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Because the three "H’s" in the Mary Cordaro Inc. name represent the three homes we inhabit: the home inside ourselves, the homes we live in and the home on our planet, all our products must benefit you, your home and the earth. Keeping them all in balance and harmony, while taking care of them for future generations is our ultimate goal.

We support The Precautionary Principle, a standard begun in Germany, and adopted by the United Nations in 1992, also known as Agenda 21*.

In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.

The Precautionary Principle includes risk prevention, cost effectiveness, ethical responsibilities towards maintaining the integrity of natural systems, and allows for the fallibility of human understanding. We believe it is better, whenever possible, to use natural materials that have been proven safe over many decades of use rather than use synthetic materials (including memory foam, also called viscous foam, and polyurethane foam), and any materials made from petroleum products whose long-term health effects can only be projected. We choose to only use organic, natural and sustainable materials that are healthy for people as well as the planet.

Many companies use the words organic and natural to describe their materials because it is currently trendy to do so, even if the products are not 100% pure. At Mary Cordaro Inc., we back the purity of our Mary Cordaro Collection bedding materials with independent testing in Germany. We are currently the only organic bedding manufacturer to do so, to maintain the high level of quality our customers demand.

Organic: indicates that the materials are grown, processed and manufactured without any synthetic chemicals, all the way to the finished product.

Natural: indicates that the materials are nature-based, but may not be processed in a 100% organic manner. If a product is labeled “natural,” it may contain only a small percentage of natural ingredients, since it is legal to include synthetic ingredients as well.

Sustainable: indicates that the materials are “renewable” or can be grown again. They also create less impact to the planet to source and process. Examples include: using wool instead of Dacron, and using natural latex instead of metal inner springs, polyurethane foam, memory (viscose) foam, or synthetic latex. Dacron, polyurethane. memory foam and synthetic latex are all made from raw materials from the petroleum industry. Besides creating a great deal of impact to the planet to source and process, petroleum products and metal are not renewable, because they come from a finite source. Sustainable materials may or may not be organic.

Natural latex from the rubber tree is the core support in our organic beds, and considered by many to deliver the most luxurious and comfortable sleep experience of all bed materials on the market. Vastly superior to inner springs, latex will not sag over time due to its natural properties, making it more durable and longer-lasting, which means less landfill. When most people think of “latex” they think of the material used in surgical gloves, which is usually a blend of natural rubber latex and other synthetic materials added for durability and pliability. This is very different.

Why choose latex? – because most conventional synthetic mattresses contain Dacron and foam padding, either polyurethane foam, viscose foam or synthetic latex. Synthetics outgas chemicals called VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and SVOCs (semi-volatile organic compounds) from the core materials or outer coverings, which we believe impact your sleep and long-term health. Conventional mattresses are further treated with fire retardants such as organophosphate chemicals, including PBDEs, which have been shown in recent studies to have a cumulative effect in humans and wildlife with exposure over time. We also use a supportive latex core to avoid metal inner springs. Metal concentrates and radiates electromagnetic fields (EMFs) which can affect your sleep and overall health, as well as sag over time, creating back pain. Latex never sags, due to its natural properties.

To produce natural latex, the rubber tree’s sap, or “serum” is tapped from the tree and then processed using the lowest impact possible on the environment. Other companies add fillers or process their latex with chemicals –The Mary Cordaro Collection uses only pure, natural latex and the purity is confirmed by independent testing. There are two types of latex: the more resilient Talalay and the slightly denser-feeling Dunlop (which we also refer to as “Standard” latex). During the processing of Talalay latex, air is extracted from the liquid rubber, then the core is flash frozen to prevent settling, so the latex remains “airy” and not solid. The result is a mattress that feels ultra supportive yet resilient, and very long lasting. In the processing of standard Dunlop latex, there is no air extraction or flash freezing so the latex is allowed to settle, creating a denser, firmer feel. Your individual sleep preference will ultimately determine which feels better to you.

Pure Grow Wool™ is a superior all-natural product, which replaces synthetic foam and Dacron. This trademarked product is undyed wool from grazing sheep with no pesticides in the pasture, and no added chemicals in the feed. Many people who have allergies to wool discover that they are in fact allergic to the chemicals used in processing conventional wool and not the wool itself.

Pure Grow Wool batting also performs better than Dacron and synthetic foam in a mattress for several reasons: it wicks away moisture while you sleep to deliver more comfortable sleep, and insulates without overheating, creating a uniquely tranquil experience with a cocoon-like comfort. Additionally, wool naturally resists dust mites, moisture and mold, making it ideal for people with allergies and asthma. Finally, our mattresses meet federal flammability standards with wool only, avoiding any need for additional chemicals and fire barriers.

100% organic cotton fabric coverings give you a clean and healthy layer nearest to your face and skin. Both our organic cotton fabric as well as our organic cotton batting are free of dyes, bleach, pesticides and flame retardants. (As noted above, we meet our federal flammability requirements with wool only.)

Unlike conventionally grown cotton, organic cotton is grown without pesticides and herbicides, and processed without any dyes, treatments or chlorine bleach. Why is using organic so significant? Because the growing and processing of cotton contributes 25% of the pesticides used globally – more than is used in for growing food crops! These pesticides affect not only the environment, but those who work with the growing and processing of cotton materials. The textile-processing industry, using dyes, bleaches and other treatments to soften cotton contributes some of the highest levels of pollutants to our planet, and many of the chemicals remain in the fabric. And conventionally grow cotton batting may still retain pesticides. Because we spend 1/3 of our life sleeping on our beds, this is important to recognize for everyone, but especially for the impact on babies and children.

Our wood foundation looks just like a box spring, but contains no plywood or particleboard, which are often made with toxic glues and formaldehyde. No metal inner springs are used which attract and radiate electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Made with untreated solid pine planking, they can be custom-crafted to any height (and as low as 2”) to accommodate low-profile platform bed frames. Special order foundations are available in hardwoods for the chemically sensitive.

*One of the most important expressions of the precautionary principle internationally is the Rio Declaration from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as Agenda 21.

THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE IN ACTION
A HANDBOOK
First Edition
Written for the Science and Environmental Health Network
By
Joel Tickner – Lowell Center for Sustainable Production
Carolyn Raffensperger – Science and Environmental Health Network
and Nancy Myers

Mary Cordaro Inc. provides the finest luxury organic mattresses and other healthy home products.
Our bed collection includes natural latex mattresses and organic non-toxic crib mattresses.
Our luxury linen collections include organic bedding, organic bath linens and organic baby linens.
We also offer low EMF air filters.

Key words: Purity of Materials used in our organic mattresses, and bedding is backed by independent testing in Germany to comply with the Precautionary Principle (Agenda 21, Rio Declaration). We're the only company currently backing our organic mattresses and bedding in this way. This ensures that our organic mattresses and bedding are 100% organic, natural, and sustainable products for your health and safety.