Avocado Green Mattress is one of the most affordable natural and eco-friendly mattress brands. Handmade in Los Angeles under fair trade standards, using 100% natural latex, and GOTS Organic certified materials. Because eco-luxury comes a good night of sleep.
We interview Mark Abrials, CMO & Co-Founder of Avocado Green Mattress, a natural, eco-friendly mattress brand that was born to respect the planet and the people. He explains every detail of the supply chain and all the valid third-party certifications earned as well as their practices to minimize waste, up-cycle excess materials. Without further ado, enjoy learning all the impact you can make by just sleeping!
What is the mission behind the Avocado Green Mattress brand?
Our mission is to be the most respected source for organic and natural mattresses, pillows and bedding at affordable prices — while maintaining environmentally conscious, ethical and sustainable business practices across our entire supply chain — to help safeguard your health and protect our planet.
What are the materials used for Avocado Green Mattress and where are these sourced from?
We ethically source our natural and organic certified materials directly from sustainable, ethical and socially-conscious sources, and maintain a complete and verifiable Chain of Custody from the farm to the bedroom. We own our organic certified latex processing factory in India, and our finished products are proudly handmade in Los Angeles. By dealing directly with farmers and herders, we disintegrate middlemen, improving quality and efficiency, while reducing costs.
All the Avocado Green Mattresses are made with 100% natural latex, GOTS Organic certified Cotton and GOTS Organic certified Wool. We also have a Vegan certified mattress which replaces the wool with more organic cotton.
And also important, what materials you don’t use?
Our mattresses are free from polyurethane and memory foams, chemical adhesives between comfort layers, and toxic flame retardants. Most of the big foam mattress brands are made from petroleum-based polyurethane. Paired with chemical adhesives and flame retardants, they can emit chemical odors (“off-gassing”) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) over time — which can contribute to unhealthy indoor air quality and impact physical and mental health. In fact, all of our products are Greenguard Gold certified for low emissions to promote healthy indoor air quality.
What else makes your mattress so green?
We advocate for healthy lifestyles that respect the environment. We voluntarily offset our emissions associated with 100% of our product shipping — as well as 100% of our factory in Los Angeles — by proudly supporting carbon offset reforestation projects globally via Carbonfund.org on an annual basis.
Who is behind the production of your green mattresses and where are these made?
We operate one of only five Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and the Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) certified mattress factories in the United States. It is located just outside of Los Angeles in California. There, it is our amazing workforce that’s paid full benefits and living wages that craft each mattress by hand and are our real brand heroes.
Any certifications you have earned since started?
In addition to receiving some stellar ratings from one of the leading independent consumer research and education source, we pride ourselves on backing up any claims with valid third-party certifications.
Some of these include: GREENGUARD Gold certified for low emissions, our GOTS and GOLS certified factory and GOTS and GOLS certified materials, plus our Vegan certified mattress. We’re also Green Business certified by Green America, and we’re also part of the Sustainable Furnishings Council.
Could you give us an overview of the range of products available? We see you also have the Avocado Vegan Mattress vs the Avocado Green Mattress… what are the main differences?
We keep our product line fairly streamlined to focus on achieving the highest quality possible. We offer the Avocado Green Mattress in two comfort levels, Standard (a gentle firm) and Pillow Top (slightly more plush.) This mattress is also available in a certified Vegan version, which replaces the GOTS Organic certified wool with GOTS Organic certified cotton.
We also offer Green Pillows made with GOLS organic certified Latex and GOTS organic certified Kapok fill, wrapped in a GOTS organic certified cotton cover.
In addition, we offer an Organic Mattress Pad Protector and 100% reclaimed wood bedroom furniture.
What kind of people should be getting one of your green mattresses?
As conscious consumers, we believe in shopping for your values. But we also believe in a good night’s sleep. Our mattresses help provide the best of both worlds and can be customized to suit your needs and your sleeping position.
And what about the environmental impact you are creating with the brand, do you have any data worth sharing?
We marry the latest lean manufacturing methods with sustainable business practices to minimize waste, up-cycle 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, natural world betterment, and social advantage for employees and the community at large.
When someone decides to purchase your mattress, how does the shipping process look like? And what would happen with the old mattress?
Because our mattresses are handmade, production time is up to three weeks depending on the product. We offer free “carbon neutral” shipping via FedEx or offer an optional in-home delivery for an additional $199. We voluntarily offset our emissions associated with 100% of our product shipping — as well as 100% of our factory in Los Angeles — by proudly supporting carbon offset reforestation projects globally via Carbonfund.org on an annual basis.
Avocado Green Mattress is actively on a mission to reduce the carbon footprint and supporting projects. Only in 2018, they planted over 48,000 trees, restored 100 acres of bee habitat and rescued 220,000 lbs of food for New Yorkers… Click To TweetWith this option, we’ll remove your old mattress. As a responsible company, we work to donate any of our own returned mattresses or responsibly recycle whenever possible.
What is your promise, how long would folks be able to keep your mattress for?
We stand by our 25-year warranty.
Have you seen any meaningful projects emerging out of your partnership you’d like to share with us?
As proud members of 1% for the Planet, we donate one per cent of revenues from everything we sell — not just select portion of our product line — to environmental nonprofits. In 2018, we contributed to twelve different national and international nonprofits. As a result, we helped fund an entire Women’s Center in Rwanda with Kula Project, planted 48,250 trees with the Arbor Day Foundation, launched a recycling and education program in Haiti with the Social Plastic Foundation, restored 100 acres of bee habitat with Bee Girl Organization, and rescued 220,000 lbs of food for New Yorkers in need with City Harvest.
You are based in the US. How does the social and eco-entrepreneurial venture look like there? Are there any exciting things and change for good happening in the country? Do you see people becoming eco-conscious?
For the health of our families and of our planet, we all need to start making changes. But even small changes add up to progress. A natural mattress is just one step in the right direction, but as part of other lifestyle and consumer changes, it creates a chain of positive movement forward. We can all become more conscious, informed consumers — we’re proud to be part of this movement.
Is there any advice you’d like to give to other businesses trying to make a difference for good?
Stay true to your core mission and values — even when it’s costly, even when it’s disruptive, even when it’s the longer, slower road. We practice radical transparency which means being honest, even when it’s difficult. This is what inspires our brand advocates.
If you could write a message on a big wall that the entire world could read, what would it say?
Change starts with you.
Finally, where can we find you? Shops, online, worldwide…?
Visit us at AvocadoGreenMattress.com
