Few things seem as safe as a simple fluffy pillow, but the pillow you snuggle up with for a third of each day could be riddled with toxic chemicals. Here’s the lowdown on toxic chemicals in pillows and what to watch out for when choosing a new, non-toxic, safe, and sustainable pillow.
Table of Contents
- Polyester pillows
- Polyurethane and memory foam pillows
- ‘Latex’ pillows or SBR
- Polyethylene terephthalate pellets (PETs) and microbeads for pillows
- Recycled plastic pillows
- Goose, duck, and chicken down and feather pillows
- Conventional cotton pillows and pillowcases
- Final thoughts on toxic materials and chemicals in pillows
Whether your pillow is made with polyester, memory foam, synthetic down alternatives, down itself, synthetic rubber, or conventional cotton, it is very likely off-gassing some nasty chemicals and sabotaging your sleep.
I’ve written extensively at Leaf Score about Toxic Chemicals in Household Textiles and, more specifically, in bedding. Here, then, I’ll look more closely at the hazardous materials and chemicals in conventional pillows.
Polyester pillows
Most conventional pillows are made using polyester. This is a mass-produced petroleum-based, nonrenewable resource. Sure, it’s cheap, but at what cost?
Polyester manufacturing:
- Is incredibly energy intensive, which contributes to climate change
- Typically involves coal, air, water, and petroleum
- Requires a plethora of hazardous chemicals, primarily ethylene glycol
- Often takes place in factories with unsafe and unfair working conditions
- Can pollute waterways, the air, and soil
- Takes place primarily in India and China, with most of the oil supplied by Russia.
Ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol is a toxic chemical that can off-gas from pillows. This means we inhale it as we sleep. It can also be absorbed through our skin and can cause:
- Skin and eye irritation
- Damage to the nervous system and kidneys
- Respiratory irritation.
Polyester pillows make for poor sleep
Polyester doesn’t breathe well, meaning that you’re more likely to overheat, sweat, and have an unpleasant sleeping experience.
Polyester is also very attractive to dust mites as there are plenty of places for these bugs to hide. This means you’ll need to invest in a pillow encasement or regularly wash and dry your polyester pillow to keep it clean.
Finally, polyester pillows have a short life span, getting lumpy and flat within 6-24 months, especially if you go for the really cheap options. This means that millions of polyester pillows end up in landfill or incinerated every year.
It’s rare to be allergic to polyester itself, but this material harbors dust mites and their feces and can worsen allergy symptoms.
Whether you’re wary of the geopolitical impact of buying polyester, the labor ethics, the product quality and longevity, or having hazardous materials and chemicals in your home, it’s clear that polyester pillows are a poor choice compared to safe, sustainable, and natural materials.
Polyurethane and memory foam pillows
Memory foam pillows can offer good support and initially feel very comfortable for most sleepers. However, memory foam is just another name for polyurethane (PU), which can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while you sleep.
Like polyester, polyurethane memory foam manufacturing is energy intensive. It also involves formaldehyde and benzene, both of which are bad for factory workers, the environment, and for you and your family. And these pillows degrade fast and furious, churning out toxic dust that you and your family then breathe in.
Find out more about the perils of polyurethane here, as part of the Leaf Score Guide to Mattresses.
CertiPur is a certification made by industry to try to greenwash polyfoam products that are still made with toxic chemicals. Sure, the foam is marginally less terrible than standard memory foam as the certification only applies to polyfoam that is:
- Is free from polybrominated diphenyl ether (PDBE) and some other chemical flame retardants
- Has lower levels of formaldehyde and phthalates
- Has lower levels of some ozone depleting substances, mercury, lead, and other heavy metals.
However, even if it’s CertiPur, memory foam is still resource-hungry, synthetic, and a source of VOCs.
‘Latex’ pillows or SBR
Latex is a great material for pillows, but only if it’s genuine latex from a rubber tree. Unfortunately, some ‘latex’ pillows are made using synthetic latex, which is a petroleum product.
Synthetic latex is not as durable as natural latex, meaning you’ll need to replace your pillow in around six years or sooner. In contrast, a natural latex pillow could easily last you 20 years or more. Synthetic latex also tears more easily, so you’ll need to be more careful with your pillow.
As for comfort, synthetic latex isn’t as springy as natural latex, and it typically continues to off-gas and smell like chemicals for months or even years. Some natural latex pillows smell a little rubbery at first but the smell tends to lessen and disappear altogether within just a few hours or days. In my experience, none of my latex pillows have had a strong smell, even if they’ve been wrapped in plastic for shipping.
What causes the off-gassing from synthetic latex?
Synthetic latex is a mixture of styrene and butadiene, both of which are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can harm health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), styrene is associated with:
- Effects on the central nervous system (CNS)
- Headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression
- Hearing loss
- Peripheral neuropathy
- An increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma.
As for butadiene, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA), notes that this chemical may:
- Harm the central nervous system
- Irritate the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, and skin
- Increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer
- Harm reproductive health and development.
Synthetic latex is sometimes referred to as SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), so watch out for that on product description.
You may see pillows made with ‘blended latex’, which can be code for synthetic latex mixed with some natural latex or other materials. As an example, Natura’s Ultimate Latex Pillow comprises: 30% natural rubber tree latex; 70% synthetic (styrene-butadiene) latex.
Polyethylene terephthalate pellets (PETs) and microbeads for pillows
Polyethylene terephthalate pellets (PETs) are small stuffing pellets made from plastic. These and other microbeads made from plastic have been banned for sale in the U.S., but you may still find them in travel pillows, neck pillows, and other ‘cloud’ pillows.
PET and other synthetic polyester-type microbeads have a significant carbon footprint, emitting greenhouse gases at every stage of production. Their production also requires a lot of toxic inputs, including:
- Ethylene glycol
- Phthalates
- Antimony trioxide.
PET pellets and microbeads also take a long time to degrade. Technically, the PET in pillows can be recycled, but most pillows still end up in landfill. This means that the pellets can make their way into rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans, where they harm wildlife. The beads and pellets are a choking hazard for animals and both persist and bioaccumulate, increasing in concentration the higher you go up the food chain.
Recycled plastic pillows
Some bedding companies have begun offering pillows and duvets made with recycled plastic fiber fill. While laudable for trying to clean up waterways and keep plastic out of landfill, this recycled plastic may be teeming with toxic chemicals.
One study looked at pellets made from recycled high-density polyethylene from 24 recycling facilities in 23 countries. The researchers tested the pellets for 18 toxic substances, including 11 brominated flame retardants, 6 benzotriazole UV stabilizers and bisphenol A. The results showed that:
- None of the samples were free from all 18 chemicals
- 21 samples contained all three types of chemicals
- More than half of the samples contained 11 or more chemicals
- 17 samples contained five or more endocrine disrupting chemicals
- 22 of the samples contained BPA
- 22 of the samples contained brominated flame retardants
- All samples contained the UV stabilizer UV-326
- 19 samples contained benzotriazole UV stabilizer UV-327.
The most common brominated flame retardant was DecaBDE, which was listed under the Stockholm Convention for global elimination in 2017. There are no exemptions for DecaBDE in recycled plastic.
There isn’t much research yet on UV stabilizers, but what we have suggests that UV-326 can affect gene expression involved with inflammation and immune function. UV-327 is classified in the EU as a Substance of Very High Concern.
Finally, plastic recycling can product new toxic chemicals, including dioxins. Given this, and the ubiquity of toxic chemicals in recycled plastics, the researchers from the study above suggest that toxic plastic should not be recycled and should instead be considered a non-circular material.
Goose, duck, and chicken down and feather pillows
What’s more natural than a pillow stuffed with feathers and down? As it turns out, quite a few things.
While goose down and feathers are a luxurious stuffing option, making for a soft, indulgent pillow, the ‘natural’ fill is typically sterilized with formaldehyde, bleached, and treated with other hazardous chemicals to reduce their allergenic potential and naturally ‘gamey’ odor.
Down alternative pillows, duvets, and comforters are usually stuffed with virgin or recycled polyester blends.
Feathers and down are also rarely sourced in a humane way. Most are forcibly plucked (repeatedly) from live geese, chickens, and ducks who are reared in cages too small for them to even spread their wings.
There are two main certifications for down and feathers: The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and Downmark. Of the two, RDS offers the most assurance of less cruelty. Neither certification is particularly robust when it comes to toxic chemical use, however.
Down = the soft material under the breast feathers of geese and ducks. This material helps the birds stay warm in cold weather and doesn’t have sharp quills, which is why it is a popular stuffing for pillows, duvets, and comforters.
Feathers = easier to come by and are often mixed in with down to increase volume.
It takes a lot of down to fill a single pillow, which is why down pillows are so expensive. A grading system marks the ‘fill’ of a down pillow with a number between 300 and 800 to indicate how much space is filled by an ounce of down. The higher the number, the firmer the pillow.
Despite their luxury reputation and price tag, feather pillows can be uncomfortable and unhealthy. Feathers tend to poke through pillows and down and feathers are notorious for collecting dust mites and feces. You’ll also need to fluff down and feather pillows a lot, including during the night, as they lose their loft and flatten very quickly.
Conventional cotton pillows and pillowcases
Whatever the fill material, most pillows have a conventional cotton cover. Some pillows comprise cotton fill and a cotton cover.
Conventional cotton is a resource hungry crop that requires huge inputs of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and water. Traces of these chemicals can remain in the cotton and end up in your bedding.
In addition, most conventional cotton is bleached using chlorine, which can result in the production of dioxins. These are known carcinogens that pollute waterways and are present in household dust.
Final thoughts on toxic materials and chemicals in pillows
There’s no shortage of toxic materials and chemicals in conventional pillows. Finding one that is natural and non-toxic can be a challenge. Even those made with ‘natural’ materials like cotton, hemp, linen, or latex may be tainted with pesticides and treated with harsh bleaches, dyes, anti-odor treatments, and other chemicals.
Wherever possible, choose pillows made with certified organic materials using safe, non-toxic and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. This means looking for pillows that carry robust certifications, such as GOTS, GOLS, MadeSafe™, or Made in Green by Oeko-Tex.