Best Non-Toxic Pillows

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Naturepedic Organic Adjustable Latex Pillow

Runner Up Pillow

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Birch Organic Pillow

Best Wool Pillow

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Avocado Molded Latex Pillow

Best Latex Pillow

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Coyuchi Turiya Organic Latex Pillow

Best Contoured Pillow

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Naturepedic PLA Pillow

Best Budget Pillow

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We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, so your pillow quality matters a lot. But not just for comfort — many popular pillows emit toxic chemicals that are subsequently breathed all night long. Night after night, this can become a problem.

You don’t have to sacrifice comfort for your health. More non toxic pillows are on the market than ever before, so it’s very easy to find a safe pillow that is supportive for your sleeping type.

Why Your Pillow Might Be Toxic

Many popular pillows are made with materials or laced with chemicals that have been shown to have adverse effects on human health. These materials have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, immune system disruption, neurological damage, and other adverse effects. These are some of the biggest problem-causing materials found in pillows:

1. Flame Retardants (PBDEs)
2. Polyurethane Foam (a huge source of pillow VOC emissions)
3. Other synthetic materials that emit VOCs, like glues.

How to Choose a Non-Toxic Pillow

Although there are only 6 non-toxic pillows on this list, there are many more to choose from. If you want to find your own non toxic pillow, or determine whether or not your current pillow needs to be swapped, here are three easy steps to choosing a safe pillow.

Choose Safe Materials

Do you know what your pillow is made of? Pillows can be made from a variety of materials, like memory foam, down, cotton, polyester, latex, wool, and more. When choosing a pillow, it’s important to know which materials are safe and which you are better off avoiding.

Safe(r) Pillow Materials:

• Cotton
• Wool
• 100% Pure Latex (make sure this is certified as many “latex” pillows include other materials)
• Kapok (a natural, cotton-like substance from the seeds of the Kapok tree)
• PLA (a better alternative to plastics made from natural ingredients like sugarcane and cornstarch)
• Buckwheat
• Eucalyptus
• Bamboo

Materials to Avoid:

• Memory Foam (Also known as polyurethane — most unhealthy and should be swapped.)
• Polyester
• Formaldehyde (often a problem when you get a pillow stuffed with animal products like feathers, as these might have been treated with formaldehyde.)
• Flame retardants (also known as PBDEs — mostly phased out in the US but could be a problem if you have an old pillow made before 2005)
• Synthetic Latex

Avoid Flame Retardants

This was covered in the above section on materials to avoid, but it’s important enough to be restated. If a pillow is labeled as flame-resistant (and not “naturally flame resistant”), do not sleep on it. Most (but not all) flame retardant-treated pillows are polyurethane memory foam pillows.

Look for Certifications

Regardless of the materials used to make a pillow, it can still be contaminated with harmful chemicals. Also, a brand may make claims that their pillows are safe but arent being truthful about their manufacturing practices. That’s why you need check for third-party certifications.

There are many organizations that make it easy to find better-for-you products, and the more of these certifications your pillow has, the better! (Unless they don’t apply to the specific type of pillow, of course.) Here are some certifications you want your pillow to have:

• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard )
• GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard)
• MADE SAFE
• GREENGUARD Gold
• OEKO-TEX Standard 100
• UL Validated Formaldehyde Free