Can you buy a Mattress free from fire retardant in the UK?

Hi Eileen,

Thanks for your questions about fire retardancy in UK mattresses.

First off all mattresses must adhere to the 1988 Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations. Which has significantly helped reduce home fires along with improved fire warning systems. For this reason, all UK furniture and soft furnishings must adhere by law to this. All products have to go through a number of tests which you can see here. One is a smouldering cigarette test and the mattress has to prove that the fire does not spread and basically extinguishes after a certain set period. You can read more on the tests here.

The majority of mattresses use synthetic chemical-based FR or coatings such as sprays.

However, we moved to a plant-based FR treatment as seen here on all of our Artisan mattress ranges to be as chemical-free as legally possible whilst keeping sleepers safe.

It's really interesting that Cottonsafe in Devon have created there own FR fibre. However, they don't provide any details on how they have achieved this. As they state on their site cotton itself is not FR approved. So it must be mixed or woven with something else which is really exciting. We hope they provide more detail soon so others in the mattress industry can benefit from this development.

"We know that organic cotton alone will not pass the fire regulations when tested as it does not go out - it just smoulders." - Cottonsafe website.

Our similar offering is our 100% natural plant-based FR which then is applied to our damask mattress covers on our Natural Fibre Artisan Range of mattresses.

Whats inside Cottonsafe mattresses?

Whilst FR is incredibly important, in fact vital, you also need to know exactly what's inside the mattress, not just the FR application used on the outside. We have long been advocating for all retailers to disclose the exact GSM (Grams per square meter) of fibres inside their mattress. Sadly Cottonsafe is no exception, and whilst they list the fibres, they don't give you the detail needed to accurately compare to other retailers. We hope they follow suit and disclose like we do to assist buyers.

We do note that they use 'bonded cotton' in some of their mattresses, which also may be a typo? As bonded cotton is a mix of cotton and polyester (or other synthetic) which is then heated to bond the two into a fibre. You can only bond fibres if there is a synthetic or plastic element to melt and bond to. Given they state their beds are 100% natural we guess this is an error on their part.

Likewise, for their springs they only list either a 1500 or 2000 soring count but not the gauge. Pocket springs are designed for specific weight ranges in mind. Often confused with the 'comfort feel' of a mattress. This is completely wrong. The feel of the mattress is provided by the upholstery alone. The support from the mattress comes from the spring tension which is always dictated bu your weight. The springs are only designed with weight (load) in mind, not comfort layers. The video below helps explain in detail along with the spring tension table.

Cottonsafe mattress guarantee

Also what's interesting and maybe a mistake is their very short guarantees on their mattresses. There Topsham mattress retailing at £1950 for a kingsize only comes with a 1 year guarantee? It also follows from the T&C page that Vegan Choice, Vegan Luxury, Appledore, Widecombe, Hatherleigh, Exeter and Topsham bed mattresses have a 1-year guarantee. Followed by an optional warranty. You can read why we don't use warranties ever here.  The guarantee is a vital part of any high-end mattress purchase.

Best 100% Natural Mattress?

If you're looking for an example of a 100% natural mattress in a variety of spring tensions custom to you have a look at our Artisan Bespoke 004 mattress which is one of our best selling beds. It comes with a 10 year guarantee.
It has a medium feel in the natural upholstery with a forgiving top layer. Great for pressure points. The 1600 individual pocket springs allow restless sleepers to move quickly, easily and effortlessly.

Often this helps reduce the amount of fidgeting when coupled with the progressive comfort layers of this mattress. Available in 3 different spring tensions depending on your bodyweight(s). This is a two sided mattress.

Artisan Bespoke 004 Mattress
1: 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
2: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER
3: 200GSM SOFT BAMBOO
4: 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL
5: 1000GSM BONDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
6: 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [ 49MM ] [1.28MM]
TOTAL: 3600GSM
DEPTH: 27-30CM
CHEMICAL FREE PLANT BASED COVER

If you're looking for a 100% plant based mattress then check out our Artisan Latex.

The Artisan Latex is our premium vegan friendly mattress. Hand made and featuring 100% natural plant based fibres, It gives a medium feel in the top comfort layer and is a 2 sided calico encased vanadium coated pocket spring support system. It’s our best selling plant based mattress.

1: 200GSM BAMBOO FIBRE

2: 1500GSM REBOUND COTTON

3: 3CM TALALAY LATEX (GRAPHITE FREE)

4: 450GSM ORGANIC FLAX FIBRE

5: 1000GSM COCONUT COIR FIBRE AS THE INSULATOR

6: 1500 CALICO ENCASED VANADIUM COATED POCKET SPRINGS (SOFT, MEDIUM OR FIRM TENSION CHOICES)

Total GSM: 3150

Chemical Free Plant Based Cover

We hope that helps and gives you further mattress buying guidance about mattress fire retardancy Eileen. If you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan