The Essentia Blog

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.

Michelle from didn’t leave a city asks…..

“Would you have any information regarding what type of memory foam is used in an infant product designed to elevate and secure an infant from birth to six months in the crib as described in One Step Ahead (can be viewed online), a catalog of baby products? It claims to be safe but I purchased one and the odor is quite strong. I am reluctant to let my newborn sleep on this.
Thank you in advance for your time.”

Answer: Memory foams are made from petroleum based chemicals and a slew of others. The odor, or off-gassing has been a major complaint among many. www.chem-tox.com/guest/guestbook.html

Personally I would not place my infant in any mattress that had an odor let alone a strong chemical odor but i’m a no health professional.

I would go with a 100% natural latex, rubber or organic cotton mattress with organic fabrics for a baby or one of Essentia’s Bio mattresses for a toddler.

All mattresses sold in the U.S.A are required to pass fire tests.
Chemical fire retardants should be avoided at all costs because they’ve been linked to all kinds of things like SIDS, cancer, learning and memory deficit as well as heart, lung and kidney damage. www.peopleforcleanbeds.org or www.essentiadirect.com/research/fire-retardants. Wools are natural fire retardants and often used in mattresses as fire retardants. Another option would be to get a doctors note which allows you to purchase a mattress without FR.

Read reviews and take your time in choosing a baby mattress because their developing bodies are very delicate.