Which mattresses are actually free of fiberglass and flame retardants?

The decision comes down to working through the layers in order, starting with the one the box never mentions: the fire barrier. Safety first, then the materials you can verify, then comfort and durability.

1. 1

   Start with the fire barrier, the layer nobody advertises

   Before anything else, find out how the mattress passes the federal flammability test. A named natural barrier, wool or organic cotton, is the cleanest answer and the one my two top picks use. A plant-based or sugarcane PLA barrier is a strong second. The two answers to avoid are a fiberglass sock, which can shed and embed in skin once the cover comes off, and added chemical flame retardants. California bans both in mattresses from January 1, 2027 under AB 1059.

2. 2

   Treat an undisclosed barrier as a caution, not a clean bill

   Plenty of brands will tell you their bed is fiberglass-free but will not say what the barrier actually is. Fiberglass-free is not the same as disclosed. In my scoring, the beds that name a non-chemical barrier, like the Purple Original with its food-grade-salt knit, score well above the ones that stay quiet, like the Nectar, even though both are all-foam. If a brand will not tell you how its mattress passes the burn test, score it accordingly.

3. 3

   Ask what the foam is, and whether it is certified

   Conventional polyurethane and memory foam off-gas volatile organic compounds for weeks, which is the new-mattress smell. Natural latex over coils does not off-gas and is the cleanest core, which is what the Happsy and Avocado beds use. If a bed is foam, a CertiPUR-US certification at least bounds the emissions, though it is not the same as a natural material.

4. 4

   Look for GREENGUARD Gold on the finished mattress

   A GREENGUARD Gold certification tests the assembled mattress against a low-VOC ceiling, which is stronger than a certification that only covers one component. The Saatva Classic and Tuft & Needle Original both carry it, which is why they hold up despite using foam. A component-only certification like CertiPUR is a lighter assurance than a finished-mattress one.

5. 5

   Use organic certification to tell a real claim from a marketing one

   GOTS for cotton and wool, and GOLS for latex, are the certifications that separate a genuinely organic bed from one that just prints the word organic on the box. The top three beds in my group all carry full GOTS and GOLS certification. A bed that says natural with no named certification is making a claim you cannot check.

6. 6

   Then weigh comfort, support, and the trial period

   Once a bed clears the safety bar, the practical questions matter: latex and coils resist sagging better than all-foam over time, and a long home trial of 100 nights or more lets you return a bed that off-gasses or sags. Most of the beds here offer a real trial, so you can judge feel at home without betting the safety question on it.