9 Best Mattresses Without Fiberglass

Fiberglass is an all-too-common material used in mattresses. While non-toxic, fiberglass still causes skin, eyes, mouth, and throat irritation. This only makes it harder to sleep. That’s why we recommend shopping for beds without fiberglass.

We’ve made a list of the best mattresses without fiberglass to keep you and your home clean. We also talk about why to avoid fiberglass mattresses and what to look for while shopping!

Best Mattresses Without Fiberglass

Memory foam mattresses are notorious for containing fiberglass and other potentially harmful materials, but not the Amerisleep AS3. “The quality of Amerisleep AS3 is top notch in the mattress industry, but especially when it comes to mattresses without harmful materials like fiberglass. Sleepers that are exposed to fiberglass can develop skin irritations or even difficulty breathing” states Dr. Jordan Burns. This memory foam mattress is made from plant-based memory foam and is CertiPUR-US® certified to ensure quality.

At 12 inches thick, the AS3 has a medium firmness. This firmness is popular amongst side sleepers and combination sleepers in need of proper cushioning. With that, the AS3’s balance of softness and support is a good compromise when considering a mattress for couples.

The Amerisleep AS3 includes free shipping and returns, a 100-night sleep trial, and a 20-year warranty covering defects and sags.

The Amerisleep AS3 is renowned for its motion isolation and pressure relief. Despite its great cushioning, the AS3 provides excellent back support and prevents uncomfortable sinkage. This way, you won’t feel “stuck” inside your own bed!

The AS3 contains three layers of foam. Over the foam is a stretchy knit cover that’s built to promote air circulation.

What makes the AS3 unique is its Bio-Pur® comfort foam. Unlike other, fiberglass-filled memory foams, Bio-Pur® is made from castor oil. This way, the memory foam stays cool and soothes pain without going soft, sagging, or feeling unsupportive.

Next inside the mattress is a layer of Affinity foam with HIVE® zoned technology. The layer is split into five zones under your head, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. It’s built to evenly distribute your body weight, soothing pressure points while ensuring your spine doesn’t get out of alignment.

The base of the AS3 is made with Bio-Core® foam for durability and support. However, if you’re not interested in an all-foam mattress, Amerisleep offers a hybrid alternative to the AS3. The AS3 Hybrid contains pocketed coils and a foam foundation in place of Bio-Core®. This design offers lots of bounce, airflow, and spinal support.

The Zoma Hybrid is a favorite amongst hot sleepers. It features gel-infused foam, supportive pocketed coils, and a mesh, moisture-wicking cover all to help you sleep cool. This mattress is 12 inches thick and has a medium firmness great for all sleeping positions. It’s also beneficial for people struggling with chronic pain or who work laborious jobs.

Zoma mattresses are made in the USA and with CertiPUR-US® certified foams. They include free shipping and returns, a 100-night risk-free trial, and a 10-year limited warranty.

When you use the Zoma Hybrid, you may notice yourself sleeping better and feeling more refreshed in the mornings. This is due to the Zoma Hybrid’s restorative qualities which promote deeper sleep and enhance muscle recovery. 

The gel foam inside the Zoma Hybrid gently cushions your curves without feeling overly firm or soft. The bed’s responsive, bouncy foam prevents you from sinking and keeps you pain-free all night long!

Inside the Zoma Hybrid is two layers of foam atop a layer of pocketed coils and a firm foam base. The mattress also features a mesh AirCloth cover that promotes air circulation and cool sleep.

The top layer of the Zoma Hybrid is made from gel foam. The material is cushiony yet supportive and enables swift heat dispersion. 

Second in the Zoma Hybrid is Reactiv™, a transition foam with latex-like qualities. It prevents sinkage, lumps, and overall discomfort while aligning your spine.

The bottom of the Zoma Hybrid is pocketed coils resting on a foam base. The coils promotes healthy spinal alignment but is also resistant to sagging, and the wrappings around every coil enable surface-wide motion isolation. The foam base ensures the structural integrity of the coils, helping them stand strong year after year.

Finding a high-quality budget mattress is complicated enough, as many are made with lower-quality materials, but it’s not always clear which ones have fiberglass and which don’t. We did the hunting for you and found that the Zoma Start is easily one of the best fiberglass-free beds offered at affordable prices. Originally built for athletes, this cooling bed improves sleep quality and muscle pain.

The Zoma Start features a stretchy AirCloth cover, which is soft but moisture-wicking. This way, you don’t wake up feeling hot or damp when waking up in the morning.

Zoma uses gel foam for the Zoma Start’s comfort layer. The foam is flexible and cushiony, relieving pressure point pain without causing you to sink. By infusing this layer with gel, it won’t get overly hot and leave you uncomfortable.

Next is a layer of Reactiv™ transition foam. When you switch positions or get out of bed, the Reactiv™ foam snaps back into shape so you don’t feel “stuck” in bed. With this, the Reactiv™ layer helps distribute your body weight to further soothe any pain.

The bottom of the Zoma Start is durable Support+ foam. As the name suggests, the Support+ foam supports your spine but also the bed itself. This foundation extends the Zoma Start’s lifespan by being resistant to sags, lumps, and soft spots.

The Zoma Start comes with a 10-year warranty.

Hybrid mattresses can offer the contouring comfort of a foam mattress and the bounce of a classic innerspring mattress. We recommend the Vaya Hybrid for its fiberglass-free protection and its pillowy surface that provides luxurious comfort with affordable materials.

The Vaya Hybrid has a foam comfort layer with underlying coils and a final foam layer for support. A lightweight fabric encases the mattress, with two inches of quilted cotton cushion sandwiched between the cover fabric and the first foam layer.

The comfort foam layer has a porous structure that keeps heat and moisture from building up, as air can easily slip inside and carry it away. The foam hugs the body in any position, relieving the tension that can cause morning aches and pains.

The pocketed coils are individually wrapped for increased comfort, as their independent reactivity means that partners can move across the surface without disturbing each other. The base foam is thick and sturdy, providing a firm surface that helps the coils support sleepers without sagging.

The Vaya Hybrid comes with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty, along with free shipping.

The Zoma Boost is the most upscale mattress in the brand’s line-up, pairing a thicker quilted top with bouncy wrapped coils. Not only is this mattress free of fiberglass, but its design was constructed to relax and soothe a sleeper’s tension away, letting them sink into its cool, weightless surface.

The fabric cover of the Zoma Boost is what most sleepers will immediately notice. The pillow top features a colorful print of red and white triangles, but even that eye-catching detail can fade from the mind when sleepers touch the surface. It’s airy and light against the skin, smooth like a slide into a cooling pool of water. The pleasant chill can quickly relax sleepers as they lie down for bed.

Underneath the cover of the bed lies the key to its comfort: two layers of conforming foam that effortlessly mold to your body, propped up by Zoma’s exclusive Reactiv™ foam. Thanks to this trio of foam layers, the quilted surface of the mattress is both pliant and buoyant, letting you sink in softly without feeling like you’re getting swallowed up.

Meanwhile, the Zoma Boost’s robust support system features pocketed coils atop a solid foundation, with reinforced edges along the sides for an easier time sliding out of bed. These coils remain upright and steadfast even after extensive use, bolstering the feathery softness of the mattress’s top layers.

Like all Zoma mattresses, the Zoma Boost ships free and comes with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

Latex mattresses are the most common types of beds without fiberglass, but it can be hard to know which is best. Of all latex mattresses, the Amerisleep Organica is our favorite. This latex hybrid mattress is 13 inches thick and has a medium firmness great for most types of sleepers.

The Organica features a GOTS organic certified cotton cover with hand-tufted rosettes. The cotton is soft to the touch but dissipates heat and moisture so you sleep comfortably. Under the cover is wool batting, which is not only a thermo-regulator but also the bed’s fire barrier.

Amerisleep uses Talalay latex for the Organica’s comfort layer. Talalay latex is flexible and adapts to your curves for optimal pressure relief. Not only that, but Talalay latex is cooling and won’t cause you to sink uncomfortably.

The largest layer in the Organica are the steel coils wrapped in fabric. Pocketed coils are durable and resistant to motion transfer. The coils on either side of the bed are extra-firm to ensure the edges don’t sag.

The base of the Organica is a layer of Dunlop latex. It’s firm, long-lasting, and ensures your bed doesn’t sag easily.

Amerisleep mattresses include a 100-night sleep trial and a 20-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Amerisleep Mattress Reviews

One of the most sustainable mattresses without fiberglass is the Joybed LX. It’s the only bed on our list that doesn’t contain foam, which is great if you prefer a cushiony bed. It’s 10 inches thick and has a medium-firm feel suited for back sleepers and some side sleepers.

The Joybed LX has a GOTS organic certified cotton cover with hand-tufted rosettes. Beneath it is the bed’s fire retardant—plant fibers produced from potatoes that stop the spread of fire.

The bed’s comfort layers contain hypoallergenic cotton and anti-microbial wool. Both cotton and wool are pressure-relieving but also breathable and moisture resistant.

At the base of the bed are pocketed coils that conform to your spine and the curves of your body. The coils increase air circulation throughout the bed to prevent you from overheating.

With the Joybed LX, you receive a 120-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Most Comfortable Mattress

Innerspring mattresses are a tried and true classic, but many contain fiberglass. If you still want an innerspring bed, check out the Saatva Classic. This mattress comes in many firmnesses and thicknesses. It has the most size choices of any other bed on this list!

You have the option between three firmnesses: plush soft, luxury firm, and firm. You have two thickness choices: 11.5 inches or 14.5 inches. Regardless of what options you choose, the mattress has the same materials.

The Saatva Classic features a Euro pillow top made from a combination of plush fibers and comfort foams. The Euro top’s cover is made with organic and hypoallergenic cotton to prevent discomfort while you sleep. Saatva treats the cover with their Guardin™ botanical antimicrobial treatment to prevent bacteria, mold, and mildew growth.

Inside the Saatva Classic is their patented back support technology. A combination of CertiPUR-US® certified memory foam and spinal zone active wires align your spine and reduce back pain. CertiPUR-US® certified means foam is free of heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and is low in VOCs and emissions.

The Saatva Classic features two types of coils in every bed: pocketed micro coils and large open coils. The micro coils adapt to your body’s movements for pressure relief and motion isolation. The larger coils improve air circulation throughout the bed while preventing sags. Surrounding the larger coils is a thick foam perimeter to enhance the bed’s edge support.

The Saatva Classic comes with a 180-night trial and a 15-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Most Comfortable Mattress

An organic and eco-friendly mattress isn’t always affordable, making it an unrealistic purchase for many people. Happsy helps make organic beds more achievable with the Happsy Mattress, an organic latex hybrid bed.

The Happsy has an organic cotton cover and organic wool batting for fire protection. Beneath this is 2 inches of organic certified latex to cushion your body’s curves, align the spine, and prevent uncomfortable sinkage.

The star of the Happsy Mattress is its 8-inch pocketed coil support layer. Each coil is wrapped in thin, breathable fabric to prevent them from squeaking, breaking, or causing motion transfer. Beneath and around the perimeter of the coils is a cotton filling to protect them from wear and sagging.

The Happsy Mattress includes a 120-night sleep trial and a 20-year warranty.

One of the best and most unique fiberglass-free mattresses is Spindle’s 10” Organic Latex Mattress. It’s made entirely of organic latex, wool, and cotton for a clean and healthy sleeping environment.

The Organic Latex Mattress has a GOTS organic certified cotton cover with OEKO-TEX® certified wool batting. When you unzip the mattress’s (removable) cover, you find three layers of GOLS organic certified Dunlop latex.

What makes the Organic Latex Mattress so unique is that, upon unzipping its cover, you have access to the latex layers and rearrange them. This way, you have to adjust the bed to fit your personal needs. Of the three layers of latex, two have a medium-firm feel and one has a medium feel. Based on how you arrange these layers, the bed is softer or firmer.

Beyond just that, Spindle offers a 25-Year Comfort Life program to further customize your bed. If at any time during those 25 years you decide you want a firmer or softer layer or simply need a replacement, you can buy a 3-inch layer of latex at a 30-percent discount.

The Spindle 10” Organic Latex Mattress comes with a 365-night trial and a 10-year warranty.

Lots of mattresses without fiberglass use wool as a flame barrier, but due to personal and ethical reasons, some people prefer not to buy products containing wool. If you fit into this group, consider the Avocado Vegan Mattress. Instead of fiberglass or wool, Avocado adds cotton as the bed’s flame retardant.

The Avocado Vegan Mattress is a latex hybrid mattress. It features a GOTS organic certified cotton cover along with USDA organic certified cotton batting for the bed’s flame barrier. The bed is both vegan certified and PETA-approved.

With the Avocado Vegan Mattress, you have the option between two models: the standard or the pillow-top. The standard model is 11 inches thick and has a medium-firm feel. You can pay an extra fee for the attached pillow-top model, which is 13 inches thick and has a medium feel.

Both the standard and pillow-top models have GOLS organic certified Dunlop latex comfort layers. The Dunlop is durable and regulates your temperature so you’re never too hot or cold.

Avocado designs the bed’s pocketed coil unit with five ergonomic zones. The steel springs provide extra support and cushioning as needed to distribute your body weight and alleviate pain. They then add another, thinner layer of Dunlop latex to protect the coils and prevent sags.

The Avocado Vegan Mattress includes a 365-night sleep trial and a 25-year warranty.

What Is Fiberglass?

Fiberglass is a fiber-reinforced material made up of woven glass fibers. The glass fibers may be randomly woven, flattened into a durable sheet, or woven into cloth. It’s cheap and easy to produce, yet still extremely durable and non-toxic.

Why Do Mattresses Contain Fiberglass?

As per the US’s federal regulations for health and safety, mattresses must contain some sort of flame retardant or fire barrier. This way, in case of a fire, your mattress doesn’t immediately catch into flames and a person can escape safely. Without a proper flame barrier, sleepers are at risk of injury or even death. The NIST says these standards have saved lives.

When mattress mandates originated, chemical flame barriers were an acceptable fire retardant. However, they were quickly banned after they turned out to contain harmful chemicals and be toxic to humans. So, mattress manufacturers now needed to use chemical-free flame retardants, thus came the rise of fiberglass.

Fiberglass is common in memory foam and polyurethane mattresses but can be found in any type of bed. In the event of a fire, the fiberglass would melt and encapsulate the mattress so it doesn’t burn and the fire doesn’t spread.

Why Should You Avoid Mattresses With Fiberglass?

Exposure to fiberglass can cause issues such as skin irritation, redness, and rashes. You may also experience eye irritation and redness, stomach pain, nausea, and a sore throat or mouth.

The side effects of fiberglass exposure are almost always short-term and there is no evidence suggesting it causes long-term damage to your health. Regardless, skin, eye, mouth, and throat irritation is uncomfortable and affects your breathing.

While beds with fiberglass are often cheaper than beds without fiberglass, your health and sleep quality will improve by getting a fiberglass-free bed. The best mattress for your health shouldn’t contain fiberglass to prevent irritation.

What Other Flame Barriers Are There?

Although fiberglass isn’t deadly or harmful long-term, lots of people want to avoid it for obvious reasons. There are healthier, more natural alternatives that protect your bed in the event of a fire without irritating your body.

Try looking for beds containing:

• Wool
• Plant fibers
• Silica

Eco-friendly, organic, and generally sustainable mattresses are more likely to contain these flame retardants instead of fiberglass.

Since being an eco-friendly mattress doesn’t guarantee that your bed is fiberglass-free, check the bed’s third-party certifications. Third-party organizations inspect a bed’s materials and production process to ensure it’s free of fiberglass amongst other chemicals.

Third-party certifications to look for in a mattress include:

• CertiPUR-US® 
• Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS)
• Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)
• OEKO-TEX®
• Rainforest Alliance
• eco-Institut®
• Greenguard GOLD
• MADE SAFE®

Mattresses will almost never have all of these certifications, especially because certain certifications are only relevant to certain types of materials. Most types of mattresses only have several of these certifications at best, which is completely acceptable.

SEE ALSO: The Best Place to Buy a Mattress & 7 In-Store Myths

Saving on a New Mattress

To save even more on some of the best mattresses without fiberglass, you can shop during one of the big mattress sales that pop up throughout the year:

• Best Presidents Day Mattress Sales
• Best Memorial Day Mattress Sales
• Best 4th of July Mattress Sales
• Best Labor Day Mattress Sales
• Best Columbus Day Mattress Sales
• Best Black Friday Mattress Sales
• Best Cyber Monday Mattress Sales

FAQs

Does every mattress have fiberglass?

No, not every bed contains fiberglass, but it’s a very common flame barrier used in beds. When avoiding beds with fiberglass, look for beds that contain safer fiberglass alternatives such as wool, silica, or plant fibers. Your best bet is to shop for organic, eco-friendly, and latex beds as they are commonly fiberglass-free, but any bed can be fiberglass-free.

How do I know if my mattress has fiberglass?

Some (but not all) mattress companies will clearly promote their beds as being fiberglass-free and containing a different flame barrier.

If it’s unclear whether or not your bed contains fiberglass, check the tag or specifications online. Look for keywords such as “particle glass,” “glass fibers,” or simply “fiberglass.”

Check to see if your mattress’s label says “do not remove cover.” Some mattress covers may have zippers and still have this label, but that likely means the zipper was added to simplify the manufacturing process. Mattress labels say not to remove the cover because there is likely fiberglass beneath it and removing it can cause fiberglass to spread through your room.

What mattresses don’t contain fiberglass?

Technically, any type of mattress can be fiberglass-free. Certain types of beds are simply more or less likely to contain fiberglass. Organic latex mattresses and natural latex mattresses are most likely to be fiberglass-free and instead contain wool or silica.

Conversely, memory foam and polyfoam mattresses are more likely to contain fiberglass. If these types of mattresses intrigue you, double-check the bed’s specifications to ensure it’s fiberglass-free.

Are there memory foam mattresses without fiberglass?

Yes, you can find memory foam mattresses without fiberglass, though they’re less common than latex beds without fiberglass. While uncommon, it’s still not impossible.

Some of the best memory foam mattresses without fiberglass are the Zoma Start and the GravityLux Mattress by WinkBeds.

Can fiberglass cause health problems?

According to the CDC, fiberglass exposure can cause irritation to the skin, nose, mouth, and throat. Additionally, fiberglass can lead to red, itchy eyes, stomach pain, skin rashes, and a sore throat.

A common misconception with fiberglass is that it can cause long-term respiratory issues and even cancer, but no evidence supports this claim. Fiberglass symptoms are usually only present when you’re in contact with it but go away once you’re no longer in contact with the fiberglass.

Conclusion

Fiberglass isn’t deadly or harmful long-term, but it’s still uncomfortable and irritating when in contact with it. Also, it makes a big mess if it ever gets out from under your mattress’s cover. Avoid the hassle and discomfort by shopping for one of our fiberglass-free favorites and let us know what you think!