If you’re like most people, you spend a third of your life in bed. Therefore, it’s essential for you to pick a Mattress that is going to meet the needs of your own body. You need a mattress that will compliment your head, neck, and the rest of your body. It needs to be a comfortable place where you can unwind, relax, and look forward to a good night’s sleep. It also needs to be safe from harmful chemicals.

Choosing the absolute best mattress can be exhausting. Not only do you have thousands of different brand names, models, and styles to choose from, but a huge part of what makes a mattress the best is very personal. While one type of mattress is your luxury, it can also give another person back or neck pain. Because of this, you may want to consider a memory Foam mattress with the CertiPUR-US® mark.

When buying a mattress that contains CertiPUR-US® certified foam, you can rest easily, knowing that the foam in your mattress meets the best CertiPUR-US® standards for emissions, durability, and content. That’s because it’s gone through rigorous testing and analysis by independent, accredited laboratories.

What is CertiPUR-US® Foam and What Does the CertiPUR-US® Seal Mean?

Foam carrying the CertiPUR-US® seal goes through careful examination and an array of scientific tests to ensure that it passes the CertiPUR-US® guidelines and standards of the program. During the evaluation, the contents of the foam are tested, along with other durability components. The CertiPUR-US® program is the most comprehensive and strict certification process for polyurethane foam.

The CertiPUR-US® program is put in place to test, analyze, and certify flexible polyurethane foam used in the following products:

• Mattresses
• Home Furnishings
• Upholstered Furniture
• Crib Mattresses
• Accessory Comfort Products

All flexible, certified polyurethane foam products have been tested and certified through independent laboratories to be:

• CertiPUR-US® approved
• Low Emission (VOCs) for air quality indoors
• Ozone depleter free
• PBDE flame retardant free
• Phthalate free
• Mercury, heavy metal and lead-free
• Formaldehyde free
• Environmentally innovative and performance tested
• Content/durability/emissions tested

We put CertiPUR-US® standards like these in place to ensure you get a good, quality night’s sleep.

Ozone Depleters

The presence of the ozone is essential in the upper atmosphere of our planet to provide a shield from the radiant energy of the sun. Adopted in 1987, the Montreal Protocol mandated that ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were eliminated by industries by the year 2000. United States foam producers not only met this regulation but were well ahead of schedule. In other parts of the world, unfortunately, manufacturers still use CFCs when making foam. The CertiPUR-US® label, however, prohibits the use of any ozone depleters like CFCs in the process of manufacturing foam.

PBDE Flame Retardants

In the past, polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) was added to foam in order to meet state flammability demands. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. effectively banned those PBDEs in 2005. In addition, other flame retardants that the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) identifies as substances that could cause genetic defects, cancer, or might damage fertility or unborn children, can’t be used in certified foam. Among these flame retardants are TCEP (“Tris”) or TDCPP.

Mercury, Lead, and Heavy Metal

Although heavy metals aren’t common elements of foam chemistry, they’re found in homes (lead paint) and food (mercury in fish) and have made it a huge concern for the entire heavy metal family. But, testing through a CertiPUR-US® laboratory subjects material drawn out to molecular scrutiny able of exposing even small traces of any heavy metal content. Through the CertiPUR-US® program, registered foams are tested and verified to ensure they’re free of lead, mercury, or other heavy metals.

Formaldehyde

Similar to heavy metals, we don’t use formaldehyde in foam as a raw material. Formaldehyde causes poor indoor air quality and has been labeled as such. CertiPUR-US® certified foam is verified through a small chamber emission test to ensure there’s no formaldehyde used.

Phthalates

Phthalates are primarily used in manufacturing some consumer products as a softening agent. In 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act eradicated 7 certain phthalates from being used in the manufacturing of child care items and children’s toys. The CertiPUR-US® program goes beyond this Act and requires a comprehensive laboratory scrutiny of foam extractions and prohibits phthalate use in all CertiPUR-US® certified foam.

Consumers today care about what goes inside the products they purchase. They’re concerned about the quality of their indoor air and the artificial ingredients and chemicals they expose their families too. For those who are concerned, they should always ensure that the mattresses they choose with polyurethane foam contain the CertiPUR-US® certification seal, regardless of whether they’re buying a mattress for the home, adults, newborns, or travel.

How Long Does a Certi-Pur-US Certification Last?

Foam producers are required to go through the entire certification process every 6 months for the first year. After the first year, they have to go through this process annually to maintain certification for every type of foam they wish to have certified. Additionally, random on-site plant checks are conducted for foam production through the CertiPUR-US® program of participating foam producers.

History of the CertiPUR-US® Program

In 2008, responsible U.S. foam producers had concerns regarding the importation of substandard foams in the country. The foams were suspected of being manufactured with U.S. banned chemicals, and were identified on various chemical watch groups’ lists as potentially causing genetic defects, cancer, or damage to unborn infants. Consumers had no way of knowing what was inside the foam that was used in their upholstered furniture and bedding.

The CertiPUR-US® program came about to offer consumers confidence and comfort of knowing that the flexible polyurethane foam used in the products they bought met the standards for emissions, content, and durability and were tested by independent, accredited laboratories. These days, foam producers all over the world are able to participate in this program if they meet the strict CertiPUR-US® guidelines of certification.

Why is CertiPUR-US Certification Important for Memory Foam Mattresses Buyers?

The foam industry developed the certification process in close connection with top chemists, environmentalists, and research scientists in accredited laboratories as well as furniture and bedding leaders in the industry. CertiPUR-US® emissions and evaluation techniques are in harmony with other standards like:

• LGA (Germany)
• Eco-label (EU)
• Blue Angel (Netherlands)
• OkoTex 100 (Class IV Mattress) EUI
• AQS Greenlabel
• IKEA
• BIFMA

The testing requirements and technical guidelines for the CertiPUR-US® program are real-life documents that allow for transparent modifications based on relevant new health, safety, and environmental regulations and scientific findings.

The Guidelines were developed to meet or go beyond REACH guidelines and set standard criteria for component analysis, physical performance of products, and emission evaluation of products. REACH is a European system for regulating chemicals and ensuring they are used safely while handling the evaluation, registration, restriction, and authorization of these chemical substances.

Indoor air quality has been identified by the EPA as being among the top five environmental health risks. The average home’s inside air quality is filled with allergens, radon, PBDEs, VOCs, and more, which are all bad for your’s and your family’s health.

Although switching your mattresses and furniture to those holding the CertiPUR-US® label won’t get rid of all of your inside air quality problems in your home, it will keep more from coming into your home.

If you’ve already begun eliminating these contaminants from your air in your home, or you are looking to make progress, buying CertiPUR-US® certified mattresses and other products is a good start. If you’ve already removed as much of these contaminants as you can, this purchase will help prevent you from re-contaminating your home with harmful chemicals that are often found in other mattresses.

The aggressive CertiPUR-US® program is in place to conduct random certified product samples for the purpose of verification and to monitor the use of the CertiPUR-US® mark. The program’s value and integrity to participating companies are strengthened through careful protection.

PlushBeds Certi-PUR Certified Memory Foam Mattresses

Here at PlushBeds, we believe in transparency, so we can continue earning the trust and confidence of our consumers. The CertiPUR-US® seal is your assurance from us that the foam in your PlushBeds mattress has been not only tested, but also certified by an independent laboratory to meet specific criteria for  physical performance, environmental stewardship, and indoor emissions.

PlushBeds mattresses are free of  heavy metals, ozone depleters, prohibited phthalates, BPDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), and formaldehyde. Our mattresses meet the standards for low VOC emissions. The PlushBeds Memory Foam mattress collection, Eco Bliss collection, Sofa Bed Mattresses and RV Mattresses are all made with PlushBeds’ proprietary CertiPUR-US® certified PlushFoam™.

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