The Best Organic Mattresses, Toppers, and Bedding

You’re going to be sleeping for roughly 23 years of your life on average, so why not choose the best organic mattress? These natural beds, bedsheets, and linens are easier on the environment and your health—and they feel like a dream.
Conventional mattresses often have questionable materials in them. Everything from polyurethane foams with formaldehyde and TCEP (a flame retardant) to phthalates can end up in nonorganic mattresses, off-gassing into your home. How much these substances impact you isn’t scientifically settled, but one way to avoid possible harm is to get a mattress made from natural, organic materials. Most natural mattresses are made of a combination of wool, natural latex, and cotton. The construction is similar to conventional mattresses but without the chemicals.
Members of the WIRED Gear team have been testing mattresses for many years, and we have slept on every mattress on this list. We are always testing more, but these are our favorites right now. In general, we recommend hybrid mattresses with a core of individually wrapped springs because they feel more supportive and have better airflow, so they don’t sleep as hot. You may also find our Best Mattresses guide helpful. All of the prices below are for queen-size models unless specified.
Updated November 2024: We’ve changed our top pick to Birch’s Luxe Natural Mattress and updated prices and links throughout.
Birch’s Luxe organic mattress is our new favorite organic model. It strikes the best balance between firm and soft (Birch calls it medium-firm), making it a good choice for side sleepers, as well as those who prefer sleeping on their stomach or back. It’s also great for those of us who sleep every which way. It’s an all-around comfortable mattress that will make just about anyone have a good night’s sleep.
The medium-firm feel comes from individually wrapped steel coils, which are topped with layers of natural latex, wool, and a Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)-certified organic cotton cover. The coils offer full lumbar support and are arranged to cradle your spine but are also stiff around the edge. There’s no sag in the Birch Luxe, and I had none of the lower-back pain I associate with softer mattresses. The wool and latex top layers provide truly exceptional temperature regulation, and the pillowy top provides a nice bit of softness. (The pillow top is the main thing that separates this from the cheaper, not-Luxe model, which we also recommend below).
Birch offers free shipping and a 100-night trial period, and all its mattresses have a 25-year warranty. Birch offers an in-home setup and removal of your old mattress through LoadUp; details can be found on Birch’s website. The Luxe arrived completely compressed, and while it was small, it was definitely heavy. If your mattress is headed up stairs, or you’re not comfortable lifting bulky, heavy objects, we recommend going for the in-home setup option.
Formerly our top pick, the Avocado Green hybrid mattress is the only mattress my wife and I agree on. She likes a soft mattress, and I prefer a firm one. This model somehow manages to be both without being too much of either. It’s also good for combination sleepers like myself, who spend time in just about every position in the course of a night. After nearly two years of sleeping on this Avocado, there’s zero sagging or other issues.
There’s a one-year trial, a 25-year warranty, and free shipping available on all Avocado mattresses. Like other mattress-in-a-box options, the Avocado arrives compressed. If you prefer a soft feel, there’s a pillow-top option, or you can add a mattress topper, like the company’s luxurious (and sustainable) Alpaca fur mattress topper (see below).
The Avocado Green is 11 inches thick and made from organic latex, organic wool, and organic cotton. It’s also not toxic. It contains no polyurethane, fire retardants, memory foam, or chemical adhesives, according to the company.
It’s assumed that most mattress shoppers are selecting between soft and firm, or trying to find a middle ground acceptable to partners with different preferences. But what if your tastes change with the seasons or how achy your muscles are after a long, active day? The Zenhaven lets you choose a side.
Saatva’s Zenhaven is made of organic latex protected by an organic wool liner and an organic cotton cover. The two sides, labeled Plush and Firm, don’t vary as much as dedicated soft and firm mattresses, with the company claiming an 18 percent difference in the two, but it does offer a nice change of pace. Beyond that, the Zenhaven is pricey but extremely well built (and heavy—this is not a mattress-in-a-box). It has great edge support, sleeps neither hot nor cool, and will last you years.
Solid natural latex mattresses can last for decades and strike a perfect balance between support and softness. However, because all-foam latex mattresses are solid blocks of vulcanized sap, they’re cumbersome and usually expensive. Also, because they’re so heavy, they’re often made and sold by local mattress companies that vary widely in reputation.
Turmerry aims to solve this problem by offering organic latex mattresses with three or four layers of natural foam that are zipped into an organic cotton cover. Each layer comes wrapped for shipping in a solid hunk of latex that feels like a cannonball. (Those layers are just light enough to be shipped by major carriers and for you to lug up the stairs.) Turmerry uses the Dunlop process to make latex, meaning it’s denser and more supportive than latex mattresses made using the Talalay process. The Turmerry system has foams of slightly varied firmness.
You can configure the beds in a variety of ways. WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar tested this one with a medium-firm setup. A week of testing found that it performs like other natural latex mattresses—that is, very well, especially for anyone who likes the feel of firm foam. This is a foam mattress that sleeps closer to a traditional coil mattress, at least at first. Over time, natural latex will slowly shape itself to your main sleeping position in a process that’s not unlike what memory foam does, except over years instead of seconds.
The Awara Mattress is also made from latex foam, organic wool, and individually wrapped springs. It wasn’t as comfortable as the Birch, but it is significantly more affordable. Awara’s mattress is supportive and bouncy, but the springs can be felt more readily than in other mattresses, while the edges are quite rigid. (A topper could help even things out.)
One win for Awara, according to WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe: Unwrapping the vacuum-sealed mattress once it arrived resulted in little odor—significantly less than with other brands. There’s not much motion transfer, and the soft mattress fabric didn’t run too hot or too cold. For a hybrid mattress that’s easier on the budget, this is a solid pick.
My whole pursuit of an environmentally friendly mattress started with my kids. I care a lot more about what they’re sleeping on than what I’m sleeping on. Still, as much as I love the Avocado Green mattress, it’s not cheap. For my kids, I bought the more affordable Kiwi Mattress by My Green Mattress. The Kiwi is similar to the Avocado. It’s a hybrid mattress with pocketed springs and natural materials: certified organic cotton, wool, and latex. It’s also something of a rarity, organic twin mattresses are somewhat difficult to find.
One nice twist that makes the Kiwi appealing for kids is the two-sided option. It costs a little more upfront but being able to flip it over extends its life, which is handy if your kids think beds are actually trampolines in disguise.
My Green Mattress offers a 20-year warranty and a 120-night trial. The Kiwi is definitely a firmer mattress, but I think it’s comfortable, and my children all say it’s the most comfortable mattress they’ve slept on.
A plank mattress is great for anyone who loves a firm bed. The Plank Firm Natural is the organic version of the original Plank (our favorite firm mattress) and it’s made with organic cotton (GOTS Certified), wool, and natural latex. The Plank is a double-sided mattress; one side is medium-firm, the other a true firm. The medium-firm side is great for side sleepers, and it’s a good choice if you want something firm but are nervous about going too firm.
The core of the Plank Firm Natural is made of individually encased coils, and there’s a 1.5-inch layer of that natural latex on either side with different densities. It’s supportive enough for back aches and can relieve pressure points overnight, and the firm side is comfortable too, though it’s better for back sleepers. While it isn’t a true cooling mattress, the Plank Firm Natural has a breathable design to its quilted top, making it easier to stay cool while you sleep thanks to better air circulation. Plank offers a 120-night trial period and backs the Firm Natural with a 10-year warranty. —Nena Farrell
There are a lot of organic mattresses out there, here’s another we tried that’s worth considering.
My initial impressions of WinkBeds’ EcoCloud mattress were not great. It didn’t have any of the firmness I loved from the original WinkBed, which I had been sleeping on for more than a year, and it felt like I was just sinking in. But after a week, the mattress firmed up a little more, and now after four months, I’ve come to like the plush quilt cover, which is made from 100 percent GOTS-certified organic cotton and New Zealand wool. It kind of feels like jumping on a posh hotel bed. Yet despite the pillowy softness, my back feels well-supported thanks to the four-inch Talalay latex layer supported by an innerspring system made from recycled steel. Still, if you generally prefer a medium-firm mattress, you probably will want to look elsewhere as this is on the softer side.
This hypoallergenic mattress has been Oeko-Tex-certified, which means it has been independently vetted for harmful substances, but it’s worth noting that the latex isn’t certified organic. My main gripes with this mattress have to do with motion transfer—unlike the original WinkBed, my partner frequently wakes when I hop into bed after her. Edge support is also lackluster; there have been several times that I felt like I’d roll off the bed if I was but an inch closer to the edge. Finally, while the original WinkBed fit my queen-size bed frame perfectly, the EcoCloud has a bit of a gap at the top and bottom. Over time, the bed slides down the frame and creates a gap between my headboard and the mattress—my pillow went down the abyss once. I haven’t had this problem with another mattress. —Julian Chokkattu
A new mattress is a huge investment, and sometimes all you need is a little refresh for your existing one. If your current bed isn’t sagging, you might be able to get a whole new feel just by adding a mattress topper like this organic latex topper from My Green Mattress.
This topper is two inches of certified organic latex wrapped in an organic cotton cover, with a zipper so you can remove the latex pad (though I am not sure why you’d want to). It’s lightweight but does a good job of staying in place even without any straps to hold it down.
This is a reasonably firm topper, compared to something like a down or wool topper, but it still contours nicely to your body and is comfortable even if you sleep on your side. Lying on my stomach or back, I don’t even touch my actual mattress anymore with this on top. I do when I roll on my side, but just barely. All of which is to say, you can bring a whole new life to your bed without spending a fortune.
Want an even thicker topper? PlushBed’s 3-inch topper is a dream to sleep on and it will likely get you quite a bit of extra time out of your mattress, as long as your old bed isn’t horribly sagging in the middle. PlushBed offers five firmness levels ranging from “soft” to “extra firm.” I went for extra firm and could not be happier. It’s the firmest topper or mattress I’ve ever tried. If you too love sleeping on very hard beds, this is the best you’re going to find. If you don’t, consider one of the other four levels of firmness.
PlushBed’s latex topper is made of Gols-certified Talalay Latex. The company claims there are no fillers, chemical dyes, pesticides, bleach, carcinogenic adhesives or chemical flame retardants.
Turmerry’s natural latex mattress topper is one of the best value toppers you can get. The 2-inch model can be had for under $300, and we’ve seen it on sale for even less. The cover is sold separately, which will drive up the price if you want one, but after a couple of months of testing, I’ve found that you really don’t need it.
Turmerry uses a five-zone design in its topper, putting different-size holes at different points on the topper so that, for example, it’s firmer around your head and neck and a bit softer at the shoulders to let you sink down some and straighten your spine (if you’re sleeping on your side anyway). I found it to be very comfortable. It’s worth noting that Turmerry’s organic mattress above includes the same five-zone topper that gets zipped into the cover with the other layers. The topper is made of organic Dunlop latex foam (≥95 percent organic, see our note on organic standards below).
I tested the 2-inch topper, but there are 3- and 4-inch toppers available too. The website also offers a nice little quiz to try to match you to the best one. All the toppers are made from Oeko-Tex and Gols-certified natural latex.
This Alpaca wool topper is one of the softest things I’ve ever slept on. If you like being enveloped in a cocoon of fluffiness, this is the topper for you. It’s not cheap, but put this on your mattress and you’ll feel like you’re in a five-star hotel.
Avocado’s Plush topper is made of baby Alpaca wool (that’s a reference to the softest wool on the animal, not its age) with an organic cotton cover. It’s about two inches thick, but in this case, you definitely do sink down to your mattress so it’s more of a luxury add-on than a way to rejuvenate an older mattress. Avocado’s return policy applies here as well, so you can try it and return it within the first 100 days.
My only gripe with the plush version is that it doesn’t have straps (the standard does, but I haven’t tested that). While it won’t slide off—it stays in place, thanks to the cotton cover—the corners do sometimes get bunched up when you’re changing sheets and need to be smoothed out.
It doesn’t really make sense to spend $1,000 on an organic mattress, then buy nonorganic sheets that will rest directly against your skin. Here are some of our favorite organic sheets to top your new organic mattress.
These are the best organic cotton sheets I’ve tested. They’re soft, but not overly silky, which is a feeling I don’t care for (if you do, check out the Avocado sheets below). The Brooklinen organic cotton sheets are made from GOTS-certified organic cotton. They’re also Oeko-Tex certified, which means they’re tested for and do not contain any known toxic chemicals. The 300 thread count makes this plenty crisp and soft but isn’t so tight that you end up sleeping hot. These are a great choice for summer or if, like me, you sleep on the warm side even in winter.
These 600-count sheets are like sleeping on silk or satin. Somehow they are actually 100 percent GOTS-certified organic cotton from India. The only potential issue here is that, because they are such a dense weave, they sleep a little warmer than what you might be used to. Avocado also has a 400-count version I have not tested, but that might be a better pick for warm sleepers.
I first tested Antipodean’s wool duvet (see the next section), which I loved, but I recently started sleeping on these sheets and am confident enough to say that they’re excellent. They remind me of the sheets you’ll find in high-end hotels — wonderfully crisp, soft, clean white sheets. As with any of the organic cotton sheets here, these are naturally hypoallergenic. They’re made of ultrafine, long-staple organic cotton, with a weave that’s on the heavier side giving them a bit of weight. Everything Antipodean makes is grown sustainably on low-impact farms that practice regenerative farming methods. These are breathable too. I haven’t yet slept in real heat with them, but so far they’re been fine on nights where the only bedding I needed was the sheet.
Organic linen sheets are a potential heirloom purchase—high-quality, well-cared-for linen will last years, if not decades. That said, if you are used to 600-count cotton like the sheets above, linen sheets are, well, different. They’re rougher, though they get softer with every wash (cold water, mild detergent, cool or hang dry). What doesn’t change is their weight. If you like heavy covers, these are the sheets for you. Linen is also more breathable and cooler than other fabrics, making it a good choice for those who sleep hot. It’s also durable. Avocado’s organic linen sheets are some of the heaviest I’ve tried and will likely last you many years. The bottom sheet is fitted (sometimes linen sheet sets are both flat), and there’s a matching duvet cover ($439).
To round out your organic bedding collection you need a good organic duvet. My favorite that I’ve tested is Antipodean’s organic merino wool duvet. As one of the authors of our merino wool guide, I was well primed to like Antipodean’s wool duvet, but even I was surprised by just how much I like it. Like most wool things, Antipodean’s wool duvet is capable of amazing feats that sound too good to be true, like keeping you warm, yet being breathable enough that you rarely get too hot. (I am a hot sleeper, and I can vouch for this.) Wool is able to do this because it’s what’s known as an active fiber—that is, it reacts to changes in your body temperature and the environment just like it did when it was insulating and warming and cooling a sheep. The result is a duvet that’s given me some of the best night’s sleep I’ve had. One thing to note, this duvet is much heavier than what most people will be used to. I don’t mind it, but it does sometimes feel almost like a weighted blanket.
We have an entire guide to pillows, but we’re going to be adding some more organic picks here, because if you’re trying to get away from the phthalates and other chemicals, your pillow is just as important as your mattress.
The top organic pick in our pillow guide, the best part about the Avocado Green Pillow is the ease with which you can modify it. For example, I hate fluffy pillows; I like nearly flat pillows. So I just unzipped the Avocado pillow, pulled out half the stuffing (my kids used it to make sock puppets), and finally had the pillow of my dreams. My son, who loves an overstuffed pillow, took some of the extra stuffing that Avocado gives you and overstuffed his pillow. Everyone wins. The fill here is shredded GOLS-certified organic latex and GOTS-certified organic kapok. The quilted organic cotton cover is nice and soft and doesn’t get too hot. I’ve had mine for four years now and it’s just as good as the day I got it.
Mattresses are large, and testing them is time- and space-consuming. Members of the WIRED Gear team have been testing mattresses for many years, and we have slept on every mattress on this list for at least a couple of weeks, often longer—in many cases, years longer. That said, there’s no way for us to test them all. Here are a few general tips, tricks, and things to look for when shopping for an organic mattress online.
To help you make sense of the often bewildering world of organic mattresses, here are some terms and certifications to know.
The big name in organic certifications, and organic cotton certification specifically is the Global Organic Textile Standard, generally abbreviated as GOTS. It looks not just at how the cotton is grown and processed but also at ecological and social criteria, and it uses third parties to independently verify that standards are being met. If you’re curious, you can read version 6 of the standard online.
Most of the mattress brands here have GOTS certification. Our top pick, Avocado Green Mattress, our favorite kids’ mattress, My Green Mattress, and the Birch Natural are all GOTS certified. Awara is not. But cotton is not the end of the story for these mattresses, which usually also contain latex, which has its own certifications like GOTS. In fact, the latex certification is called Global Organic Latex Standard and is more or less the same as GOTS, but for latex instead of cotton. Again, the goal of GOLS is to look at the entire supply chain, not just the finished product. Avocado and My Green Mattress are the only ones in this guide certified by GOLS and GOTS.
While we especially like the big-picture approach of GOTS and GOLS, there are other certifications that test the finished product. Awara organic mattresses are independently tested by Oeko-Tex, which certifies that an item is “tested for harmful substances and that the article, therefore, is harmless for human health.” Another thing to look for is the Greenguard Gold certification and UL Environment’s Formaldehyde Free label, which both certify that there are no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or formaldehyde in your mattress.
Another term you might see shopping for organic mattresses is “needle-tufted.” This means the mattress is sewn rather than glued (assuming it’s 100 percent needle-tufted). Since needle-tufted mattresses use no adhesives, you don’t need to worry about VOCs.
Avocado Green Mattress was facing a lawsuit in California last year alleging that the company’s latex is not really toxin-free. Avocado defended its claims, and the lawsuit was eventually dismissed. But it raises a legitimate question: how does anyone know these companies living up to their claims?
As noted above, there are independent standards that have to be met in some cases, but in the particular case of GOLS, the latex certification, the fine print says “organically grown natural rubber latex”. Unfortunately, while it’s great that the rubber trees are grown without harmful chemicals, that doesn’t mean those weren’t added somewhere in the process that transforms rubber tree sap into something you can sleep on. It’s a safe bet that just about any industrial process is going to have a detrimental effect on its source material. How detrimental and what that means for you is often difficult to know. As Avocado notes in its defense, “The finished foam is ≥95 percent certified organic latex, the highest possible standard. The remaining 5 percent represents the essential processing agents—required for any manufacturer to make latex foam suitable for use in mattresses and pillows—that are common to latex and that are permitted by organic standards and environmentally conscious manufacturing practices.”
In the end, it seems that while perfection may not be achievable, these mattresses are still much better for you and the planet than conventionally manufactured mattresses.