Bedding Industries of America (BIA) has received GreenGuard Gold certification for its Natural Dreams mattresses, which are crafted from 100% natural latex using a combination of Dunlop and Talalay latex.
“Sustainability is at the forefront of our minds at BIA, which is why we take it very seriously when creating our products,” said Stuart Carlitz, president and chief executive officer of the North Brunswick, New Jersey-based company. “These certifications, along with other initiatives we are currently working on, represent our continued efforts to remain a key player in healthier sleep and sustainable mattress production.”
There are two tiers of certification: GreenGuard and GreenGuard Gold. Products that have achieved GreenGuard Gold certification have been tested and scientifically proven to have low chemical emissions, helping to reduce indoor air pollution and the risk of chemical exposure, according to UL, the global safety certification company that created GreenGuard certification. They are proven to emit only low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are carbon-based chemicals that easily become vapors or gases typically found in mattresses, flooring and wall paints.
GreenGuard Gold certification also includes health-based criteria for additional chemicals to ensure they are acceptable for use in schools and healthcare facilities. In addition, these products must also comply with requirements of the state of California’s Department of Public Health “Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, Version 1.2 (2017),” also known as California Section 01350.
The certification process occurs in a dynamic environmental chamber, which is a stainless-steel compartment that is temperature- and humidity-controlled. The product sits in the chamber for one to two weeks to allow the UL to measure its emissions, where UL chemical analysts can observe between zero and 200 to 300 chemicals coming out of a product.
Once the product has been GreenGuard certified, a new version of that item is retested each year to retain the certification.
“BIA has committed to planting a tree for every Natural Dreams mattress sold through our partnership with Evertreen,” Carlitz said. “In addition to the 5,000 trees BIA planted in April, we are planting in excess of the 1,000 trees that were planned for the month of May.”
Natural Dreams marks the second mattress line that BIA has received GreenGuard Gold certification for in addition to its Harvest line.
