattress company to switch most of its plastic wrap for paper! And it’s on its way to operating the first certified zero-waste mattress factory in the world!
PlushBeds Botanical Bliss Mattress
Why it’s non-toxic: The Botanical Bliss is Eco-INSTITUT certified and comprises entirely organic, non-toxic, and eco-friendly materials. The Botanical Bliss is the only mattress we have tested with a third party laboratory ourselves.
- Pricing: $2,799 – $3,798 (Queen $3,299 – $2,049 on sale at time of writing!)
- Materials: GOTS cotton, GOTS wool, GOLS latex
- Certifications: GOTS, GOLS, GreenGuard Gold, Eco Institut
- Sleep Trial: 100-night sleep trial
- Firmness: Medium / Medium-Firm / dual firmness options
- Depth: 12-inch, 9-inch, and 10-inch options available
- Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, Cal King, Split Queen, Split King, Split Cal King
The Botanical Bliss pairs ultra-dense Arpico latex with softer and airier Talalay latex. This means the mattress offers robust underlying support for spinal alignment, with excellent resistance to indentation and sagging. The top Talalay layer provides breathability, making it easier to move around and stay cool.
PlushBeds makes its mattresses to order in a factory that carries Global Organic Textile Standard certification. We have used two generations of Botanical Bliss, and have been pleased with the quality and customer service. The main downside for us is the mattress is extremely difficult to assemble. Dragging the latex layers up the stairs is a job for two large adults and is not possible for singles, and many elderly.
The Botanical Bliss is a great choice for eco-certifications, but is not easy to assemble and is a no-go for singles and seniors.
Naturepedic EOS Mattress
Why it’s non-toxic: The best certification carried by the Naturepedic EOS is Made Safe, which guarantees the mattress is free of over 6,500 potentially toxic chemicals.
Naturepedic is offering LeafScore readers 15% off their purchase using coupon code LEAFSCORE15 at checkout.
The Naturepedic EOS® (Ergonomic Organic Sleep) Mattress is actually a range of mattresses that are all exceptionally well made, non-toxic, and eco-friendly. You can customize the EOS (on both sides!) to suit your sleep needs and can even choose a vegan mattress option or latex-free design.
Naturepedic makes its coil contour layer in-house, wrapping each coil individually for inch-by-inch support and minimal motion transfer. The EOS design has full perimeter reinforcement for excellent edge support.
If you choose the Pillow-Top EOS, the encasement has an additional top pocket into which you slide the extra comfort layer.
Sizes Queen and up have split layers, meaning you can customize both sides. The split design also makes it easier to move the layers into place.
If you’re vegan or have a wool allergy, Naturepedic offers the EOS without wool (with extra cotton batting). You can also choose a latex-free version of the EOS, made with the same pocket coil layer plus an additional 3-inch pocket coil unit on top. Currently, you can only choose the latex-free version in plush, medium, cushion-firm, and firm.
The overall design of the EOS makes for a very breathable, comfortable mattress. Thanks to the depth of support and overall customization, the EOS is a top choice of eco-friendly, organic mattress for pretty much everyone, regardless of sleep-style, body shape, or weight.
We also love that Naturepedic ships the EOS for free and offers white glove delivery and mattress removal (for an additional fee).
The EOS ships in a staggering amount of single-use plastic. This is fairly common for the mattress industry but the EOS seems overly wrapped. We’d love to see Naturepedic extend its sustainability approach to cover packaging, perhaps taking a leaf out of Avocado’s books and switching some of that plastic for paper wrap.
Naturepedic has a team of Amish craftspeople that makes the EOS in Ohio in a GOTS-certified factory under fair labor conditions. The factory is GOTS and Greenguard Gold certified and the EOS comes with a 25-year warranty with free mattress repair or replacement in the first 10 years.
Evaya Bliss Mattress
Why it’s non-toxic: Eco-INSTITUT certified which means the mattress is free of even trace amounts of hazardous chemicals including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phthalates, formaldehyde, pesticides, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants.
We first became connected with Evaya when the founders of the brand reached out to our team to ask questions about sustainable packaging. As we learned more about the brand and the certifications the products would carry, we decided to offer LeafScore readers several Evaya products in our online store, and at a discounted price.
- Pricing: $1,599 – $3,299 (Queen $2,799 only on the LeafScore store)
- Materials: GOTS cotton, Cashmere, EverEden Wool, GOLS latex
- Certifications: Made Safe, GOTS, GOLS, GreenGuard Gold, Eco Institut
- Firmness: Medium / Medium-Firm
- Depth: 12-inch
- Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, Cal King, Cal King
The bottom line for me with Evaya is their products carry documented certifications that prove these products are completely free of all the nasty stuff our readers want to avoid, even in trace amounts. The two big ones are Made Safe and Eco Institut, both certifications that figure prominently in our roundup of the most important mattress certifications. Prior to including Evaya in our curated online store, we also tested the mattresses, and several team members still use them in their homes.
Avocado Eco Organic Mattress
Why it’s non-toxic: It might not be overly durable, but the Eco Organic is guaranteed non-toxic through its Made Safe certification.
- Pricing: $699 – $1,599 (Queen is $1,299)
- Materials: Organic Fair Trade cotton, organic wool, organic Dunlop latex, upcycled steel coils
- Certifications: GOTS, GOLS, Made Safe, GreenGuard Gold, Climate Neutral certified, FSC, Responsible Wool Standard, Formaldehyde Free (UL), Eco Institut, Fair Trade, 1% for the Planet, B Corporation, Sustainable Furnishings Council
- Sleep Trial: 365-night sleep trial
- Firmness: Gentle-firm (5/10)
- Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Double, Queen, King, Cali King
- Best for: Lighter adults, teens, children
It may be a budget option but the Eco Organic is impressively built for comfort and support. It rates 5/10 (medium) for firmness, making it softer than the Avocado Green and Luxury Bliss, making it a great choice for lighter adults, including some side-sleepers.
The Eco Organic is very breathable and helps hot sleepers keep their cool. It also helps to wick away moisture for a non-sweaty sleep. If you’re wary of home set-up mattresses and super heavy latex mattresses, you’ll love how light the Eco Organic is, and the two robustly stitched handles on each side.
Because it’s a shallower mattress overall, the Eco Organic is liable to bottom out if you’re a heavier adult, especially tall, or very hip or shoulder heavy. It’s also not typically firm enough for stomach-sleepers and may suffer from a bit more motion transfer compared to mattresses with more coils.
The Eco Organic also comes with just a 10-year warranty instead of the 25-year warranty with the Green. This suggests Avocado expects this mattress to reach end of life faster, meaning it may not be a budget buy longer-term.
Avocado’s Eco Organic mattress is a great budget option well suited to lighter adults, teens, and children. It is made to order in Avocado’s GOTS factory in the U.S. and is Made Safe certified non-toxic. One member of the Leaf Score team has been sleeping on the Eco Organic for more than a year and loves it!
Search by sleep style
This is our round-up of the best organic mattresses overall and offers a great starting point for anyone looking for an eco-friendly, non-toxic mattress. Our top picks will typically suit most adults, but if you’re in the market for a mattress to meet specific sleep needs, check out these resources:
More reading
Well, there you have it, our top picks for an organic mattress. If you’re interested in doing more research, the following posts might be of use. Good luck with your search!