The Best Organic Mattresses, Fully Vetted and Tested
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You’re going to be sleeping for roughly 23 years of your life, on average, so why not choose the best organic mattress? These natural beds are easier on the environment and your health—and they feel like a dream.
Conventional mattresses often have questionable materials in them. Everything from polyurethane foams with formaldehyde and TCEP (a flame retardant) to phthalates can end up in nonorganic mattresses, off-gassing into your home. How much these substances impact you isn't scientifically settled, but one way to avoid possible harm is to get a mattress made from natural, organic materials. Most natural mattresses are made of a combination of wool, natural latex, and cotton. The construction is similar to conventional mattresses but without the chemicals.
Once you've settled on a mattress, check out our other eco-friendly home guides, including the Best Organic Mattress Toppers, Best Organic Sheets, and the Best Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products.
Updated June 2025: We've completely revamped and simplified our guide, changing our top pick to the Avocado Green mattress and adding the Naturepedic EOS Classic Organic Mattress. We've also added a new section on box springs (spoiler: you don't need one) and updated links throughout.
What Makes a Mattress Organic?
Certified organic mattresses are made of natural, organic materials that have been independently tested to meet standards. Not all “organic”mattresses are equal though. We’ve narrowed our search by sticking with companies that have certifications like the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). GOLS covers latex, which has a pretty complex manufacturing process that is not always the healthiest, but GOLS ensures that the finished result is as free of harmful substances as natural latex can be. See our more extensive explainer for more information on these certifications.
The GOTS certification covers everything from certified organic cotton to organic linen to other natural materials. It's similarly comprehensive, looking not just at how the cotton is grown and processed but also at ecological and social criteria, sustainability and more. It uses third parties to independently verify that standards are being met. If you're curious, you can read version 6 of the standard online.
While we especially like the big-picture approach of GOTS and GOLS, there are other certifications that test the finished product. The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification, which, unlike the others, deals with the final product, making sure there’s no potentially toxic chemicals like the polyurethane foam, PFAS, heavy metals, flame retardants, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in many traditional memory foam toppers.
Another thing to look for is the Greenguard Gold certification and UL Environment's Formaldehyde Free label, which both certify that there are no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or formaldehyde in your mattress.
Some organic mattresses are also “needle-tufted.” This means the mattress is sewn rather than glued (assuming it's 100 percent needle-tufted). Since needle-tufted mattresses use no adhesives, you don't need to worry about VOCs.
How We Tested and What to Look for in an Organic Mattress
Mattresses are large, and testing them is time- and space-consuming. Members of the WIRED Reviews team have been testing mattresses for many years, and we have slept on every mattress on this list for at least a couple of weeks, often longer—in many cases, years longer. That said, there's no way for us to test them all. Here are a few general tips, tricks, and things to look for when shopping for an organic mattress online.
- Know What Kind of Sleeper You Are: Different mattresses are designed for different sleeping styles. Are you a side sleeper? Stomach sleeper? Back sleeper? Or are you like me, a little bit of everything (which they call a combination sleeper)? Knowing the answer to this question can help narrow down your search to mattresses that are a good fit for your sleeping habits. This is where mattress reviews like ours come in handy; we test for every kind of sleeper.
- Do You Like Firm, Soft, Medium? Mattresses come in different firmness levels, often within the same model. Whichever one is right for you depends on which firmness option you enjoy, as well as any issues you may have, like back pain.
- Do You Sleep Hot? Cold? The difference matters. For example, solid natural latex mattresses typically don't breath or have as good of airflow, making them hotter, a perfect choice for cold sleepers, but not so great for hot sleepers who would benefit from the temperature regulating properties of wool.
- Innerspring vs. Foam: Organic mattresses come in two basic flavors: the traditional innerspring coil design and pure foam. We've primarily tested and recommend innerspring in this guide, though pure foam designs have improved in recent years, and we're in the process of testing a few now. The big difference in my experience is the amount of heat that foam retains. It's a good choice for those who sleep cold, while those who sleep hot are better off with a traditional pocketed coil design.
- Look for a Trial Period: Everyone makes mistakes; to avoid having to live with a potential mistake, make sure the mattress you're considering offers a sleep trial. Everything listed here offers some kind of sleep trial period after which, if you're not happy, you can return the mattress.
- More Expensive Doesn't Mean Better: Organic mattresses aren't cheap, but there's no reason to spend a fortune just to get a good, eco-friendly night's sleep.
- Check the Warranty: Lifetime warranties are rare these days, but most of the mattresses we've tested offer around 25-year warranties. Some companies cap it at 10 years, but view those with suspicion. A good mattress should last more than 10 years, and good companies are willing to stand behind their products for that long.
- Wait for a Sale: Mattresses go on sale all the time, usually every few months for most brands. Unless you need a new mattress right now, you're probably better off waiting for the next big sale.
Honorable Mentions
There are a lot of mattresses out there. Here are a few more we liked but didn't love as much as the ones above.
How Can I Be Sure a Mattress Is Truly Organic?
It's all good and well to say a mattress is organic, but how does anyone know these companies are living up to their claims?
As noted above, there are independent standards that have to be met in some cases—which we've also outlined in this explainer—but in the particular case of GOLS, the latex certification, the fine print says “organically grown natural rubber latex.” Unfortunately, while it's great that the rubber trees are grown without harmful chemicals, that doesn't mean those weren't added somewhere in the process that transforms rubber tree sap into something you can sleep on. It's a safe bet that just about any industrial process is going to have a detrimental effect on its source material. How detrimental and what that means for you is often difficult to know. Most companies, when you read the fine print, will say that latex foam is ≥95 percent certified organic latex, which is the highest possible standard. The remaining 5 percent represents the essential processing agents—required for any manufacturer to make latex foam.
In the end, it seems that while perfection may not be achievable, these eco-friendly mattress are still much better for you and the planet than conventionally manufactured mattresses.
Do You Need a Box Spring to Accompany Your Organic Mattress?
Short answer? Probably not. Mattresses these days, the organic variety included, are engineered to have the support of a box spring already built into it by way of including coils. Since a box spring predominately was sturdy support for a fluffy mattress on top, contemporary mattresses roll both these components into one. Plus, depending on your warranty, your mattress’s manufacturer may actually discourage the use of a box spring, as it may damage the materials of the bed.