The Essentia Blog

Ok, so you want the skinny on soy memory foam mattresses?

The Soy memory foam available is a maximum of 15% soy…the rest is the same old petroleum based foam. When i say 15, it’s generous. It’s usually only 2-10% soy.

- Is it healthier to sleep on? No
- Does it prevent the strong chemical odor? No
- Is it green? Depends on your standards

Soy in not included in the top layer of the mattresses….which is the actual memory foam portion of the mattress. The soy in added to the base foam. This is the industry’s way of going green. Let’s put salad in our 3 patty hamburger and call it the Healthy Supreme Burger . Big Mattress Co are like every other billion dollar industry. Smoke and Mirrors.

Ford developed a foam which replaces an impressive 40% of the standard petroleum-based polyol used in seating materials with a soy-derived material. Their new tv commercial boasts this soy-based Bio-Foam seat filler. More soy for everyone! Let’s start burning down the rainforest for soy fields. Oh yeah, we’ve been doing that for years now. Silly me.

Big $$$$$$$$ is also saved by going with soy because it reduces the amount of petroleum used in the foam.

Now if they’d used recycled bedding foam in the car seats, that would have impress me!

All this to say that soy memory foam available in beds is the same old stinky foam that’s hot to sleep in wrapped in a nice green bow

Information Technology is sinking a huge environmental footprint.

Here’s what you can do:
1) Check the manufacturer’s website before you buy; see if they take responsibility for their out-dated desk tops.
2) Look to local recycling centers.
- Type in “Computer Recycling YOUR CITY” in Google and there’s a great chance you’ll find one. They’ll dispose of it safely by neutralizing the lead, mercury and cadmium.

Data exchange uses about 1% of the energy output for the entire nation. Many companies are opting to replace the CRT (cathode ray tubes in the monitor) with LCD. The heat generated by high-speed drives raises cooling costs; while choosing a slower spin green hard drives for simple data storage lowers consumption significantly. HP even has a environmentally friendly computer. The Energy Star website will give you the latest tips for making your next IT purchase greener.

Did you know all Essentia mattresses sold within Canada don’t contain fire retardants.

Fire retardants are in practically every mattress on the market. Some companies even use PDDE and boric acid in their FR’s which is kinda frightening. Leaching into your body like hand cream many chemicals used accumulate in your body.

Luckly Canada has not passed a law requiring us to use fire retardants. So all mattresses shipped within Canada do not contain fire retardants. However, for all mattresses shipped to the U.S. we use a Kevlar fire retardant which is probably the most expensive FR on the market but it’s as clean as it gets. It’s illegal to sell mattresses that don’t contain FR in the U.S. A doctors note stating you do not want FR is the only way for us to send FR free mattresses to the U.S.

Check out the recent article in the Montreal Gazette entitled “We’re in Chemical Overload“. More info on toxic fire retardants.

Packaging, state officials say, accounts for about 1/3 of the 18 million tons of garbage generated in New York alone each year. The garbage generated by the fast food industry is both dangerous peoples health and the environment.

Nutrition labels tell us that a Big Mac is 52% fat and 45% sodium, so we switch to the Chicken McGrill which weighs in at half the fat and sodium levels. The problem is that the container the Chicken is served in is no better than the Big Mac container.

Styrofoam containers, non-biodegradable plastic cutlery, straws and cup lids pile up in garbage dumps. What makes this abhorrent display of recklessness even worse is that utensils made from corn and potato starch are available for biodegradable take-out supplies.

Don’t count on restaurants making the change for you. Bring your own cutlery, re-usable mugs, sealable serving dishes. Yeah, it’s kinda weird but you’ll get used to it. If anything, the more people do it the more restaurants will have to change their ways because of all the inconvenience we’ll be causing them.

Can we expect an industry who profits by selling unhealthy food to humans to care what its by-products do to the environment?

People in Toronto are loving our natural memory foam mattresses.

Website traffic is increasing weekly and we’re finally getting almost as many Canadians as Americans buying our memory foam mattresses. They love the fact we’re Canadian and make everything in Canada.

It’s clear Torontonians are telling their friends about our green mattresses by the calls we’ve been receiving. I’d like to thank everyone because getting the word out has been kinda daunting given all the big brand names on the market. It’s nice to have a product that can generate word-of-mouth support. We’re doing our best to keep on top of things.

Other popular cities for us include Mississauga, Ottawa, Brampton and Oakville.

Shipping mattresses to Toronto is a breeze compared to California….lol…..Keep’em coming!

New Costco dates revealed!

Our Pure Foam mattress brand is really picking up steam in Costco. We’ve received tremendous feedback from Costco members across Eastern Canada. A big THANKS to everyone for all your support.
June 24th - July 7th
Saint-Jerome QC
Boucherville QC

July 8th - 21st
Kitchener NS
Etobicoke ON
North York ON

Jul 22nd - August 4th
Trois-Rivieres O QC
Scarborough ON
East Markham

August 5th - 18th
Markham ON
Ajax ON
Sainte-Foy QC

August 19th - September 1st
Anjou QC
Kingston ON

Genetic modified foods are the most frightening environmental catastrophes I’ve come to know. Most pollution is reversible but genetic pollution is truly dangerous because it is not. Monsanto, worlds largest manufacture of GMO seeds and the pesticides that follow, have a history of manufacturing products with devastating health consequences. Remember PCB’s, DDT, Agent Orange and Aspertame? These are not people we should be trusting with our food and the health of our planet.

Now welcome to the world of genetically modified fish

Greed is the sole reason for genetic engineering, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Do your best to choose non GMO foods and starts talking to your friends about this. These companies cannot compete against us as a whole.

More reason to choose organic …. it’s for the good of everyone.

Here’s your opportunity to buy 1 acre of rainforest for just $15.

The rainforest is being burned for soy and palm plantations as well as to raise cattle.

The rush for Biofuels is also fueling this destruction and according to Greenpeace “a handful of international corporations are ultimately responsible for the slashing and burning of Indonesia’s peatland forests for food, fuel and laundry detergent. Some of the best known brands in the world are literally cooking the climate.”

Approximately 1 acre per second, or 86,400 acres per day are lost through tropical deforestation which accounts which accounts for 20% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Buy 1 acre of rainforest for just $15.

We are now official 1% For The Planet members.

Members donate 1% of their sales to pre-approved environmental causes. Not sure who we’ll be donating too this year but i’ll certainly mention it in a future post. Many non-profits to choose from.

Many company who donate millions per year never even come close to their 1% so we’re very proud to be part of this.

If you own a company please consider joining 1% for the planet.

Have you ever wondered if the company you’re buying a product from gives a hoot about the Earth?

Well ClimateCounts.org has a scorecard which measures companies on their commitment to tackling global warming. Using this scorecard while shopping is an easy way make your purchase count in all the right ways.

Climate Counts use a 0-to-100 point scale and 22 criteria to determine if companies have:

• MEASURED their climate “footprint”
• REDUCED their impact on global warming
• SUPPORTED (or suggest intent to block) progressive climate legislation
• Publicly DISCLOSED their climate actions clearly and comprehensively

Among the Worst
35 Kellogg
25 Disney …. for shame!
22 Levis
21 ConAgra Foods (brands they make)
15 Clorox
15 Liz Claibourne
14 CBS
13 Sara Lee
11 Apple
1 Yum (brands they make KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut)
0 Jone Apparel Group (brands they make)
0 Wendy’s Intl
0 Burger King

Among the Best
82 Nike
78 Stonyfield Farm
77 IBM
74 Canon
70 Toshiba
71 General Electric
49 Starbucks

Download your pocket climate card here