Shouldn't your bedding match your vision as well as your eco-conscious lifestyle?


We spend about a third of our lives in bed — a crucial time our bodies use for restoration. Many of us are aware of the effect that substances found in mattresses, mattress pads and sheets might have on our bodies and on our indoor and outdoor environments. Yet the fashion factor may be holding us back from insisting on toxin- and synthetic-free bedding made of natural, earth-conscious materials. What we want is a bedroom that induces tranquility and healthy slumber, both aesthetically and literally — and today there is no need for compromise.

Excuses for easing your standards on sustainability used to be more plentiful when it came to bed and bath linens. Assuming you could find towels and sheets manufactured from natural, pesticide-free fibers, your color choices were often limited to shades of white.

Not that there’s anything wrong with white — but after all, we want choices. We want décor that artfully expresses our personal taste. And no matter how committed we are to preserving our natural environment and protecting our personal health, it’s so much easier to do that when we have six fabulous colors to choose from.

No more excuses. Natural fabrics for the home have come of age, and they’re as fashion-conscious as they are earth-conscious. In addition to go-with-everything whites and off-whites, today’s health- and earth-friendly linens come in a satisfying palette of contemporary hues — from deep wine and soft violet to bright apple green and calming sky blue — that bring interior décor to life.

Unlike your choices in conventional fabrics, the colors you’ll find in earth-conscious alternatives are created using low-impact dyes or even colorgrown cotton, which is naturally cultivated with no dyes whatsoever in beautiful shades including subtle moss green and taupe.

Your choices in natural bedding are by no means limited to color. Environmentally conscious fabrics include organic cotton as well as linen and wool; unique weaves, inviting patterns, rich textures and finish options add even more choices for the serious shopper. These are fabrics that feel luxurious against the skin, deliver on warmth and breathability and can offer allergy relief as well as many other -practical benefits, compliments of Mother Nature. Wool, for example, is naturally resistant to fire, mold, mildew, bacteria and dust mites — a pest that’s more prevalent than you might think and has been linked to asthma.


Natural fabrics for the home have come of age, and they’re as fashion-conscious as they are earth-conscious.


Choosing certified organic cotton and other natural fibers for your home also means you spare the Earth, your home and your body the myriad chemicals and additives used in the production of the most common bedding textile, conventional cotton. Growing traditional cotton employs a dramatically disproportional amount of pesticides as compared to other crops — as much as 25 -percent of all the pesticides used on Earth. Over half of these are known carcinogens; others are toxic to the reproductive system, and many are water pollutants and despoilers of fish and other wildlife.

Many of these chemicals are so toxic that workers aren’t allowed in the fields until 36 hours after their application. “Easy-care” finishes and additives such as permanent press and softening agents add even more chemicals, including petroleum-based compounds as well as heavy metals, ammonia, formaldehyde and chlorine — the source of some especially dangerous byproducts called organochlorines.

While the impact of such chemicals on the environment is hard to dispute, how dangerous to your personal health can your bedding possibly be? After all, it’s already several stages down the line from the application of pesticides and fertilizers. And it’s not as though you’re eating or drinking it, or applying it to your skin like sunblock. You’re merely sleeping on it — spending about a third of your life breathing right next to your pillowcase, during the most important time for your body to renew itself.

No one really knows the level of toxic chemical residues in our bedding, or their potential health effects.


Choices in natural bedding are by no means limited to color.


But consider that the recommended procedure for -pesticide-contaminated agricultural workers’ clothing is disposal; laundering it merely spreads the chemicals to other clothing in the wash water. Other concerning facts: California has decreed that cotton-plant remnants remaining after harvest are too laden with pesticide residues to feed to grazing livestock. Yet these same chemicals are used in furniture, mattresses and numerous other everyday consumer products. And while green and high-performance building codes recommend that heavy metals, formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) be eliminated from building products such as plywood and paint, conventional cotton production uses vast quantities of all of these substances, and to date the textile industry has shown little interest in collecting data on the consequences.

As with so many things in this age of consumer choice, it makes sense to opt for natural and organic products when you dress your bed. The best natural-linens retailers offer choices that don’t require an iota of compromise on price, quality or shopping convenience, much less on fashion. And you’ll rest easier knowing you’re sharing your bed with fewer toxins and allergens — and enjoying the bliss of a bed that meets your vision for the perfect slumber.