FTC… Lets Just Talk it Over.
The FTC, or Federal Trade Commission, got in touch with us in 2012 regarding some of our ads.
They asked us for the science behind our claims that our products were VOC and chemical free, which we gave them. The FTC and Essentia disagreed on what claims Essentia could make based on that science.
We agreed to make some changes to our advertising. Nothing in or about our great products has changed.
The final testing shows that:
– Our natural foams have the same VOC levels as natural foams found in other organic mattresses and latex mattresses. (since VOC’s are found in all latex foam products)
– The air concentrations meet the Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Product Certification criteria.
– There is no health risk with any negligible amounts of VOCs found in our product.
– There is no risk of discomfort with any negligible amounts of VOCs found in our products.
The FTC however stayed firm in asking us to remove any terminology with the words “zero”, “no” or “free” when relating to VOCs and chemicals as it is virtually impossible to have zero or no chemicals or VOCs in any type of foam.
Thus, rather than fight with the FTC, we have changed the wording to “low” or “very low” than “free of” as the FTC requested.
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Are there any petroleum based ingredients in your memory foam?
Hi Michelle,
Our products to not contain any petroleum. All foams (natural latex or synthetic) require foaming agents. Even Talalay Global confirms using the same foaming agents we use to make their 100% natural latex. You can’t make latex foam products without them.
In the end VOC tests confirm that natural latex mattresses are a very healthy option. The only thing healthier would be a futon filled with untreated organic wool but then you’re looking at having to wash the wool 1-2 times per year for sanitary reasons.
On this webpage http://www.ballantinesbiz.com/Essentia/Essentia_MemoryMatress_010311.html there is a quote about your company having “in-depth research at the UCLA Department of Materials Science and Engineering concluded, “After performing toxicity tests on Essentia’s patented natural memory foam material through the UCLA Department of Material’s Science and Engineering, Essentia is proud to announce that the results support Essentia’s claims that it maintains the healthiest and greenest sleep surface in the World by offering a sleeping solution with no VOCs, no Semi-VOCs and no Formaldehyde.”
Can you please provide a link to that study done at UCLA? Thanks
Hi Michelle,
UCLA tested our products in consideration for other applications and possible development. We have updated testing specific for air quality analysis which can be found at the following URL under Exova https://myessentia.ca/pages/tests-certifications
Regards,
Jason
this is interesting as we were all set to buy an essentia mattress several months ago when another vendor alerted me to the ftc ruling. It put our search on hold and now I am looking at organic latex mattresses. I have breast cancer and neck and shoulder pain and it is essential for me to get the least voc’s and off gassing as possible. I dont know that the levels in essentia mattresses are good enough for me but I dont know what to compare it to either. Thanks –