Natural mattresses – what’s all the fuss about?

We heard that natural is best – so we set out to create a natural mattress and found that we made many customers happy. But what exactly is a natural mattress and why do so many people love them?

What is a natural mattress?

Ely Mattress is the most popular natural mattress brand in the United Kingdom. We’ve created a mattress that unites luxury, comfort and affordability with sustainability and ensured we are environmentally friendly.

We source locally produced ingredients which are natural and eco-friendly. Most mattresses in the market these days use foam, or chemically treated materials, which cannot possibly be healthy for us. We wanted to eliminate all that was not natural for your body, and therefore created an Ely Mattress.

Natural is healthy

There are numerous studies that have been carried out which show that chemically treated materials can be unhealthy for the human body. By releasing toxic chemicals, these materials contaminate our air, water, food supplies and environment. Science has proven that pollution and chemically made materials are harmful to our health and well-being.

Ely Mattress wanted to do something about it. We can live better by reducing our contact to these unhealthy materials. The simplest approach is to keep them out of our homes to begin with. Opting for an Ely Mattress is one step closer toward living green.

Benefits of buying a natural mattress:

• Dust-mite repellent (fewer dust mites means less allergy symptoms)

• Chemical free – not treated with dangerous fire-retardant chemicals. They, aren’t made from synthetic polyurethane, which is a well-known allergy trigger, etc.

• Absorbent, moisture-wicking properties

• Natural fire-resistant properties

• Breathable, insulating materials keep you cooler in summer, warmer in winter

• Environmentally friendly and made from biodegradable materials

We use natural materials in the Ely Mattress which includes:

Natural Wool – Instead of using foam and other chemically treated materials, we’ve used Dorset Horn’s wool which is known to be of premium quality as it’s densely grown containing short fibres with a springy touch and are of a natural white colour. These beautiful and soft flocks are mainly located in South West England and are used for the finest natural mattresses.

Wool is extremely breathable, odour resistant, fire resistant, and has exceptional thermoregulation properties.

One of the best things about using wool is that it dissipates moisture efficiently, insulates well and it’s known for its breathability.  These are all essential aspects in sustaining a neutral temperature for sleep. This means, during the colder months, the wool layers trap warm air to keep you snug in bed and in summer you perspire more than usual, so the layers of wool allow the moisture to disperse.

Plus, man-made fibres take more effort to process which means emissions are on the rise, whereas wool is the opposite.  By using wool, we are essentially not contributing to landfill at the end of its life cycle as wool is 100% biodegradable and recyclable.

Natural Cotton –

Up until the 1990s, Cotton was the number one filling used for mattresses.  Unfortunately, since then many companies are using foam because it is cheap, its ability to break down quickly, however it’s not natural at all. Best of all, natural cotton delivers a luxurious finish, breathes easily, and wicks away moisture better than any synthetic.

We have decided to compress our cotton pads by tufting the mattress which extends the durability, making it last longer. This in effect means that you don’t have to change your mattress every 7-8 years.  We didn’t stop there. We made sure we put the same number of fillings on the other side, so you get twice the benefit!

Natural Horse Hair –

Ventilation is the key reason for using horse hair in the Ely Mattress and there aren’t many natural fillings out there which can match it.  Horsehair is hollow which is the ideal moisture wicking material.  It is exceptional at getting rid of moisture that if you soaked horsehair and gave it a shake, it dries immediately.

Horsehair has been said many times that it’s like sleeping on millions of tiny individual springs.  This actually is very close to the truth as the individual hairs have a natural tendency to bounce back and never flatten out.

“Ely Mattress is an eco-friendly brand that creates super-comfy mattresses with natural, biodegradable materials—including 100% natural wool, cotton and horsehair —as opposed to synthetic materials and possibly harmful chemicals.”

No Flame Retardants are used:

There are no flame retardants of any sort used in our Ely Mattress. No toxic chemicals, no rayon, no fiberglass ‘fire socks,’ and, of course, no boric acid or any other unnamed chemical treatments used on our natural materials. So how do we meet fire safety regulations?

We use natural certified wool, which is naturally flame resistant.

Our natural layers are tufted by hand, NOT GLUED

The layers of an Ely mattress are expertly put together by hand, with tufting needles, cotton and rosettes. We do not use any solvent-based or water-based chemical adhesives, both of which can off-gas, pollute indoor air and effect human health.

10 Year Warranty for the Natural Ely Mattress

Ely Mattresses have a fantastic warranty policy — 10 years! A mattress’s lifetime is of around 8-10 years so this protects you well for the duration of owning an Ely Mattress. We understand that buying a mattress is a long-term investment so we’ve got you covered for the right amount of time.

Handmade in the UK

We make our own mattresses, in a factory that we own in West Yorkshire, that was established in 1983, using the finest materials. Our valued team members are paid living wages and provided a good working environment.

Biodegradable & Recyclable

Old mattresses don’t vanish into thin air. Mattresses are large, cannot be resold easily and are often difficult to recycle. Ours are unlike those other mattresses. At the end of their life, an Ely mattress makes less bearing on the waste stream. The natural materials we use can biodegrade and we can recycle them. Since no polyurethane foams and other toxic chemicals are used in the making of our mattresses, our impact on the waste stream and the environment is expressively reduced.

Invest in a natural Ely Mattress today

Be safe & healthy on an Ely mattress handmade in UK with natural materials. To buy yours today, head over to our shopping page, where you can choose from two types of feels to suit every body type and sleep position.