Organic Crib Mattress

As a nursery designer, it is not only my job to create beautiful nurseries for my clients, but I also feel that it is my duty to share the latest and greatest nursery products with them. When I had babies, I didn't think twice about the fact that the crib mattresses they slept on were made completely of synthetic materials, including  plastic- that now is linked to some long-term health issues such as asthma and more. With the growing awareness of such dangers, as well as our increased awareness of our carbon footprint on the environment, I'm excited to share with you this great company that provides a crib mattress that is both safe for our babies and friendly to our environment!

ORGANIC MATTRESSES MADE BY HAND IN DEVON

Natural, organic and green-Naturalmat is the only global natural mattress maker and has been making fiber mattresses for babies and children since 2001. Naturalmat’s handmade mattresses are  lovingly handcrafted in Devon from organic and sustainable sources of raw materials, all of which are biodegradable and comply with fair trade policies.  Even Naturalmat packaging is eco friendly, made from potato starch and a mixture of recyclable and renewable paper sources from the Forestry Stewardship Council.  

Naturalmat has three styles of organic mattresses to choose from:

COCO MAT-The most breathable and organic crib mattress

Coco Mat is the most breathable of all Naturalmat mattresses which makes it ideal for small babies.  The gentle spring of the coir is surrounded by organic lambswool with Naturalmat’s anti-dust mite protection.  This helps with insulation and provides a soft tufting to the top of the mattress. 

What Makes It Great?

-Only Naturalmat uses coir from the only certified organic coconut plantation

-Coir ensures unbeatable airflow, superior spring and excellent support, promoting healthy natural sleep

-Organic lambswool washed in water from the river Dart

-Essential oils of lavender, lemon and eucalyptus make Naturalmat’s organic lambswool anti-dust mite

-No polyethylene or synthetics for optimum breathability

-Excellent ventilation and insulation

-Naturally springy and supportive

-Mattress covers are 100 percent pure unbleached cotton, and are removable and machine washable

Recommended Retail:   $399.00

Size: 28” x 52”

LATEX MAT-The most allergy safe mattress offering medium support

Made from Latex that is completely natural and tapped straight from the rubber tree.  The latex forms a springy core and is sandwiched between layers of organic coir for extra support, which is then wrapped in Naturalmat’s anti-dust mite organic lambswool.  Latex Mat is Naturalmat’s most hypoallergenic mattress, to keep dusts mites and allergens at bay.  Latex Mat is offered in both a crib mattress and twin mattress sizing.

What Makes It Great?

-Made from natural latex

-Hypoallergenic and anti-bacterial

-Essential oils of lavender, lemon and Eucalyptus make Naturalmat lambswool anti-dust mite

-Anti-microbial-perfect for asthma and eczema sufferers

-Organic lambswool washed in water from the river Dart

-Extremely breathable

-Excellent ventilation and insulation

-Long lasting superior orthopaedic support promoting good spinal development

-Mattress covers are 100 percent pure unbleached cotton, and are removable and machine washable

Recommended Retail:   $525.00

Size: 28” x 52”

Latex Mat is also offered in a twin mattress size.

Recommended Retail: $999.00

MOHAIR MAT-The most luxurious firm and supportive organic mattress

Mohair Mat is Naturalmat’s most luxurious, firm and supportive baby mattress made with soft mohair from the Angora goat.  It has superior spring due to the layer of long horsetail fibers, which sits between two layers of organic coir.  As the longest natural fiber known, horse tail hair gives the most superior and supple springs.  The coir is wrapped in lustrous soft mohair which acts as a superior thermal insulator.

What Makes it Great?

-Made with luxurious soft mohair from the Angora goat

-Mohair is naturally flame resistant, durable and resilient

-Naturally anti-dust mite

-Extremely breathable

-Excellent ventilation and thermal insulation

-Firm, springy and supportive

-Mattress covers are 100 percent pure unbleached cotton and are removable and machine washable

Recommended Retail:   $625.00

Size: 28” x 52”

For those of you who already have a crib mattress, or feel the full organic mattress is out of your price range, the Top Mat should be the perfect way to protect your sleeping baby from direct contact with the synthetic mattress you have!

TOP MAT-A brilliant economical organic make over for baby’s current mattress and portable organic mattress solution

Naturalmat’s new organic Top Mat mattress is an economical way of turning baby’s crib mattress into an organic one.  This lightweight quilted mattress can be packed away and used on vacation or when visiting family.

Two layers of organic lambswool are contained within this overlay to your child’s crib.  The natural and breathable materials contained within the top mat regulate your baby’s temperature and help them to sleep soundly. 

What Makes it Great?
- Contains two layers of organic lambswool

-Breathable overlay for better ventilation

-Lambswool treated with essential oils including lavender, lemon and eucalyptus, which offer protection against bed bugs and dust mites

-Machine Washable
-Complies with all standards

-Completely chemical free
Recommended retail: $129

Make the Top Mat even more portable by ordering the travel mat cotton drawstring bag, recommended retail: $14.99

Selecting your baby's mattress is a matter of personal choice. I recall worrying about SIDS and other things when selecting my youngest son's mattress. (I was too young and naive to worry about such, six years earlier with my first born!) I know there is an overabundance of concerns and choices. By sharing this information with you, I'm not saying that this is the only and best choice in mattresses. It is my goal to share options with you and trust that you, as the parent will make the choice that is best for you and your family. I had my youngest child sleeping on a mesh "mattress" that allowed complete air flow around him. In hindsight, it must have been very uncomfortable at times and might not have been the choice others would have made. But given my worrisome nature as a mom, it was the choice that made me most comfortable at the time. Shop around, check out your options and be comfortable with the choice you make. You won't go wrong!

For more information about Naturalmat, visit: Kastel International.
Want to view a video about Naturalmat? Click here: Naturalmat

Eco-Friendly Nursery Wall Art and Kids Decor

While we're on the subject of eco-friendly nursery design, I wanted to share with you what we are doing personally to make our nursery wall hangings and kids decor more environmentally friendly.
Prior to signing on with my licensing partner, my kids' decor and nursery wall art was printed overseas and I finished them here with hand painted personalization. I worked only with a fair trade factory and we performed regular, unannounced inspections (at my expense) to ensure such. We paid higher prices for these goods, but we wanted to ensure we were not encouraging unethical practices. I used the least amount of packaging I could in shipping, while still ensuring the artwork arrived safely to my customers. We used boxes and fill paper made of recycled paper.  We recycled anything and everything in our office. I was taking baby steps, but with the goal of consistent improvement. Let's be realistic, it simply doesn't happen overnight that businesses become fully environmentally friendly!

However, now that I have signed on with Oopsy Daisy Art, we're taking things several steps further than I had even hoped to do within a year.

Now, all of our products are proudly made in the USA. Each delightfully detailed painting is an original design, reproduced onto museum-archival-quality canvas using the giclée method of fine art printing. This environmentally friendly process utilizes water-based, non-toxic organic inks to recreate original renderings with amazing clarity, tonality, and color fidelity.

Like I said in my recent post, I believe that it's important for each of us to evaluate our impact on Mother Earth and to do what we can now, and to continue to  improve with ongoing efforts to lessen our impact on the earth. I am happy to say that I've continued to be conscientious and am thrilled to be working with Oopsy Daisy. They are manufacturing my artwork in a way that I can be proud of and that my customers can feel comfortable with placing in their baby nursery or kids room.

How are you doing your part to lessen your footprint on our environment? Please share!

Eco Friendly Nursery Design

Now, I tend to be more of a "traditional" girl when it comes to my designs, however as I get older I find myself trying to simplify my life and my surroundings and so the clean lines of modern design are becoming more attractive to me. I also find myself becoming even more aware of my own footprint on the environment and am trying to be more conscientious of the impact that products I recommend to my nursery design clients, might also have on the environment. Ideally all of our products in the nursery would be environmentally safe, however it's difficult to always ensure such. So I believe that at the very least, we should take baby steps and build upon those selections over time. The basic items such as your baby's crib, flooring and walls are a great start! So today I bring you some beautiful modern and environmentally friendly products for the nursery. Enjoy!


The Eicho crib has an iconic, minimalistic look with an affordable price tag to match. Spot On Square, worked some magic to offer parents an amazing value while still providing them with a US made product that is both modern and eco-friendly. The Eicho collection, made of 100% recycled/reclaimed, formaldehyde-free MDF, is offered in a bright white non-toxic finish. The crib has three adjustable positions for the mattress platform allowing you to adjust the height to grow with your baby.

Designed by: Bob and Nicole Springer
Features:

• Eicho collection
• Three adjustable positions for the mattress platform
• Made from locally sourced Walnut
• MDF offered in a bright white non - toxic finish
• Glues used in MDF contain no formaldehyde

Purchase at All Modern Baby





Don't forget the paint in your new eco-friendly nursery! Not only should you not be breathing toxic fumes during your pregnancy, but traditional paint is not as healthy for your new baby, too.

Consider using low VOC paints in the baby's room.

Conventional paints are made from petrochemical-based solvents, which off-gas toxic indoor air pollutants called volatile organic compounds that have a strong odor and may lead to long-term problems over time. Olympic brand now offers zero VOC formula in many colors. Olympic can be found at Lowe's.

And don't forget the flooring in your baby's nursery. It's well known that carpeting harbors dust, allergens and is often made of synthetic materials that are not good for the environment, as well as your baby who will likely spend years playing on his/her floor. I believe cork flooring is the perfect solution for not only a stylish nursery, but for it's environmentally friendly nature. Cork is naturally anti-allergenic and insect repellant.
Cork flooring is durable and provides excellent insulation. You can choose from a wide range of colors and styles to best suite your design. Not only is it comfortable to walk on, but also offers high noise absorption as well. This could come in handy when you're creeping around at night soothing a crying baby and don't want to wake the rest of the house, as well as in later years when your little angel is banging pots and pans on the floor, and even still in those teen years when the drum set arrives! (In fact one should also consider extra insulation in the bedroom walls...something I wish I had thought of prior to my 16 year old purchasing his electric guitar and amp!)