Bedroom Of Your Dreams - interior environmental standards

Vegetarian Times, June, 2000 by Victoria Moran

Bed, Bedder, Best

The smartest choice for your bed, as well as for all the other furniture in the bedroom, is solid wood with a natural finish like shellac, linseed oil or beeswax. A host of wonderful finishes are available through environmental retailers and catalogs (see "Resources"). Synthetic finishes, as well as plywood and particle board, outgas chemicals, which means that they release volatile gases into the air we breathe.

When it's time to replace your mattress, look for one made from natural, breathable organic materials. An ideal combination is an organic cotton cover over dust mite--resistant wool batting and 100-percent natural latex. (The trademark "Pure Grown Wool" guarantees that the sheep grazed on pesticide-free pastures and were raised and sheared humanely.) The mattress, like the bed frame, should be free of metal.

If you're not ready to buy a new mattress, consider a topper of pesticide-free wool covered with green cotton (it's untreated, undyed, unbleached) or organic cotton (it has all the qualities of green cotton, plus the bonus of being grown without pesticides). A cover like this is dust mite--resistant and breathable: It doesn't trap moisture, so you'll be warmer in winter and cooler in summer. It's also light enough so that you can toss it over patio furniture or a balcony to refresh it with outdoor air and sunshine.

Mattress and pillow covers that provide a barrier between you and ubiquitous dust mites are a good idea, especially for anyone with allergies to these microscopic organisms that feast on the tiny skin flakes we shed every day. "Dust mites are found just about everywhere humans live," says allergist Mandel Sher, M.D., "especially in the carpeting, on mattresses, pillows, bed covers and upholstered furniture." To combat these miserable creatures, you can get synthetic covers for your bedding (found in most linen departments), or you can buy a patented, 100-percent cotton dust mite barrier.

For easiest breathing, choose a pillow of untreated organic wool with an organic cotton cover. (Wool is dust mite--resistant and doesn't retain moisture.) Your pillow should also address your specific health conditions. If you have neck problems or wake up stiff and achy, for example, you may need a pillow that conforms to the contours of your cervical spine. Many people rest in orthopedic ecstasy on cylindrical pillows stuffed with buckwheat hulls (found at natural food stores and some housewares departments). Ask your chiropractor to recommend one.

Organic cotton sheets and pillowcases can enhance both your personal space and the larger environment as well. "A set of queen sheets weighs about four pounds," says Cordaro, "and it takes one pound of pesticide to grow the cotton for them." Plus, most conventional sheets are treated with an antiwrinkle treatment containing formaldehyde that takes years to wash out completely. But don't worry that you'll spend eons ironing if you switch to organic cotton: As long as you remove sheets from the dryer promptly, they'll stay smooth and neat.