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April 2014 Moms
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Organic crib mattresses: avoid coconut fiber

knotty-girlknotty-girl member
in April 2014 Moms
When researching organic crib mattresses, I noticed many of the more affordable ones are made with alternative plant fibers, one being coconut. I asked a friend of mine who has decades of experience in textiles about these and she told me that coconut fiber textiles are basically really low grade rayon. Rayon is extremely flammable. So I just wanted to inform others who might be considering an organic mattress.
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Re: Organic crib mattresses: avoid coconut fiber

  • CecilbearCecilbear member
    Thank you for sharing!
    image

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  • RedDawnsRevengeRedDawnsRevenge member
    We have an organic Munchkin mattress. It's almost 2 years old now and I can't remember what's in it.
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  • MamaFantasticMamaFantastic member
    i'm too lazy to research.  can you name some common brands that DO include this coconut fiber in the layers??
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  • knotty-girlknotty-girl member
    I thought this link had some good info as well.

    https://www.healthychild.com/safe-non-toxic-organic-crib-mattresses/

    It also mentions polyurethane mattresses being sold as soybean oil made mattresses when they are just polyurethane with some soybean oil added in. You definitely have to be careful about unreputable companies jumping on the green trend as a marketing strategy and using certain misleading key words to suck in consumers and get them to pay higher prices for inferior products. I noticed this in the diet and cosmetic industries. Like after coconut water or acai has become trendy as health foods, companies start making beauty products with the same health conscious trendy ingredients and claiming scientific benefits in other applications that don't necessarily have merit.
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  • CurlieWhirlieCurlieWhirlie member
    Well there's a difference between cloth made from coconut fibers, and an organic mattress with a coconut husk core. I agree that usually cloth made from coconut fiber, or bamboo fiber for that matter, is advertised as super green and natural, when really it's just rayon. 

    However, there are a few companies now that are making mattresses with wool pads and coconut husk cores inside cotton covers, so it's not the cloth that's coconut it's the core. NaturaMat is the name of one company, I think.

    Just food for thought. It's always a good idea to research the substantiation behind any "green" or "organic" claims when it comes to the marketing of commercial products, especially stuff for kids! Thanks for sharing.
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  • knotty-girlknotty-girl member
    @MamaFantastic

    You can google coconut crib matress and select the shopping tab, and all the various brands come up.

    PS-Did you change your name or do you have the same avatar as another member?
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  • MamaFantasticMamaFantastic member
    I changed it after a very diplomatic A14er informed me the word "spastic" is a gauche term in European countries for people with cerebral palsy. As soon as I heard that, I hopped on the name change train.
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  • knotty-girlknotty-girl member
    edited March 2014
    CurlieWhirlie said:

    Well there's a difference between cloth made from coconut fibers, and an organic mattress with a coconut husk core. I agree that usually cloth made from coconut fiber, or bamboo fiber for that matter, is advertised as super green and natural, when really it's just rayon. 


    However, there are a few companies now that are making mattresses with wool pads and coconut husk cores inside cotton covers, so it's not the cloth that's coconut it's the core. NaturaMat is the name of one company, I think.
    I personally would still be hesitant to purchase a mattress with a coconut husk core. Coconut fibers are derived from coconut husks. Coconut fiber is assigned to a class 4.1 of the IMDG code (flammable solids) however it's specific characteristics and negative external influences cause it to behave like a substance from class 4.2 (spontaneous combustion). Spontaneous combustion may occur as a result of exposure to moisture, and coconut fiber is very susceptible to self heating due to moisture. Also it's high cellulose content makes coconut fiber particularly liable to catch fire through external ignition. Another thing that contributes to the flammability factor is its oil content and the fact that it readily absorbs oxygen, to the extent that in storage and shipment one must use caution entering a cargo hold containing it for danger of oxygen shortage. I don't know for a fact that coconut husks are safer, however I do know they can be used as charcoal briquettes, and I would error on the side of caution.

    ETA @MamaFantastic-I thought that was you! :)
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