Are Coconut Mattresses Eco-Friendly & Sustainable? A Life-Cycle Assessment
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Using coconut coir, the fiber from the outer shell of the coconut, to make mattresses can be a sustainable way to utilize a by-product that would otherwise go to waste. Unfortunately, greenwashing practices can mislead consumers when choosing truly eco-friendly coconut mattresses. So, we had to ask: How sustainable are coconut mattresses?
Coconut mattresses vary from sustainable to unsustainable, depending on the chemicals used in coconut cultivation. Without toxic chemicals, 100% organic coconut mattresses are sustainable because they use the by-product fibers from widely distributed plants with carbon sequestration potential.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the life-cycle of coconut mattresses. Then, we will evaluate their sustainability, potential, and shortfalls. And in the end, we’ll show you tips for buying sustainable mattresses made with coconut coir.
Here’s How We Assessed the Sustainability of Coconut Mattresses
Coconut mattresses are made with fibers obtained from the coconut husk, a by-product of the coconut fruit industry. Coconut plants provide many products, making using this supposed waste even more sustainable.
“Sustainable: The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level | Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance”
Oxford Dictionary
To understand the sustainability of coconut mattresses, we must assess their life-cycle and each stage’s sustainability. This life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and materials. Over the years, companies have strategically used LCAs to research and create more sustainable products. So, let’s have a look at the LCA of Coconut Mattresses!
| The life-cycle stages of Coconut Mattresses | Each stage’s sustainability |
| Sourcing of coconut mattresses | Sourcing coconut coir for coconut mattresses is generally sustainable. A coconut plant provides multiple products while sequestering carbon to lessen the climate crisis. Additionally, the species’ wide distribution means high availability of the coconut coir material at possibly short distances. |
| Manufacturing of coconut mattresses | The sustainability of manufacturing coconut mattresses varies depending on energy consumption from using machinery in some of the mechanical processes to extract fiber. Additionally, it is important to consider the other components in coconut hybrid mattresses. |
| Transporting of coconut mattresses | Transporting can be a carbon-intensive stage in the life-cycle of coconut mattresses because of the emissions associated with the transporting and delivering vehicles. Hemp fibers typically travel from forests/fields (where coconut plants are grown) to factories and then to sorting centers, shops, and consumers’ homes before going to recycling centers or landfills. |
| Usage of coconut mattresses | The sustainability of using coconut mattresses varies depending on their lifespan. Coconut latex hybrid mattresses tend to last longer and are thus more sustainable in the usage stage. |
| End-of-life of coconut mattresses | The sustainability of coconut mattresses at the end of their life varies depending on their composition. Coconut mattresses that contain 100% coconut fibers or exclusively coconut coir and other organic materials, such as natural latex foam, are biodegradable and, thus, have a sustainable end-of-life stage. |
Overall, we can say that the sustainability of coconut mattresses varies from sustainable to not very sustainable. The actual environmental impact of a particular coconut mattress depends on some specific factors, especially:
- the sourcing of raw materials
- the (unnecessary) use of harsh chemicals
- the type of energy used in manufacturing and usage
- the distance and mode of transportation
Let’s dive deeper into each life-cycle stage and find out how you can buy coconut mattresses more sustainably.
How Sustainable Is the Sourcing of Raw Materials for Coconut Mattresses
Sourcing coconut coir for coconut mattresses is generally sustainable. A coconut plant provides multiple products while sequestering carbon to lessen the climate crisis. Additionally, the species’ wide distribution means high availability of the coconut coir material at possibly short distances.
What Raw Materials Are Used for Coconut Mattresses
Coconut mattresses typically contain the following components:
- the core: either entirely filled with coconut coir or based on foam infused with coconut coir in multiple pockets
- the cover: made with synthetic or natural fabrics
- add-on design features, such as interconnected coils or pocket coils
It is important to note that while some coconut mattresses contain 100% coconut fibers, many are actually hybrids. Beyond coconut fibers, these hybrid mattresses consist of other components, such as synthetic latex or natural latex foam. Before making your purchase, make sure you also look at the sustainability of those components.
In the following section, we’ll focus on sourcing coconut fibers from the coconut plant.
How Does the Coconut Coir Sourced for Making Coconut Mattresses Impact the Environment
Sourcing coconut coir is sustainable because it is a by-product of the coconut fruit industry. Additionally, coconut plants have the potential for carbon sequestration, provide multiple products, and are distributed widely.
- By-product waste
Coconut coir comes from the coconut husk, the outer shell that is discarded once coconut fruit is used for its juice and flesh.
The coconut fruit itself is a widely available and renewable resource, making utilizing the coconut coir highly sustainable. - Carbon sequestration
As coconut trees grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere while releasing oxygen. During their lifespan, they act as a carbon sink. This means that they are taking greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere, helping to mitigate the climate crisis. They can store a significant amount thanks to their size (reaching 100 feet in height and 1.3 feet in diameter). - Wide distribution
While coconut trees originated in the Indian-Indonesian region, they now grow throughout the tropics worldwide, including hotter parts of the US like Florida and Hawaii. One big reason for this is that the coconut fruit (the seed) can float far and wide on the water and still germinate once washed ashore. Also, coconut seedlings can survive many types of soil. The plant’s worldwide distribution, relatively fast growth, and short life contribute to the coconut fruit and its by-product being sustainable, as it is possible to source these products at a relatively short traveling distance and low ecological cost. - Multiple benefits in using land for coconut plantation
Coconut coir is only one of the many products coming from a coconut plantation. Every part of the plant, from leaves to fruit to stem, can be used.
It is important to note that the common practice of using chemical fertilizer in coconut farms negatively affects the sustainability of using coconut coir materials. In other words, the most sustainable practice is to source organic coconut fibers from farms using no synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Where Is the Coconut Coir for Making Coconut Mattresses Usually Sourced From
It is commonly agreed that coconut trees originate from South and Southeast Asia but have traveled to all tropical regions around the world. Because this species is broadly adapted to the tropics and the seed can travel on sea currents, coconut has become almost ubiquitous between 26 degrees north and 26 degrees south. The exceptions are some areas in Africa and South America.
How Sustainable Is the Manufacturing of Coconut Mattresses
The sustainability of manufacturing coconut mattresses varies depending on energy consumption from using machinery in some of the mechanical processes to extract fiber. Additionally, it is important to consider the other components in coconut hybrid mattresses.
How Sustainable Is the Manufacturing of Coconut Mattresses
The process of manufacturing coconut mattresses depends on the exact configuration, but typically includes the following steps:
- Extract coconut fibers from coconut husks: Like other fibers like jute, hemp, and flax, coconut fiber extraction starts with a retraction period and then goes to additional treatments depending on the decortication methods.
- Retting: Coconut husks are left to decompose in a retting process. There are various retting methods, as follows:
- Traditional water retting: Submerge coconut husks in stagnant water (of ponds or lagoons). This process can take around 10 months.
- Mechanical-added retting: Submerge coconut husks in a water tank for about five days before using machinery to crush the husks and remove the coarse long fibers.
- Biological retting: Submerge coconut husks in water treated with specific microbial enzymes, which helps reduce the retting time substantially to three to five days.
- Washing, cleaning, drying, and combing the extracted fibers.
- Retting: Coconut husks are left to decompose in a retting process. There are various retting methods, as follows:
- Form the coconut coir core either by
- Weaving the fibers into thick rope-like structures and laying one on top of another, or
- Infusing the coconut fibers into, for example, latex milk to form a foam.
- Cover the coconut core with a fabric cover.
Next, let’s dive into some key sustainable issues of this life-cycle stage.
Energy Consumption in Producing Coconut Coir
Harvesting coconut coir plants for coconut fibers and manufacturing coconut fibers are both labor-intensive. While machinery can help quicken the process and replace human labor in various steps, a lot of energy is required for machine operation.
When manufacturing depends largely on fossil fuels, high energy usage leads to a high carbon footprint and global warming impact. Using renewable energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass) would significantly reduce carbon emissions at this stage.
The Environmental Impacts of Retting Varies Depending on the Methods
The environmental impact of retting varies depending on the method. There are legitimate concerns over the pollution that originates during the traditional retting and processing of raw coir fiber, posing upon marine fisheries. Biological retting is considered a highly environmentally friendly method because it shortens the soaking time and is less energy-intensive (compared to mechanical retting).
Where Is Coconut Coir for Coconut Mattresses Usually Manufactured
The biggest producers of coconut coir are India and Sri Lanka. Other exporters of coir are Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
According to Our World in Data, Vietnam has the highest renewable energy percentage (22.75%) in all coconut-fiber-manufacturing countries.
The following is the renewable energy share in primary energy in those countries:
- India: 9.31% renewable energy
- Sri Lanka: No data
- Thailand: 7.33% renewable energy
- Vietnam: 26.75% renewable energy
- Philippines: 12.51% renewable energy
- Indonesia: 10.2% renewable energy
How Sustainable Is the Transportation of Coconut Mattresses
Transporting can be a carbon-intensive stage in the life-cycle of coconut mattresses because of the emissions associated with the transporting and delivering vehicles. Coconut fibers typically travel from forests/fields (where coconut plants are grown) to factories and then to sorting centers, shops, and consumers’ homes before going to recycling centers or landfills.
In the life-cycle of coconut mattresses, transportation typically occurs as below:
- From forests/fields where coconut coir raw materials are grown to the processing factories where the fibers are turned into mattress fillings.
- From the coconut coir filling manufacturing location to the coconut mattress manufacturing location.
- From the coconut mattress manufacturing location to sorting centers/physical shops.
- From sorting centers/physical shops to the consumer’s home.
- From the consumer’s home to the centers for recycling/disposing of.
Traveling Distances of Coconut Mattresses Vary Depending on Their Country of Origin
It is uncommon for coconut mattresses to have raw materials grown, processed, and sold in one town, country, or even continent.
Here are some scenarios for transporting coconut mattresses:
- Farmers grow coconut coir in India, which is sourced and shipped to a manufacturer locally. Coconut mattresses are then transported globally to be sold to consumers.
- Coconut fibers are harvested from fields in Vietnam and shipped to a mattress factory in China before being sold primarily to the Asian market.
- Coconut plants are grown and harvested in California, then shipped to Sri Lanka to be processed into fiber and then into mattresses before being sold in the US.
You can reduce the transporting carbon footprint by choosing coconut mattresses that travel a shorter distance from the fields and are made closer to your home.
The Carbon Footprint of Transporting Coconut Mattresses Depends Largely on the Vehicle of Transportation
During its life-cycle, a coconut mattress can be transported using various types of vehicles, including:
- large container ships
- planes
- freight trains
- long-distance trucks
- short-distance delivering vans
And these various types of transportation vehicles have different carbon footprint impacts, as follows:
- Large container ships are generally the most carbon-efficient option for international transportation of goods, while planes are the heaviest carbon emitter.
Large container ships emit, per unit of weight and distance, half as much carbon dioxide as a train and one-fifth and one-fiftieth as much as a truck and a plane (respectively). - Deliveries made by planes—for example, to fulfill fast shipping options—are the mode of transportation with the highest carbon footprint.
To reduce the carbon footprint of your purchase as a consumer, you can choose not to pick a fast delivery option when ordering your coconut mattresses.
How Sustainable Is the Usage of Coconut Mattresses
The sustainability of using coconut mattresses varies depending on their lifespan. Coconut latex hybrid mattresses tend to last longer and are thus more sustainable in the usage stage.
While a mattress made with 100% coconut fiber tends to last much less than 10 years, the mattress lifespan could increase significantly when the coconut fibers are used in combination with other components, such as natural latex. This means that your investment in a coconut mattress is not only eco-friendly but also a long-term one. For example, this latex coir mattress has a 15-year guarantee as a vote of confidence in its durability.
Durability in mattresses means consumers don’t need to replace them too frequently, reducing waste generation and conserving resources.
How Sustainable Is the End-of-Life of Coconut Mattresses
The sustainability of coconut mattresses at the end of their life varies depending on their composition. Coconut mattresses that contain 100% coconut fibers or exclusively coconut coir and other organic materials, such as natural latex foam, are biodegradable and, thus, have a sustainable end-of-life stage.
Coconut fiber is biodegradable, so when mattresses made with coconut coir and other organic materials reach the end of their lifespan, they break down naturally, returning to the earth without leaving a significant environmental footprint. In contrast, mattresses made with synthetic materials can take up space in landfills for hundreds of years.
How Circular Are Mattresses Made of Latex
As a principle, products made with one type of material, such as 100% coconut coir, are easier to disassemble and recycle than products made with a blend of materials.
“The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. In a circular economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. The circular economy tackles climate change and other global challenges, like biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution, by decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.”
Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Mattresses are bulky waste that take up significant space in landfills—often for a long time, too. It is, in principle, possible to produce recyclable and circular coconut mattresses.
Why Is It Important to Buy Mattresses Made of More Sustainable Materials
It is important to buy mattresses made of more sustainable materials because such materials generally have lower carbon footprints, put less pressure on natural resources, and are safer for both consumers and workers.
Buying Mattresses Made of More Sustainable Materials Reduces Toxic Chemicals In Your Sleeping Environment
Many mattresses are made with synthetic materials in chemical-intensive processes, exposing factory workers and end users to health risks, especially regarding the respiratory system. For example, one memory foam model was found to emit 61 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including the known carcinogens benzene and naphthalene.
In contrast, mattresses made of more sustainable materials, such as plant-based latex or organic wool, are generally safer, as they don’t contain toxic chemicals and are produced in more responsible processes.
Buying Mattresses Made of More Sustainable Materials Reduces Your Carbon Footprint
Conventional synthetic materials used in mattresses are fossil-derived and, thus, have a high carbon footprint. On the other hand, mattresses made with more sustainable materials, either organic or recycled, have relatively low carbon footprints.
Buying Mattresses Made of More Sustainable Materials Reduces Demand for Natural Resources and Waste Management
Buying mattresses made with more sustainable materials, such as organic or recycled ones, means that you can avoid fossil-derived mattress foams, which contribute to the depletion of nonrenewable resources.
Additionally, using organic materials for mattresses lessens the pressure on landfill space. Keep the following in mind:
- Mattresses are bulky waste that take up significant space in landfills.
- Over 50,000 mattresses are thrown out every day in the US and about 20 million of those end up in landfills annually.
Considering that synthetic materials don’t break down for hundreds of years, opting for organic mattresses that are biodegradable and recyclable significantly lowers the pressure on landfills.
Buying Mattresses Made of More Sustainable Plant-Based Materials Encourages Sustainable Management of Forests and Ecosystems
Sustainable plant-based mattress materials, such as bamboo and coconut coir, are made with raw materials from forests and plantations that are sustainably managed.
When you buy sustainable plant-based materials, you discourage unsustainable practices like clearing biodiverse forests for cattle raising. Furthermore, you help reduce deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the effects of climate change.
Final Thoughts
Coconut mattresses can be sustainable when made with 100% organic materials in relatively low-impact processes. The coconut fiber raw materials for coconut mattresses come from coconut trees that provide many products and have a carbon sequestration potential. Additionally, the manufacturing process of coconut mattresses can forgo toxic chemicals.
To make your use of coconut mattresses even more sustainable, follow these steps:
- Buy recycled, upcycled, or circular coconut mattresses.
- Keep your coconut mattress for as long as possible.
- At the end-of-life of your coconut mattress, upcycle the material to extend its usage and arrange for it to be recycled or properly disposed of.
Stay impactful,
Sources
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