Are Waterbed Mattresses Eco-Friendly & Sustainable? A Life-Cycle Assessment

Are Waterbed Mattresses Eco-Friendly & Sustainable? A Life-Cycle Assessment

By
Quynh Nguyen

Read Time:10 Minutes

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Waterbed mattresses were seen as innovative and stylish sleep surfaces back in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Though they’ve lost some their popularity to other easier-to-move-and-maintain latecomers, like memory foam mattresses, they’re still the mattress of choice for those who prefer water as the support system. So, we had to ask: How sustainable are waterbed mattresses?

Waterbed mattresses are generally unsustainable. They are typically constructed from soft polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a fossil-based plastic. PVC production requires a lot of energy, exacerbates the climate crisis, and causes environmental pollution. Also, PVC is not biodegradable. 

In this article, we’ll walk you through the life-cycle of waterbed mattresses. Then, we will evaluate their sustainability, potential, and shortfalls. And in the end, we’ll show you some tips for buying sustainable waterbed mattresses.

Here’s How We Assessed the Sustainability of Waterbed Mattresses

Waterbed mattresses are generally considered unsustainable because their manufacturing processes are energy-intensive and high-polluting. Also, the plastic cover of the waterbed mattresses doesn’t biodegrade at the end of their life. 

“A waterbed is a unique type of mattress that contains a water-filled capsule. It consists of a large bladder filled with water, enclosed in a fabric cover, and supported by durable vinyl material to prevent leaks. The water inside serves as the primary support system, allowing for customization by adjusting the water level to achieve the desired firmness or softness.”

Amerisleep

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 waterbed 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 waterbed mattresses!

The life-cycle stages of waterbed mattressesEach stage’s sustainability
Sourcing of waterbed mattressesSourcing PVC from virgin fossil fuels for waterbed mattresses is highly unsustainable due to the nonrenewable nature of fossil fuels. The extraction and refining of these fuels not only creates a significant energy demand but also contributes to the climate crisis and environmental pollution.
Manufacturing of waterbed mattressesManufacturing waterbed mattresses is generally unsustainable because of the intensive use of energy and chemicals. 
Transporting of waterbed mattressesTransporting can be a carbon-intensive stage in the life-cycle of waterbed mattresses because of the emissions associated with transportation and delivery vehicles. Waterbed mattresses typically travel from mines where fossil fuels are extracted to processing factories and then to sorting centers, shops, and consumers’ homes before going to recycling centers or landfills. 
Usage of waterbed mattressesThe usage of waterbed mattresses is relatively sustainable because they generally have a long lifespan. 
End-of-life of waterbed mattressesThe end-of-life stage of waterbed mattresses is unsustainable because they don’t biodegrade. 

Overall, we can say that waterbed mattresses are generally unsustainable. However, the actual environmental impact of a particular waterbed mattress depends on more specific factors, including: 

  • the sourcing of raw materials
  • 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 waterbed mattresses more sustainably. 

How Sustainable Is the Sourcing of Raw Materials for Waterbed Mattresses

Sourcing PVC from virgin fossil fuels for waterbed mattresses is highly unsustainable due to the nonrenewable nature of fossil fuels. The extraction and refining of these fuels not only creates a significant energy demand but also contributes to the climate crisis and environmental pollution.

What Raw Materials Are Used for Waterbed Mattresses

At its core, a waterbed mattress is a water capsule—often called a water bladder—covered in textiles and sometimes topped with a comfortable sleeping layer. 

  • The water capsule is commonly made with PVC material. 
  • The mattress cover could be made from either natural or synthetic fabrics. 

Some types of waterbed mattresses also contain other raw materials. For example:

It is important to know about the various components of your waterbed mattress. To make an informed and responsible choice, be sure to consider the sustainability of all these components, from the support system to the comforter and the covers. You can refer to our relevant articles for more information. 

In the following section, we’ll focus on sourcing fossil fuels for the PVC covers of waterbed mattresses.

How Does Sourcing Fossil Fuels for Making Synthetic Latex Impact the Environment

Sourcing fossil fuels for air bed mattresses is not sustainable because extracting and refining fossil fuels depletes nonrenewable reserves, accelerates the climate crisis, and pollutes the environment. 

Fossil-based PVC has many severe adverse environmental impacts, leading to an unsustainable sourcing stage for waterbed mattresses. However, there are increasing solutions in the market for bio-based PVC, for example, from ethylene derived from food waste. These solutions would potentially help reduce the climate impact of sourcing for waterbed mattresses. 

Where Are the Raw Materials for Waterbed Mattresses Usually Sourced From

Tracking the origin of the fossil-derived raw materials in a specific waterbed mattress is often very challenging. 

There are two reasons for this: 

  1. The supply chain of fossil derivatives is extremely complex. 
  2. A certain type of polymer used in memory foam can be made in many factories using various ingredients, depending on the manufacturer and desired properties.

How Sustainable Is the Manufacturing of Waterbed Mattresses

Manufacturing waterbed mattresses is generally unsustainable because of the intensive use of energy and chemicals. 

The typical process of manufacturing airbed mattresses includes the following steps

  1. Construct the water capsule from PVC 
  2. Cover the water capsule with a textile material
  3. Construct a support system of choice: Use either hard panels or soft foam bolsters to keep the water capsule in place.

Let’s now dive into a few key sustainable issues of this life-cycle stage.

Manufacturing PCV-Based Water Capsule Uses a Lot of Energy

PVC is a synthetic polymer made from fossil-based raw materials. Polymerization is a highly energy-intensive process. Manufacturing the starting monomers also requires a lot of energy. 

If and when manufacturing relies heavily on fossil fuels, high energy consumption could have serious knock-on ecological impacts. Using renewable energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, and biomass) would significantly reduce carbon emissions at this stage. 

Manufacturing PVC-Based Water Capsule Use a Lot of Chemicals 

PVC is a chemical-intensive material with high risks of toxic off-gassing. 

Additionally, some hybrid airbed mattresses use memory foam, of which the production also uses a lot of chemicals. 

Where Are Waterbed Mattresses Usually Manufactured

The biggest producers of waterbed mattresses are based in the US, Germany, Sweden, China, Finland, France, and Japan.

According to Our World in Data, the top producers are based in countries that use significantly varied rates of renewable energy. Sweden has a much higher renewable energy percentage (53.89%) at the top of the list compared to the US (11.66%) at the bottom of the list. 

The following is the renewable energy share in primary energy in those countries:

  • The US: 11.66% renewable energy
  • Germany: 24.39% renewable energy
  • Sweden: 53.89% renewable energy
  • China: 16.16% renewable energy
  • Finland: 35.98% renewable energy
  • France: 16.94% renewable energy
  • Japan: 12.58% renewable energy

How Sustainable Is the Transportation of Waterbed Mattresses

Transporting can be a carbon-intensive stage in the life-cycle of waterbed mattresses because of the emissions associated with transportation and delivery vehicles. Waterbed mattresses typically travel from mines where fossil fuels are extracted to processing factories and then to sorting centers, shops, and consumers’ homes before going to recycling centers or landfills. 

In the life-cycle of waterbed mattresses, transportation typically occurs as follows: 

  • from mines where raw materials are extracted to the manufacturing locations where the water capsule, the comfort layer, and the mattresses are made and put together,
  • from the manufacturing location to sorting centers and/or physical shops, 
  • from sorting centers and/or physical shops to the consumer’s home, and
  • from the consumer’s home to the centers for recycling and/or disposal.

Traveling Distances of Waterbed Mattresses Vary Depending on Their Country of Origin

It is uncommon for waterbed mattresses to have raw materials mined, processed, and sold in one town, country, or even continent. 

Here are some scenarios for transporting waterbed mattresses: 

  • Fossil fuels are mined in Alberta, Canada, and transported to a factory in Canada to be made into water capsules. The water capsules are then transported to a mattress manufacturer in the US, and the final products are sold across North America. 
  • Manufacturers source petroleum mined in the Congo Basin and produce water capsules in China before assembling waterbed mattresses at other manufacturers in China. The final products are shipped to the US to be sold to consumers.

You can reduce the transporting carbon footprint by choosing waterbed mattresses that travel a shorter distance from the mines and are made closer to your home.

The Carbon Footprint of Transporting Waterbed Mattresses Depends Largely on the Vehicle of Transportation 

During its life-cycle, waterbed mattresses 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: 

To reduce the carbon footprint of your purchase as a consumer, you can choose not to pick a fast delivery option when ordering your waterbed mattress. 

How Sustainable Is the Usage of Waterbed Mattresses

The usage of waterbed mattresses is relatively sustainable because they generally have a long lifespan. 

A well-made waterbed mattress can last 10 to 15 years, meaning that it does not need to be replaced as frequently, reducing waste and conserving resources.

Generally, the lifespan of waterbed mattresses is superior to that of many mattresses made with polyurethane foam or memory foam

It is important to note that using and washing waterbed mattresses could release microplastic as the water bladders are typically made from PVC. 

How Sustainable Is the End-of-Life of Waterbed Mattresses

The end-of-life stage of waterbed mattresses is unsustainable because they don’t biodegrade. 

The conventional fossil-based PVC used in air capsules would take hundreds of years to begin degrading. Consequently, the end-of-life stage of waterbed mattresses is not sustainable compared with mattresses made of natural materials (natural latex, organic cotton, hemp, etc.).

How Circular Are Waterbed Mattresses 

As a principle, products made with one type of material, such as 100% PVC, are easier to disassemble for recycling than products made with a blend of materials. However, PVC is difficult to recycle

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. 

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. On that note, keep the following in mind:

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 natural latex, 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

Waterbed mattresses are unsustainable. The raw materials for air chambers come from nonrenewable resources, and the manufacturing process is energy- and chemical-intensive. 

However, you can make your use of waterbed mattresses more sustainable by following these steps:

  1. Buy recycled or upcycled waterbed mattresses.
  2. Keep waterbed mattresses mattress for as long as possible.
  3. At the end-of-life of your waterbed mattress, upcycle the material to extend its usage and arrange for it to be recycled or properly disposed of.

Stay impactful,



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