A Healthier Night’s Sleep

A good night’s sleep is crucial to our health and well-being, which means that a comfortable bed one of the most important tools for a healthy lifestyle. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping, so choosing a healthy mattress is as important as choosing where you live or work. The founders of PlushBeds wanted to create a nontoxic mattress that not only provided excellent support and comfort, but also that was healthy for their family and produced sustainably.

These mattresses are free from thousands of harmful chemicals commonly found in today’s bedding, and the PlushBeds team is constantly using their groundbreaking research and technology to create a better night’s sleep. With impressive environmental, safety, and health certifications for their luxuriously comfortable mattresses, PlushBeds are one of our favorite ways to sleep soundly and sweetly.

Certifications include:

USDA GOLS GOTS Oeko-Tex GreenGuard Gold

A Look Behind The Scenes: What Makes A Great Mattress

With Michael Hughes, Founder And CEO Of PlushBeds

We’re all about doing our research at The Good Trade, and so we were excited to dive in a little deeper and get to know more about PlushBeds. We had the opportunity to chat with Michael Hughes, the founder and CEO of PlushBeds, to learn more about how he got started on his journey to create a better night’s sleep and to learn more about the certifications and natural ingredients that go into making the perfect mattress.

What sparked the decision to make and sell natural mattresses? 

My father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease when he was 40 years old. I watched this horrible disease rob him of everything he had, including his life, by age 64. While there is no definitive evidence as to what causes Parkinson’s Disease, epidemiologic studies suggest that exposure to certain chemicals in our environment are associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

We are exposed to hundreds of chemicals in our homes each day from foods, detergents, pesticides, toxic flame retardants and many others. Toxic flame retardants are one of the most common sources of toxicity in our homes and our lives. They are used in furniture, carpeting, mattresses, etc. When you think about the fact that the average person spends one third of their lifetime sleeping on their mattress, and that most are filled with toxic flame retardants, it’s terrible. That’s a lot of time to expose your body to potentially harmful chemicals.

“We searched for healthy, toxin-free mattresses for ourselves and our two children. That’s when we realized how hard it was to find healthy, toxin-free mattresses.”
— Michael Hughes, Founder Of PlushBeds

My wife and I did a lot of research and we eliminated as many chemicals in our home as possible. We also searched for healthy, toxin-free mattresses for ourselves and our two children. That’s when we realized how hard it was to find healthy, toxin-free mattresses. Most of the mattresses on the market were made with polyurethane foam and other unhealthy materials and they contained harmful, chemical filled fire barriers.

I remember being shocked at the results of a ground-breaking study, which showed that the levels of fire retardants found in the breast milk of mother’s in the US were higher than in any other country. I knew there was a great need for healthy, toxin-free mattresses.

We founded PlushBeds to provide our family and yours with healthier sleep options. We have done all of the research and found the healthiest and the best quality materials, so that you can have the healthiest sleep environment. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that our mattresses are safe for your health and comfortable to sleep on. All of our mattresses are made with toxin-free materials and they are certified with GreenGuard Gold status. GreenGuard Gold is the world’s most rigorous chemical emissions standard—a certification earned by less than 1% of all mattresses. We go above and beyond to guarantee that all PlushBeds mattresses meet this standard.

“We have done all of the research and found the healthiest and the best quality materials, so that you can have the healthiest sleep environment.”

What certifications are most important to you in creating a truly healthy mattress? 

When you purchase a PlushBeds luxury mattress, you’re not just buying a mattress, you’re making an investment in your health and wellbeing. You can sleep soundly, knowing that your mattress has all of the best certifications to provide you with a truly healthy sleeping experience.

  • Our dunlop latex is GOLS certified. As America’s largest distributor of ARPICO organic latex, PlushBeds brings the world’s finest dunlop latex directly from ARPICO’s certified organic plantations to your bedroom. More expensive than natural talalay latex or traditional dunlop, certified organic latex, as per the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS), is latex that has been processed using only organically-grown, milky-white latex sap tapped from the rubber tree, grown without chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides and grown using one or more sustainable energy sources.

  • Our talalay latex is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. It is a rigorous, worldwide consistent, independent testing and certification system for harmful chemicals in raw, semi-finished and finished textile products at all processing levels, as well as accessory materials used.

  • Our organic cotton is GOTS certified. It is recognized as the world’s leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers. It defines high-level environmental criteria, along the entire organic textiles supply chain and requires compliance with social criteria as well.

  • The foam used in our memory foam mattresses is Certi-PUR US certified. It goes through rigorous standards for emissions, content, performance and durability. Specifically, the foam is made without ozone depleters; made without PBDEs, TDCPP or TCEP flame retardants; made without mercury, lead and heavy metals; made without formaldehyde; made without phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and it has low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million).

  • All of PlushBeds mattresses are GreenGuard Gold Certified. This is the world’s most rigorous, third-party testing and chemical emissions standards, when it comes to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are chemicals that are released into the air from everyday furnishings, which we breathe in. The chemicals remain in our bodies and blood stream for years, which can trigger a number of health problems.

  • Mattresses and other products that are safe enough to pass GreenGuard Gold’s rigorous standards and emissions testing, offer lower risks of releasing harmful emissions and off-gassing into the air and create healthier indoor environments. The rigorous testing includes advanced dynamic environmental chamber tests, to determine if they have low VOCs and individual emissions testing for over 360 chemicals, establishing a total chemical emissions limit and setting a phthalate emissions limit. To maintain GreenGuard Gold certification, all products must be tested and re-certified every 90 days.

“When you purchase a PlushBeds luxury mattress, you’re not just buying a mattress, you’re making an investment in your health and wellbeing. ”

Do you feel sustainability is important? 

At PlushBeds, sustainability is a defining characteristic of who we are and how we do business on a daily basis. Our commitment is reflected in all aspects of our operations, from the beginning—with product design and manufacturing, to the end—with logistics and recycling.

  • Our products are healthy, environmentally responsible and safe for our employees, consumers and the environment. We manufacture all of our mattresses using the highest quality, environmentally friendly and consciously-sourced raw materials, which come from renewable resources.

  • Our commitment to excellence in craftsmanship and superior quality materials has driven us to become the industry’s leading innovator. We continue to create new standards for sleep products that are sustainable and safe for your health. Our engineers are constantly looking for and developing ground-breaking, non-toxic, sustainable materials every day.

  • We conserve resources and reduce solid waste by recycling scrap, byproducts and packing materials generated at the mattress manufacturing and assembly stages and we partner with private enterprises and charitable organizations to promote the economic viability of recycling.

PlushBeds’ 100% Natural Latex Mattresses are made with the best quality 100% Natural Latex – no synthetic blends, no fillers, no dyes, no carcinogenic adhesives, no chemicals and no pesticides. Clean, pure, 100% natural latex, as Mother Nature intended.

Natural Latex is a biological byproduct of the rubber tree. It begins as a milky liquid, derived from ‘tapping’ live rubber trees growing in tropical climates around the world. Trees are not harmed and they provide a sustainable resource for latex over the course of the tree’s natural lifespan – often upwards of 50 years. It is a natural, renewable resource that is easily biodegradable.

While most Latex Mattresses sold today use synthetic latex made from petrochemical products which have a limited lifespan, PlushBeds is proud to offer 100% Natural Latex for our mattresses because of its luxurious comfort-which can’t be matched, for its health benefits which reduce pressure on your muscles and circulation, for its resilience and because it is carefully harvested and manufactured through environmentally conscious processes.

“Our commitment is reflected in all aspects of our operations, from the beginning—with product design and manufacturing, to the end—with logistics and recycling. ”

As both the manufacturer and the retailer, you have significant control of the supply chain. Can you tell us how this benefits the consumer? 

Most online mattress companies today are purely retailers, where a separate manufacturer makes their mattresses for them and ships them directly to the customers. Not only do they markup prices as the middleman, but consistency and quality is always an issue since multiple parties are involved in the chain. Also, customization, attention to detail and quality service is typically lacking, since the company who sells the mattress to you does not actually make the mattress.

PlushBeds is not only a retailer and a manufacturer, but we are also the largest importer of organic latex in the United States. By working directly with the latex plantations, we are vertically integrated and we control the complete process from the organic plantations our materials are grown on to when the mattress arrives in our customer’s bedrooms. This has allowed us to ensure that we offer the most consistent, highest quality latex mattress on the market.

Also, as a manufacturer, we are able to use the highest quality materials without having to raise our prices. If our mattresses were sold in retail stores, the prices would be approximately 50% higher. When you buy a mattress from PlushBeds, you’re buying directly from the manufacturer, so you’re cutting out the middle man, retail markups, etc.

“Not only is your mattress made specifically for you, but it’s customized for your sleeping pattern and body type and not a “one size fits all” mattress”

We also manufacture and customize each mattress as the orders come in. So not only is your mattress made specifically for you, but it’s customized for your sleeping pattern and body type and not a “one size fits all” mattress. It’s also freshly made for you when you place your order, and not made by a third party, sitting in a warehouse for months.

We also offer a 25 year warranty and a free 100-night money back guarantee on every bedroom mattress and a free comfort exchange on the Botanical Bliss 100% Organic Latex Mattress.

The entire mattress industry has endured significant disruption in the last several years. Where do you think the industry is headed in the next 5 years?

I think within the next 5-10 years we are going to see technology and artificial intelligence play a larger role in sleep optimization. More and more today, we see new technology implemented into everyday household items, which improves our quality of life overall.

At PlushBeds, we’ve started to explore new sleep technologies and how effective they are in improving the quality of sleep. We are very excited about some of the new technologies we have experimented with.

Our engineers are constantly looking for and developing ground-breaking, non-toxic materials; products and sleep technologies that will help you drift into a healthy and deep sleep every night.

“Our engineers are constantly looking for and developing ground-breaking, non-toxic materials; products and sleep technologies that will help you drift into a healthy and deep sleep every night.”

This article is sponsored by our friends at PlushBeds