Polyester "The Good" versus Foam "The Bad"

We use the newest and most advanced polyester in the manufacture of our baby mattress. There are some ill written words about polyester out there on the internet but the fact is that Polyester is one of man's greatest ever inventions. Polyester is an extremely safe and beneficial material. Developed in 1946 by DuPont when its original trade name was Terlene. 

The new modern era polyester material we use is tested and approved as asthma and allergy friendly®, environmentally sustainable, and free of harmful chemicals. It passed a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) chamber test which tests for any unwanted toxic emissions that can stray out of products and affect our health. Using foam, even CertiPUR-US polyurethane foam, in our baby mattress may not have enabled us to achieve this feat.

You know that new smell we get off furniture and new cars in particular? Most of us love it! But guess what? That smell is caused by VOC’s and may not be good for us. Some advice - In the nursery room the best thing we can do is allow that smell from the new furniture to dissipate over the course of a couple of months before we place a new-born baby into the room.

For those with eczema or dermatitis concerns the polyester could be a worry if your baby is in direct contact with polyester. But they are not - because the polyester fiber is enclosed within a barrier encasement cover that does not allow the fiber to become exposed and it is then recommended that you use good quality cotton fitted sheets on top of the baby mattress. The use of good quality cotton sheets would be recommended for all baby mattresses. 

Polyester v Foam:

One of the main differences of the Pure Zees baby mattress compared to the pocket sprung, spring and foam baby mattresses is the mattress core filling. We use a newly developed advanced type of polyester fiber material for several important reasons.

1 - This polyester material is inherently flame retardant and does not require any chemicals to be added to it in order to pass the FR tests required by law in Europe and the USA. This is a very big plus as these FR chemicals are quite nasty and particularly for babies. Most pocket sprung and spring mattresses are covered by foam and these foams would require FR chemical treatment of some sort.

The most recent ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) screening report identified a carcinogenicity risk for children from exposure to the flame retardants TCEP, TCPP and TDCP1 in flexible polyurethane (PUR) foams in childcare articles. The highest risk was identified for baby mattresses which is explained by a large contact surface area and a long duration of contact. A risk for reproductive effects from TCEP and TCPP in mattresses is furthermore identified.

2 - The polyester material is formed in such a way to provide a mattress firmness that is safe for babies to sleep on. It is important that babies sleep on a firm surface rather than one that is too soft. In 2017 a new EU standard came into place replacing the old and previously used BS 1877 part 10 standard with regard to cot mattress safety.

The new standard (EN 16890:2017) requires that all cot mattresses are tested for firmness and mattress structural integrity as well as entrapment hazards, suffocation hazards, chemical hazards, correct & safe markings, packaging and instructions and thermal requirements i.e. fire resistance.