Jason and Mindy Schaefer, owners of Naturepedic Organic Mattress Gallery in University Place, learned about the benefits of organic and natural mattresses from their own experience 10 years ago.
When Jason and Mindy bought their first mattress, and Mindy started to struggle sleeping at night, they didn’t attribute it all to the bed. In fact, it was a brand-new memory foam mattress. They thought that it was potentially the air pollution causing her sleep issues, including trouble breathing and regular migraines.
No amount of air filters, house plants and meticulous vacuuming did the trick, though. Since Jason was working at a mattress company at this time, they decided to try out an organic, natural bed that specifically did away with the chemical powders that are required to prevent fires.
The first night Mindy slept on the natural mattress, fire-retardant by way of natural wool, she slept through the entire night without breathing issues and woke up feeling refreshed. Her sleep issues went as quickly as they came. “She was no longer breathing in those flame-retardant powders,” Jason said.
“That was kind of my conversion point,” Jason said. “There’s got to be a better way than sleeping on chemicals all night long when you should be relaxing and recuperating.”
Jason has worked with multiple natural mattress facilities since then. In October 2019, he and his wife Mindy opened the Naturepedic Organic Mattress Gallery in University Place to help others get vital sleep in a natural and environmentally friendly way. Located off Bridgeport Way and across from Whole Foods, the gallery is in a newer development surrounded by a variety of other retail and food stores. In addition to distributing Naturepedic mattresses, they also carry Holy Lamb Organics.
Aside from being organic, these beds are completely customizable. This means you can craft either half or an entire mattress to your and your spouses’ specific liking, even as it changes over time.
For example, it’s quite common for one person to prefer a firm bed while their partner prefers something softer. They may end up settling for something neither party completely loves.
“We call it the great compromise,” Jason said.
With customizable layers, no compromise is necessary. One, two, or three different layers can consist of soft, medium, and/or firm materials such as organic latex, cotton, wool, alpaca, and cashmere. These organic materials, namely wool, are naturally flame retardant and certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard, or GOTS. This guarantees that nothing was tampered with or added in the process of getting it to its final form as a mattress (which takes place in Chagrin Falls, Ohio).
“You can trace everything in this mattress back to the cotton field it was grown in, back to the sheep the wool was sheared from, and the latex tree that the latex was tapped from,” Jason said.
Naturepedic has a number of certifications aside from GOTS, including the Global Organic Latex Standard, Organic Content Standard, Non-Toxic MADE SAFE, and more. Individual layers can be swapped out when your needs change, too. For the first 90 days, new layers are no charge as you get used to your new bed. Just unzip the side and you’ll see how you can change things around or try something else.
Jason said he knows what an overwhelming process that shopping for a new mattress can be. Because of this, he likes to give customers as much guidance as they need when deciding on a bed. Even if it’s not one of their products, he said he can always steer you in the right direction, because everyone deserves regular comfortable sleep.
“It’s been a really sleepy industry for a long time and people are finally starting to lift up the covers,” Jason said.
Check out Naturepedic’s website and blog to learn more about the customizable layers and natural materials. There are various ways to customize mattresses from twin through California king.
Naturepedic Organic Mattress Gallery is located at 3550 Market Place West, Suit 105, University Place, Washington 98466.
Sponsored
