the materials

I think it’s still important to note that not all the materials in this mattress are natural — a compromise I took to ensure I was getting a comfortable and affordable mattress. Nevertheless, the materials are non-toxic, which is good for you and the environment, and it’s always more sustainable to get mattresses that are durable to extend the life of the mattress — kind of like how we try to shop for high-quality clothing to slow down the rate at which we dispose of clothes.

1. Bamboo Zipped Cover: sustainable bamboo wood cellulose that’s also removable for cleaning, bamboo is a great sustainable option because it’s usually grown without pesticides

2. New Zealand Wool: natural material

3. Gel Memory Foam: man-made, but Certi-PUR-US® certified (non-toxic)

4. Airlux Foam: also Certi-PUR-US® certified

is it durable?

It looks like the durability of this mattress is still to be in question. Remember: durability is an important way to ensure that your mattress won’t end up in a landfill in a few years.

With foam mattresses, it’s likely that the mattress will soften with time. A customer review two years ago claimed he/she felt the mattress soften in 4 months. It’s quite possible that there have been improvements in the structure since it has been two years.

According to this Reddit thread and The Sleep Judge , it looks like the best way to determine the durability of a mattress is to take a look at its density. According to this user, you would want memory foam layers that are 5lbs/ft3, and a lower polyfoam base of 2lbs/ft3. The website lists the mattress to have memory foam layers of 4lbs/ft3 and 1.8lbs/ft3, which is still decent, but also depends on your body weight as well. As a 5’2” woman with affordability in mind, the Cypress Bamboo Gel worked for me. There are also other items available that are non-foam mattresses that you can browse, although they tend to be a bit pricier.

Nevertheless, Brentwood Home does offer a 1-Year sleep trial, so if you ever feel like the mattress hasn’t held up well within that time, Brentwood Home will provide a return service for you, but they mention they’d like you to have the mattress donated to a nonprofit or recycled instead — most likely because it’s less costly on their part, but also because they believe it is the most responsible and sustainable choice.

how do we know it’s non-toxic?

Brentwood Home touts a list of its certifications:

• OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 — a certification that requires a test conducted by OEKO-TEX®’s partner institutes, which if passed, ensures that a product is completely harmless to human health. This certificate is given to the New Zealand wool material in the mattress.

• CertiPUR-US® — a certification for foams administered by a non-profit organization, which ensures that foams are harmless through its testing procedures (yearly testing and random testing of the same foams). This applies to the foam used in this mattress.

• Greenguard Gold® Certified — a certification by UL Environment, which tests for VOCs, formaldehyde, and more. This applies to all Brentwood Home mattresses.

ethical production standards?

I’ve reached out to customer service to ask about some of the ethical production standards, and was pleased to find the team is very open to questions. This is always a good sign because it implies that the company has nothing to hide.

The team mentioned it does promote ethical factory standards and can provide sources of materials. All of the memory foam is sourced from the U.S, and the two different manufacturers are Elite & Carpenter. If you are curious, I would gladly reach out to the team.

my review

I love the feel of my mattress so far. I’ve had it for about 3 weeks now and I no longer have anymore back pains that my previous mattress gave me. I would get serious back pains that would last throughout the day because my previous mattress was too soft and sunk in the middle. This mattress has a firm feel that is still very soft due to the memory foam, which is great because I love softer mattresses, but this still gives me the sturdy support I need so far.

It was easy to set up since it is compressed in a box and shipped to your door for you to unroll. You should definitely wait the 48 hours before sleeping on it to ensure the mattress is able to inflate as much as it can — I didn’t and I’m thinking this is why part of my mattress feels less sturdy since I slept on one side within the first day of receiving it — a classic impatient Claire moment right there.

If you use this link and search for the Cypress Bamboo Gel Mattress, you can get 15% off!

*No affiliate links on this post nor commission made, but refer-a-friend link included for 15% off.