Obasan Mattresses Review

Our Rating: 5/5 (See: How Leaf Score is calculated)

Product Highlights

• Customized latex mattresses offer excellent value for money
• Algorithm determines three mattress recommendations tailored to your needs
• Company is committed to transparency, sustainability, and customer service

Country of Origin:	Canada
Materials:	GOLS Dunlop latex and GOTS cotton
Certifications:	GOLS (Latex) GOTS (cotton and wool)

Overview

Obasan make fantastic eco-friendly mattresses (View Prices on Obasan) with a raft of quality certifications and what looks like a genuine commitment to transparency, sustainability, and customer service. They offer adult, kid, and crib mattresses with some very affordable options. They use GOTS certified organic cotton and organic wool and GOLS certified organic Dunlop latex, and they offer almost unparalleled customizability (only Savvy Rest have a similar level of choice). 

Obasan’s website allows you to plug in your height, gender, favored sleeping position, desired comfort level, and other factors and then pumps out a recommendation for your mattress. As you can customize both sides of the adult mattresses queen-size and larger, this is perfect if you and your sleep partner have wildly different body shapes and preferences.

I plugged in my details to their customization tool and am happy to report that their top recommendation was one of their cheapest options. The second and third choices were both more expensive, which offers some reassurance that the algorithm isn’t out to gouge my pocketbook or yours.

In my case (as a petite, hourglass, stomach-sleeper), they recommended the Obasan 8” mattress built with a 3” firm rubber base, 3” customizable rubber middle/comfort layer, 2” soft top layer, Organic Cotton Jersey Fabric, and a cover quilted with organic wool for comfort and coziness. This model costs $2,899 and the layers can be changed over time, which is great if you’re looking for a mattress to see you through pregnancy or other major life change. 

The Obasan 10” mattress is also customizable for all types of sleepers, but is recommended for side and back sleepers. This model is built with a 4” customizable rubber base, 4” customizable rubber middle/comfort layer, 2” soft top layer, Organic Cotton Knit or Organic Cotton Velour, and a quilted cover with extra thick wool for ultimate comfort and coziness. This type of configuration would cost $4,399.

Third choice (for me), was the Obasan 12”, which consists of three 4” layers of organic latex. This ultra-plush mattress has an extra soft-top layer that provides the greatest pressure relief for your entire body, all while providing tailored support wherever you need it. It includes multi-zoned comfort layers with the choice of a firm or medium base. The built-in, ultra-plush topper delivers body contouring and elevated comfort levels. This one would cost $4,899. Prices for King size mattresses go up to around $6,000 all-in.

Each mattress comes with a 20-year limited warranty, with the first years non-prorated and the second 10 years prorated from day one. Obasan recommend not moving any layers inside the mattress during the first 30 nights of trial. After 30 nights, they ask that you contact them about any persistent discomfort and offer an exchange of layers within the first 180 days. 

Obasan mattresses are a more budget-friendly option with some serious customizability and eco-credentials. They ship to Canada as well as across the U.S. Their crib mattresses and children’s mattresses are some of the most cost-effective high quality options around. The children’s twin mattress is made for folks under 150 lbs and retails for around $1,100, so this is an excellent option if you want an eco-friendly quality mattress without coils at a low price.

Obasan is a carbon neutral company & factory. Their mattresses are rolled and pressed at the factory in Canada, so they can be transported in smaller boxes to reduce the carbon footprint.

The organic wool used in the Obasan mattresses is sourced from Corriedale Sheep in Argentina, where the farmers use traditional and humane hand-shearing methods. The organic cotton comes from the Andes in Peru and is breathable, durable, and sustainable. The organic latex is sustainably sourced from Sri Lanka, and even the wood the company uses for bed frames is sourced from responsibly managed forests in Quebec, Canada, undergoes no treatment, and is assembled without glue. FYI, the company’s list of organic certifications for wool, cotton, and latex suggest that their certificates are out of date, but it seems they simply forgot to update the list as the certificates themselves are valid (at the time of writing).

Obasan vs. OMI, Soaring Heart, Plush Beds, and Savvy Rest

Obasan has been around since 1985, and they made their first organic mattress in the 90s, well before organic mattresses became more commonplace. Their customized latex mattresses offer excellent value for money and make things very simple as all you have to do is plug in some data about your sleep preferences, height, and so forth and their algorithm churns out three recommendations tailored to your needs. For all the ease this provides, however, it would still be nice if you could customize things manually.

The zoned and layered system offered by Obasan is similar to that used by OMI and Soaring Heart’s Zoned Organic Latex mattress. These zoned mattresses mean you can rejig the layers and zones to accommodate life changes such as pregnancy, injury, and ageing, or simply switch the mattress around to accommodate another person. So, although they are more expensive than some other eco-friendly mattresses, they could easily see you through several decades of life (and multiple house guests and more than one partner!), making them cost effective long-term. 

OMI have much more robust eco-credentials than Obasan, though, and are an especially good choice if you have multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) or simply want a high-quality mattress free from toxic chemicals and made with care from sustainably and humanely sourced materials. Obasan only have GOTS and GOLS certifications, while OMI mattresses carry pretty much every certification that matters. OMI mattresses have also been rigorously tested by Consumer Reports and found to be durable and high-performance.

In terms of price point, Obasan, OMI, and the Soaring Heart Zoned Mattress are all pretty similar and are excellent choices if you’re looking for greater customizability. Naturepedic’s EOS Trilux is similarly priced but offers no zoned customization potential. The EOS Trilux is vegan-friendly, however, unlike Obasan, OMI, and Soaring Heart mattresses. At a starting price of $2,400 and rising to $4,700, though, the Naturepedic EOS Trilux is a lot more expensive than Plush Beds Natural Bliss vegan mattress (View Price on Plush Beds), which starts at $999 and rises to $2,498. Rawganique also offer a vegan mattress (View Price on Rawganique), but you’ll need a doctor’s prescription for this one as it doesn’t meet fire safety regulations without the wool component (Naturepedic and Plush Beds do meet this requirement even without wool and the PlushBeds option is much cheaper).

If wool isn’t a factor in your mattress choice, one advantage of Soaring Heart mattresses over OMI and Obasan is the company’s revitalization program, where you can add back bounce to the wool and cotton layers in later years should you need it (thereby helping to avoid replacing the whole mattress). Soaring Heart are also heavily certified and highly transparent about the materials and processes they use, which is nice, and they’ve been around for just as long as OMI and Naturepedic and have a great reputation. 

If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to Obasan, OMI, Soaring Heart or Naturepedic, but you still want to buy from a company with a good reputation, Savvy Rest and Plush Beds are very similar for latex mattresses, with Plush Beds the more affordable option. PlushBeds offer an impressive combination of reputation, quality, affordability, customization, and eco-credentials, with Botanical Bliss boasting the rare Eco-Institut certification, making it a top choice for a latex mattress after OMI’s collection (View Price on Plush Beds). The Botanical Bliss starts at $1,099 and rises to $2,898, and, as mentioned, the Natural Bliss (vegan) mattress starts at $999 and rises to $2,498. In comparison, Savvy Rest’s Serenity (View Price on Savvy Rest) ranges in price from $1,999 for a Dunlop Twin to $4,799 for a Talalay Cali King. If you’re under 160 lbs and a solo sleeper, or are buying a mattress for a child, their Tranquility mattress (View Price on Savvy Rest) is one way to save money as it ranges from $1,699 to $3,999. Both companies also offer similar layered customization, so you can choose firmness across three layers and for both sides of the bed. 

As for charitable giving and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), Obasan donates portions of their proceeds during certain promotions to various charities, including the David Suzuki foundation. They have also donated hundreds of masks to local nursing homes. Additionally, the company pays their employees a generous, livable wage. OMI, Soaring Heart, and Rawganique don’t seem to have this kind of arm to their business endeavors, while Savvy Rest have a robust charitable giving program and B Corp status (none of the other mattress companies have this currently). Naturepedic are members of 1% for the Planet, at least, although they don’t seem to do much else, while Swiss Dream Beds (a much smaller company) have a 10% charitable giving program. Plush Beds have an eco scholarship and donate to various charitable initiatives.

Savvy Rest are your best option if you’re looking for a particularly oddly shaped mattress, such as a circular mattress, for instance. But, Savvy Rest are rather miserly in terms of their return policy. Unlike most other companies, they just don’t do returns, claiming that to do so would necessitate them spraying their products with toxic chemicals. Obasan offer a 90-day sleep trial and a 20-year limited warranty on all mattresses, as do OMI. However, Obasan also offer a much longer ‘layer exchange’ period; after their 30-night free trial (during which they recommend you don’t move any layers around), they ask that you contact them about any persistent discomfort and offer an exchange of layers within the first 180 days. Plush Beds offer a 100-night money back guarantee if you buy direct from the company (30 days if purchased through other retailers). You can only do this once, however. 

Most Naturepedic mattresses come with a limited 20-year warranty including full repair and replacement within the first 10 years and a pro-rated warranty for the remaining ten. Naturepedic have a 90-day sleep trial and ‘comfort exchange’ program for most mattress models but be sure to check details for your particular model before buying and be aware that if you go through another retailer, that retailer’s policy applies instead.

My Green Mattress has a 100-night sleep trial and if you don’t want to keep the mattress after your 100 nights, My Green Mattress will work with you to donate it to a local charity and then refund your money. My Green Mattress also offer a 25-year limited warranty (full 10 year, then prorated). 

Soaring Heart are rather miserly in terms of a sleep trial and return policy. They only offer a 30-day comfort trial, which is not a return program and instead extends only to exchanging your chosen mattress for one with a different comfort level. For actual returns due to defects, there appears to be a 30 percent restocking fee and the customer has to pay shipping. They do offer a 20-year limited warranty, however.

Overall, OMI is your best bet for a non-toxic, eco-friendly, high-quality, latex mattress and is quite affordable. Obasan and Soaring Heart Zoned mattresses are comparable products in terms of customization and may be easier on your budget depending on your particular needs, so check them out too. Plush Beds are an excellent mid-range choice for a fully latex mattress, with the Botanical Bliss offering the best quality and the Natural Bliss offering one of the best options for vegans or those wanting a wool-free mattress without need for a prescription.

As always, check your mattress needs against the configurations available from all of these companies as your particular requirements (and potential requirements in years to come) may be better served by one than the others.