Confessions of a Natural Housewife

Some are born with Natural knowledge, but most of us have learned from mistakes

Sixteen years ago, I let my infant sleep on a plastic mattress filled with foam rubber. I had read the baby books and collaborated with pregnant friends.

But nothing and no one pointed out that standard mattresses contain petrochemicals or that these chemicals off-gas for us to breathe and absorb. Even when the baby developed sleep apnea — and had to sleep wearing a halter monitor and alarm because of a family history of crib death — I did not question the standard crib mattress I had purchased from my local baby supply store.

Truthfully, if someone had told me to raise this question, I probably would have laughed and, privately, considered that person to be a little crazy. Everyone in the United States buys and sleeps on traditional mattresses every day.  If there were something wrong with that, we would all know, right?

Six years later, I began to question my thinking when I toured the Vivetique Sleep Systems factory in Arcadia, CA. Here, high-tech, luxury mattresses are made by hand with materials that include natural latex, organic cotton and Pure Grow Wool.™  The only synthetic materials in this place are inside the competitors’ mattresses that Vivetique occasionally cuts open to investigate.

Vivetique natural latex innerspring mattress

My tour was at a time when memory foam mattresses were coming into vogue.  Vivetique’s latex and latex with innerspring mattresses compete head-on in this higher-end, luxury bedding category. Upon returning home to Cincinnati, I went to a local store to check out memory foam.  About half a minute after I laid down on the memory foam floor sample, I felt panicked. I was dizzy and could not stand up.

The salesman matter-of- factly said I was probably having a temporary reaction to the chemicals emitted by the memory foam. Fortunately, it was temporary, and when I stood up I thanked him, left the store and never looked back.

Since 2003, my family – including the baby who just turned 16 – has slept on Vivetique natural latex mattresses.  The comfort they offer can’t be beat. But the allergy-friendly benefits are priceless. While I cannot say that using traditional products before caused any measurable harm, I can say it wasn’t natural or sensible.

And, like all mothers at one point or another do, I can look back and regret not knowing enough about natural products and indoor-air-quality sooner. But I think that most of today’s Natural Housewives are simply those who have learned from their mistakes. ©

– Nancy Kibbee is editor at www.naturalinteriors.com

Three winners in The Natural Housewife Contest 2012 will receive organic Vivetique comforters, and two will get a room’s worth of Earthpaint. The contest is underway, but you can still enter. Get the details here.