The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been championing consumer safety for over three decades, offering verifications to household products that meet strict chemical guidelines. And now the group is bringing its expertise to the world of mattresses.
With a stringent criteria set forth by the EWG, this verification helps shoppers understand the chemicals they might find in their bed. Or, more accurately, what they won't find. EWG verification is only given to the best mattresses that can prove they don't contain certain chemicals that have been designated harmful.
To better understand exactly what EWG verification is – and why it matters – I spoke to Arin Schultz, VP of Sales and Marketing at Naturepedic. Naturepedic has been awarded First in Category for EWG verified mattresses, but while it might be first, we expect more of the best organic mattresses to follow.
What is EWG verification?
EWG verification is a chemical safety verification. It's awarded to mattresses that meet the strict EWG standards, confirming they're free from chemicals that have been marked as a 'chemical for concern' and potentially damaging to your health by the EWG.
Among these banned chemicals are certain flame retardants, fiberglass, PVCs, and PFAs. In order to receive verification, mattresses must also contain lower-emitting VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and the brand must publicly disclose all ingredients and materials used in the bed. The EWG licensing criteria for mattresses provides the full list of restricted chemicals, plus all guidelines.
"There's well over 100 potential chemicals that go into a standard mattress," says Arin. "There are 85,000 chemicals in use in the United States... Nobody has an idea what kind of effect that has on you as a consumer."
To be clear, EWG verification doesn't mean a mattress is chemical free. As Arin puts it: "everything has chemicals, it’s just a matter of what [the chemical] is." With EWG verification, you can better understand exactly what chemicals are going into your bed.
Why does EWG verification matter?
Certifications and verifications help consumers navigate the mattress jargon and understand the materials used to make their bed, as well as providing some reassurance of independent testing. But there are already a wealth of certifications out there – what makes EWG one to take notice of?
"EWG is such a storied verification company," says Arin. "It's kind of become a stalwart of what it means to be a healthy company is if you are EWG verified." Arin suggests EWG indicates to shoppers; "that this is a safe product and I know for a certain fact that it's okay to bring into my house and use with my family and put it on my body."
It's important to note that not having EWG verification doesn't mean a bed is bad for your health, especially as EWG mattress verification has only recently been introduced. But for chemical-conscious consumers, it's a good place to start your shopping.
Wait, verification not certification?
When discussing mattress awards, we tend to be talking about certifications. CertiPUR-US, Greenguard Gold, OEKO-TEX, and ecoINSTITUT are all generally referred to as certifications. So why is EWG a verification?
"A certification, generally, you have to adhere to a bunch of rules, along with getting audited a couple of times a year," says Arin. "Once you become verified, maybe once a year we go through and let them know nothing has changed. They verify that, and we keep our verification."
But don't let that fool you into thinking this is an easy standard to achieve or maintain. "They still make sure that we're adhering to all of their policies and standards prior to us getting verified," says Arin. "If anything changes on our end, we have to report it or we could lose our verification."
With EWG standards only recently expanding to include mattresses, few sleep products have actually received verification just yet. However, we expect to see that number grow as the EWG audits more brands. For now, you can find the full list of verified products on the EWG website. Or head across to our best mattresses without fiberglass guide, to learn about more bed brands that limit their usage of certain chemicals.
