Is PLA Organic or Natural?

No, it is not natural — by my definition. How then are organic mattresses certified by GOTS using PLA (Polylactide) in them? By GOTS standards, a product only has to contain 95% organic materials by weight in order to be classified organic. A mattress that contains coils or latex is quite heavy compared to the weight of PLA fabric or batting, and can easily contain quite a bit of PLA and still meet the GOTS standard. Does that mean it is a totally pure mattress made from all natural materials? No — it has PLA in it.

So what exactly is PLA? PLA is a plant-derived polyester, also known as a bioplastic. Polyester is traditionally made from petrochemicals, however with new technology, PLA can be made from plants like corn or potato. Well, if it is plant-derived, doesn't that mean it is natural? I don't think so. The base ingredient may be plant-derived, but the process to turn it into a polyester is not natural by any means. In this video from Treehugger, you mix corn with sulfur dioxide (a toxic gas), pull out the starch, mix it with a few secret ingredients and citric acid — and boom, you have a corn-based plastic. Or, for a more scientific explanation, here is how it is made:

"Polylactic Acid is principally made through two different processes: condensation and polymerization. The most common polymerization technique is known as ring-opening polymerization. This is a process that utilizes metal catalysts in combination with lactide to create the larger PLA molecules. The condensation process is similar with the principal difference being the temperature during the procedure and the by-products (condensates) that are released as a consequence of the reaction." — Creative Mechanisms

What does that mean? What type of chemicals are used in producing this? How much energy is used? What happens to the by-products? I don't know the answers — but I'm not convinced this is an earth-friendly product.

It is great that we can make plastics from renewable plant material to replace petroleum-based plastics. On the other hand, replacing organic cotton and organic wool with PLA in an organic mattress is certainly not as earth-friendly or natural as simply using organic cotton or wool.

The Natural Sleep Store sells some products that contain PLA. I'm clearly not a fan — so why do we sell these mattresses? Pocket coil mattresses have become much more popular over the last few years. In order to create a pocket coil unit, individual springs are enclosed in fabric so that they are not attached to other springs as in a traditional spring unit. In order to enclose each coil in fabric, you have to either sew, glue, or melt the fabric together. A plastic material like PLA is perfect because a machine can simply melt the fabric together around each individual coil. When you are dealing with possibly over 1,000 coils in a mattress, sewing or gluing each one would be extremely time-intensive and expensive.

Although not as natural as I would like, we respond to our customers' wishes — and customers ask for pocket coil mattresses! Customers appreciate that a pocket coil mattress responds to the body better than a traditional innerspring unit. In a pocket coil mattress, individual spring units can compress without making the mattress tip and dip as it would if all the springs were connected. Making customers happy is of the utmost importance, so although it was a difficult decision, we decided to sell pocket coil mattresses with PLA. Our first priority is always to provide safe and healthy mattresses. PLA is not toxic to sleep on and does not off-gas toxic chemicals. It is fairly inert in its solid state. So, whereas I don't think it is a totally natural product, I know it is not harming anyone — and using PLA provides our customers with the pocket coils they are requesting at a reasonable price.

For example, we previously carried a fabulous pocket coil mattress by OMI called The Rossa. Please note: this product has since been discontinued. The Rossa was a great example of PLA done right — the coils were wrapped in PLA, but the rest of the mattress was made with organic latex, cotton, and wool, some of the purest materials available. It was GOTS certified and sold at an amazing price point. OMI made the commitment to ensuring all the other materials were certified organic and pure. One thing to always watch out for is mattress manufacturers who use PLA batting in place of wool batting purely to cut costs. If you are paying a premium for an organic mattress, insist that as much of it as possible is truly organic! Browse our current selection of organic mattresses to find our latest pocket coil options.