Certifications

Certifications

VIEW OUR ORGANIC LATEX CERTIFICATION

VIEW OUR ORGANIC COTTON CERTIFICATION

 

Certified Organic Latex vs. Natural Latex

Organic Textiles LLC sells both Natural Latex and Certified Organic Latex.  Yet, what is the difference?

In a nutshell, all Certified Organic Latex is all-natural, but not all Natural Latex is Certified Organic.

Certified Organic Latex is a step ahead of Natural Latex wherein all processing from seed selection to finished latex is monitored in accordance to GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standards).  This means that seeds are GMO-free, the latex plantation has been monitored to avoid any toxicity in the soil, monitored for any toxicity in the fertilizers used and ultimately monitored and recorded every step of the way that processing has been toxicity free and documented to confirm that the product and the process have been organic.

Natural Latex is mostly all-natural and contains no synthetics in the blend.  In this system, documentation of the chemicals used is not mandatory, but optional.  Though many reliable manufacturers keep the natural process safe and toxic free, the absence of mandatory documentation makes it less desirable than the organic latex.

A Natural Latex product is a good choice, except when some sellers name their product as natural when only a part of the product is all natural and the rest is synthetics (mostly styrene, butadiene ). This is also a cheaper version of latex as the addition of synthetic latex makes the product less costly.  This type of blended toppers, though named as natural by some suppliers, has synthetic latex including many questionable chemicals. For these reasons the best choices are:

1st & Best Choice - Organic Latex

2nd & Great Choice - Natural Latex (Non-blended)

3rd & Good Choice - Natural Latex (Blended, ie. Blend of Natural and synthetic)

4th & Least Desirable Choice - Synthetic Latex

 

Organic Cotton vs. Conventional Cotton

	Organic Cotton	Conventional Cotton
SEEDS	GMO-free; untreated	Treated with fungicides, insecticides. Possible Genetic Modification
SOIL	Crop rotation; cover cropping, better retention of moisture; higher concentration of organic matter, animal manure additions	Synthetic fertilizers, loss of soil due to monocrop culture, intensive irrigation
Weed and insect control	Beneficial insects and trap crops used; flam weeding, and cultivation; Border management of vegetation; use of certain biopesticides such as bacteria, virus and fungal insect pathogens	Aerial spray for insecticides used and pesticides; FYI 9 of the most commonly pesticides are known cancer causing agents
Harvesting	Natural defoliation from freezing temperatures or through the use of water management	Defoliation induced with toxic chemical
Whitening	Safe peroxide is used	Chloride bleaching is used; toxic by products produced and released into environment in process
Finishing	Soft scour in warm water with soda ask for P of 7.5 - 7.8	Hot water, synthetic surfactants, additional chemicals (sometimes formaldehyde)
Dying	Low impact, fier reactive or natural dyes used with low metal or sulfur content	High temperature with heavy metals and sulfur content
Printing	Low impact. water based inks and/or pigments with no heavy mental	High temperature with heavy metals and sulfur content (can leach into skin as well as ecosystem)
Fair trade	Organic certification includes requirements for fair wages and treatment of workers in the supply chain. Criteria are in place to ensure a safe, healthy, non-abusive, non-discriminatory environment for workers.	No fair trade or living trade requirements in place. Widespread evidence of child labor, forced labor, slave labor/wages and work conditions in countries where cotton growing exists.