The first time I slept on a memory foam mattress, I was in heaven. When it was time to buy a new bed, I was thrilled to find out about a new green company called Essentia, who makes the only natural memory foam mattresses on the market. Most memory foam mattresses are made of petroleum products, which are not only harmful to the environment, they’re unnatural and unhealthy. I want my bed to be a place of sanctuary and rest, not a chemical-laden nest of disease! Luckily, Essentia makes it possible to sleep healthy and green without sacrificing comfort or quality.
My Essentia mattress arrived in a much smaller box than I was expecting, due to their sustainable shipping efforts. The mattresses are compressed and rolled so they will take up less space on shipping trucks. But this is just the beginning of Essentia’s environmental commitment:
At Essentia, we fully understand the responsibilities of being a manufacturer in today’s society. That’s why we develop and manufacture products that produce 93% less waste during production than most mattress manufacturers. Derived from renewable resources, our 100% biodegradable memory foam are good for both the environment and consumer health.
From their clean manufacturing process designed to reduce waste to their wind-powered web hosting, it’s obvious that Essentia is committed to sustainability. I can sleep much better at night knowing my purchase supports such a responsible green company, though I’m sure the comfortable, pillowy memory foam has a lot to do with it!
When I inquired to write about Essentia, I was sent straight to the top and spoke with Jack, the company’s founder. Jack’s business idea didn’t come from a desire for profit and prestige, but out of concerns about human health. He became aware of all the toxic substances in everyday items like microwaves, beds, and floors after a family member was diagnosed with cancer. His family was in the latex foam business, and he wanted to make a better product after finding there were no alternatives to toxic petroleum-based memory foam. And so Essentia was born.
Jack’s main motivation is producing a safe, healthy, and natural product for the benefit of his customers. He believes everyone deserves healthy sleep, and is proud to offer the healthiest products available at every price point. When I asked what makes Essentia green, Jack mentioned their manufacturing process, which uses no petroleum, no toxins, no pollution, no adhesives, and no waste. Essentia’s mattresses are molded so that 100% of the raw materials are used, in contrast to regular memory foam, which is made by gluing together layers of foam that are cut to shape, creating waste. This process leads to healthier sleep and a low environmental impact that is truly revolutionary in the mattress industry.
Jack said his favorite thing about being a green business owner is that he can feel good about what he does because he’s leaving a better planet for his son and family. He is excited about the future possibilities for Essentia in a greener world, as the company has grown by leaps and bounds so far.
If you’re in the market for a more comfortable and green sleeping experience, I highly recommend a memory foam mattress from Essentia. There is certainly a lot to learn from an ecopreneur like Jack!
I would be curious to know what materials are used in Essentia’s matresses (I read this post twice, and it didn’t seem that the materials used are mentioned).
On a related note, I am also interested in knowing if Essentia is using a third-party to verify the materials used in their products.
Materials found inside our natural mattresses:
Latex:
Milky white sap of the Rubber tree, collected much like Maple tree sap, which coagulates upon exposure to air. Sourced from Indonesia, our 100% natural Dunlop Latex is collected from Rubber Plantations where acceptable working conditions are vigilantly maintained and there is no practice of child labour.
Our latex is allergy-free because it’s free of proteins which cause alergic reactions.
Organic Essentia Oils:
A natural and healthy alternative to petroleum, we use oils such as grapefruit seed, cone essence and jasmine essence to help achieve the proper memory foam consistency while providing soothing and rejuvenating properties to the body and spirit.
Natural Plant Extracts:
Plant extracts such as hydrolyzed corn are used to help achieve the proper memory foam consistency as a substitution to harsh toxic chemicals.Hope that helps
Our Essentia “Haven” Mattress arrived three weeks ago to Vancouver
from the Essentia office in Montreal.
Upon arrival, we discovered it was professionally shipped in two plastic bags and then wrapped in a double cardboard box with shipping straps to hold it safe and secure.
This mattress had traveled over 4800 kilometers in just 7 days from placing our order over the phone in Montreal and that was very impressive.
Once we unpacked it, we were very surprised to discover that it was in perfect condition. It had no marks, no tears, no threads unraveled and no sign of any distress during the shipping procedure or during the your manufacturing process.
Granted our new Essentia mattress is 15 inches thick, it was a bit heavy to move around our condo to the bedroom, but once we had it in place on the frame it looked wonderful and gave our bedroom a new sense of luxury.
The big test was to follow….
My wife and I have been researching memory foam mattress on the Internet and in the local British Columbia stores for over 5 months now and it became very apparent to us that if we did order an Essentia Mattress from Montreal, without actually testing it out in a showroom in Vancouver that this could be a huge mistake for both of us if it’s not the real deal…
Well I’m very happy to say (and so is my wife) that this is THE REAL DEAL!
The Essentia Haven Mattress gave us the best night sleep we have ever
had.
I still like to turn from one side to the other and then on my back again during my night of sleep. But I discovered that with the Essentia Mattress, I was able to stay in one position 6 times as long apposed my old mattress. This proved to be once again, THE REAL DEAL!
This was a serious test of satisfaction, because I weigh in at 220 pounds and my wife is only 115 pounds and we are both sharing an Essentia queen size mattress. There is no more than 1 feet between us and we both need custom adjustments from the same layers of memory foam and it works perfect.
On the old mattress from Sleep Country (Only 2-years old) I would toss my body like a whale on the ocean and my wife would bounce to the ceiling… Well, last night I simply rolled in comfort. Our new Essentia mattress is so thick, my wife did not wake up once. And could not feel me turn over.
I’m talking dense memory foam and once again, Essentia is the real deal!
My Story “How I decided to buy a mattress without ever trying it”
1 – Had been using futons for years and my back problems getting worse
2 – Decided to shop for the best, healthiest material for my wife and I to sleep on (pretending price was no object)
3 – Never been much of an innerspring guy so decided to check out other options (foam, air, latex)
4 – Did a bunch of research and found out that memory foam is universally recommended as the most comfortable and supportive sleep for your back (except for the chemicals)
5 – Decided to road test Tempurpedic mattress, and a few others at my local Sleep Train
6 – Tried out the Tempurpedic Rhapsody and was very impressed at the comfort – much better than any other bed I had rested on
7 – Did a bunch more research and found out that while many people were very happy with the Tempurpedic, many more were very unhappy due mostly to several reasons – Off-gassing (the smell) and sleeping hot. Caveat Emptor!
8 – Discovered Essentia’s web site and the Tempurpedic v. Essentia Comparison page
9 – Read a bunch more of the articles from the excellent Learning Center on Essentia’s site and was very impressed with the amount of information and the transparency
10 – Was very skeptical about buying a mattress without ever trying it so placed a call to Essentia USA and spoke to Rob Aviles
11 – Pestered Rob with a bunch of questions and he handled them all with a bounty of enthusiasm, knowledge, grace, and humor
12 – Talked to my wife and had to make a decision – We believed what we read that Essentia is the only natural memory foam mattresses on the market, that they are green, clean and healthy BUT will this be as comfortable as the Tempurpedic and how do I pick the Essentia that will match the Rhapsody in firmness and comfort?
13 – Looked at the Essentia mattress collection a few more times and decided that the Energie Opus seemed to be the right choice for us
14 – Talked to Rob a few more times, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger
15 – Luckily was moving into our new house so too busy to notice the wait
16 – Got the mattress, opened it up (no smell – NONE) put it together, put some sheets on and gave it a whirl!
So how did we do? We both looked at each other and cracked a big grin because not only did this mattress match exactly our expectation of what we remembered the Rhapsody to feel like, it may have been even more comfortable!
Now three weeks later, I can say that I have never slept better in my life. I was a bit hot at first and thought it was the mattress until I realized I am sleeping in a new house with a brand new HVAC furnace (very efficient) with the vent right over my head. It’s not the bed. My back had been very sore from packing, moving, unpacking, not exercising, etc. The only difference is that I am sleeping on a brand new Essentia Energie Opus. Slowly but surely, every day my back is a little less sore.
Though it was definitely very weird to buy a mattress without trying it, I can say it was one of the best decisions I have made. Our sleep and health are very important to us. Essentia is the real deal!
This company has come incorrect information about the chemicals found in natural latex mattresses. On their “chemicals found in mattresses” page, there is a listing that erroneously shows natural latex as having various toxic chemicals. I trust they are not trying to deceive anyone, and perhaps are basing their information on a latex-blend, which may contain who knows what. But all-natural latex mattresses, made from the sap of the rubber tree, has none of the chemicals listed.
Read every word, still don’t know where I can buy
a Essentia pillow??????
I have a customer who needed a replacement mattress cover for a King Size bed. I called and left a message for customer service explaining what I needed. After about 2 days I called back and a few days later I called again. Each time leaving messages. I finally called the NY store and spoke to Carlos. Carlos quoted me $150.00 for a new mattress cover. I received a call back from Customer service 3 weeks after I called asking what I needed. I didn’t call them back since Carlos already gave me a price. I included this in my claim quote so that I could get approval from my account. When I got the approval I called Carlos back to order the cover and he told me that it was a mistake and that it would now cost $275.00. He suggested that I call back corporate. I called corporate and spoke to Ester. She told me (while laughing ) that they do not have any more in stock and that they only have the Organic for over $400.00. When I got upset, Ester became flustered and got nasty, told me that she did not know what else to do and actually tried to reprimand me for being upset. After waiting for 3 weeks for a call back and all of the price changes, yes I think I had a right to be upset. She claimed that it took her 3 weeks to call me back because what I needed wasn’t clear from the message that I left her. She tried to tell me how to do my job and asked me why didn’t I get a written quote. What difference would it have made the price wasn’t the correct price anyway and they still would not have had the $275.00 mattress cover. Her excuses were ridiculous and it would have been better for her to just say we dropped the ball, I’m sorry. I hope that anyone who needs customer service does not encounter Ester.