SUSTAINABLE PRIORITIES
What does eco-friendly and eco-conscious mean? Being aware of how our actions impact the earth and making informed and mindful choices to minimize our impact on the environment. It refers to products that contribute to green living and practices that help conserve resources like water and energy, while at the same time, minimizing air, water, and land pollution. As conscious consumers, we firmly believe we all have an obligation to consider the larger ecological and social impact of the products we buy and the brands we support.
We are united by this singular purpose: to enable and inspire healthy and sustainable living, while transforming what it means to be a socially conscious business.
GOTS CERTIFIED ORGANIC MATTRESSES & BEDDING
Avocado is certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (CU 863637), which defines the recognized requirements worldwide that ensure organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling, in order to provide a credible assurance to you. Recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), GOTS is the gold standard for verified organic and eco-conscious products.
ECO-CONSCIOUS GOLS ORGANIC CERTIFIED LATEX
Avocado mattresses feature our own GOLS certified organic latex (CU 863637) harvested by hand from Hevea Brasiliensis ("rubber") trees. No trees are harmed in the process. Our organic latex sap is processed in a facility that we co-own in India and Guatemala, with the use of steam and freshwater harvested from rain collection pools. This creates a resilient, buoyant, and highly-durable latex foam.
SUSTAINABLE LATEX HARVESTING & PRODUCTION
Rubber tree cooperatives help prevent soil erosion and promote biodiversity. In organic processes like ours, no pesticides are used. This makes it safer for the communities that grow and process our latex, as well as for folks that use our products. This eco-conscious approach is extended to other practices. For example, the latex processing facility that we own in India uses rainwater collection pools, biofuels from expired trees to heat water in order to steam-bake our latex, and wind turbines to supplement our power usage.
OFFSETTING CARBON'S IMPACT
Avocado is the world’s first mattress brand to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across 100% of its operations. With Climate Neutral, our full carbon footprint is measured and verified, from raw material production and shipping to manufacturing and delivery. We reduce where we can and purchase offsets for the rest.
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Organic materials — including latex rubber, kapok fiber, wool, and cotton — thrive in a natural, ongoing, and rapidly renewing process. Each year, sheep produce a new fleece, organic cotton grows with little more than sunshine and rainwater, and latex trees thrive under dense forest canopies, without the use of petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides. At Avocado, we manage our own sheep flocks in the Himalayas in keeping with our mission to use only the finest renewable GOTS certified organic materials (CU 863637).
NO POLYURETHANE FOAMS
Most brands use foams and memory foams made from polyurethane, which is a petroleum-based product and a type of plastic. Polyurethane foams can contain isocyanates and emit volatile organic compounds, or VOCs — harmful chemicals that can cause respiratory irritation and other health problems. Our GOLS certified organic latex foams (CU 863637) are a healthier and more eco-conscious choice, since they are organic and less likely to emit VOCs. (Source: Environmental Working Group Healthy Living Guide, MADE SAFE®)
NO POLLUTING ADHESIVES TO BIND THE LAYERS
To keep the layers secure, we do not use solvent-based or water-based adhesives, which can emit harmful VOCs and pollute the air. Instead, we use small hog rings (round metal staples) around the perimeter, then, using long steel needles, we hand-tuft the interior with up to 30 yarn pulls and rosettes. This labor intensive process creates a superior quality mattress without the use of noxious chemical adhesives. (Source: Environmental Working Group Healthy Living Guide.)
CERTIFIED FOR LOW EMISSIONS
Indoor air quality can be five times more polluted than outside air. And since we spend on average 90% of our time living, working, learning, and playing indoors, indoor air quality is an important health and wellness consideration, according to the EPA. Rest assured, every Avocado mattress has been GREENGUARD Gold certified by UL Environment to meet the most stringent standards for health-based criteria and low emissions.
TOWARD A TRIPLE TOP-LINE VALUE PROPOSITION
We marry the latest lean manufacturing methods with sustainable business practices to minimize waste, upcycle excess materials, reduce our carbon footprint, and leverage our proprietary technology platforms for greater efficiency. This has a triple top-line benefit for the company and the natural world, and a social advantage for employees and the community at large. In fact, as a Certified B Corporation, we're legally committed to consider the result of our decisions on workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
DURABILITY IMPROVES SUSTAINABILITY
Most polyurethane foam, memory foam, and traditional mattresses are replaced in 7 to 10 years. Yet the durability of products is at the core of successful sustainable design. Because our mattresses are made with GOLS certified organic latex (CU 863637), one of the most durable mattress materials available, and we use a top-of-the-line innerspring unit, our mattresses are built to last. Over time, the financial cost and environmental impact of buying one quality mattress is far less than the cost of two or three polyurethane foam mattresses.
RECOVER, REUSE, RECYCLE & UPCYCLE
More than 50,000 mattresses end up in landfills each day. Many of these are made with petrochemicals that pose an environmental hazard when they are ultimately incinerated or introduced into the waste stream. In stark contrast, our mattresses are made with materials that can be recycled and reused, or allowed to degrade naturally, thereby returning them to nature with less impact on landfills than all-polyurethane mattresses. These waste and byproducts can even be creatively transformed into new products and materials of better quality or for better environmental value.
WOOL-FREE OPTIONS, VEGAN CERTIFIED
Many of our products are certified and verified by Vegan Action/the Vegan Awareness Foundation in Richmond, Virginia, and are PETA-approved. These products do not use wool and do not contain animal products or byproducts that have been tested on animals. Vegan lifestyles help preserve habitats and species, conserve water, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Our vegan products include our Vegan Mattress, Green Pillows, and Vegan Natural Latex Mattress Toppers.
HANDCRAFTED IN OUR OWN U.S. FACTORY
Few direct-to-consumer mattress brands own their own factory. Most subcontract out their work or import their finished product from China. In contrast, we own our 750,000-square-foot factory in Los Angeles, which is GOTS certified (CU 863637) for environmental and social responsibility, and make everything with the world's finest domestic and international materials. Owning our own factory allows us to manage our craftsmanship, material quality, and production from start to finish — and take proactive actions to reduce our carbon footprint.
FSC® CERTIFIED
The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) is a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. FSC defines standards based on agreed principles for responsible forest stewardship that are supported by environmental, social, and economic stakeholders. Look for our FSC®-certified products (C156318). To learn more, visit www.fsc.org.
GOING CARBON NEGATIVE
In 2019, Avocado became the first mattress company to become Climate Neutral Certified, effectively making our business “carbon neutral.” A year later, we took it a step farther by going carbon negative — offsetting more carbon emissions than the company generates. Carbon offsets are vehicles for paying to remove carbon from the atmosphere or to prevent greenhouse gases from getting there in the first place by financing forest conservation and clean energy. Our carbon offset partner is the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
GIVING BACK TO ENVIRONMENTAL NONPROFITS
At Avocado, we’re doing our part to help save the planet. As members of 1% for the Planet, we’ve committed to donate one percent of all revenues to vetted nonprofits in an effort to address the interrelated issues of climate change, healthy food systems, land management, water resources, pollution, and wildlife diversity. Learn more about our charitable and environmental initiatives.
"Honesty defines this company that believes natural materials are key to restful sleep and long-term health. Mattresses are a highly considered purchase, but somewhere in the process concerns about environmental impact and human health are lost. The passionate team behind Avocado believes it’s important to drive change by opting for eco-friendly products that ultimately help protect the environment and promote a greener and more sustainable world." — Green Building & Design Magazine
NATURAL IS BETTER
