Made with natural and organic materials, our mattresses ensure a safe and comfortable sleeping environment for your baby. But what happens to your child's mattress when they outgrow it?
Research by The Lullaby Trust, the UK's leading child sleep charity, has proven that the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is increased when using a second-hand baby mattress. Which is why they generally advise against reusing any old baby mattresses. This means most charities do not accept used baby mattresses for donation, but you can always check with your local council if they can recycle them.
Repurposing your Nursery Naturalmat
Did you know that the fillings inside Naturalmat baby mattresses are layered together without using any glue? Which means you can easily unzip the cover of your baby mat, pull the layers apart and repurpose the fillings inside! Find our more about our materials.
So if you happen to be a crafty egg we've come up with a few fun ideas for you to reuse the natural fillings inside your old nursery Naturalmat mattress, instead of sending it off to the recycling centre.
We use the same soft yet hard-wearing OEKO TEX certified cotton covers on all our nursery and adult mattresses, which means they are made to last for a very long time. Simply unzip to take them off the mattress and they're ready to use!
- Laundry Bags : These compact-sized zipped covers make the ideal laundry bags when travelling.
- Storage Bags : Use them as dust-free storage bags for under your bed, or to store your out-of-season clothes at the back of your cupboard.
- Tie-Dye printing : All our quilted mattress covers come with a cotton inner lining which can make for a very fun tie-dye project with kids. Extra points if you use homemade natural dyes! You can then even cut and sew the dyed cotton sheets into tote bags, t-shirts or whatever you fancy.
- Tea cosy : For sewing enthusiasts, these wool-quilted covers are perfect to be stitched into a tea cosy that would keep your teapot warm even on cold winter days.
You can find our GOLS-certified organic coir in practically every natural fibre mattress we make. While you can very easily just pop these coconut fibre sheets into your home compost to naturally biodegrade, there's a few ways you can get creative with them.
- Scrubbers : Cut these sheets up into smaller pieces to use them as natural scrubbers for cast-iron pots and pans or scratch proof surfaces. They're kinder to the planet and also get the job done.
- Garden Mat : You can either trim it or use the coir sheet as is as a garden mat for your muddy wellies.
- Pinboard : Cut the coir sheet to your preferred shape, stick it on a cardboard backing and if you're feeling fancy you can place it in a wooden frame and cover it with some fabric. It makes for a fun DIY project and a very cool pinboard.
We source our organic wool from local farmers, so your Naturalmat will be filled with the finest natural fibre the west country has to offer. While wool is an exceptional temperature regulator and makes for a great night's sleep, it is also incredibly versatile. Here's a few ideas to repurpose the wool pads in your old nursery Naturalmat:
- Composting : It's good news for all of you with green fingers - wool makes for a great addition to your compost bin. This is because it takes a relatively long time to naturally biodegrade (from 3 months to 2 years) and ensures a slow and steady release of nitrogen into the soil, which makes for a high quality compost. Studies have also shown it to be a great organic nutrient source to grow potted plants! You can just pull out the wool pad from your nursery mat, break it up and pop it into your compost bin, use it to line the bottom of your plant pots or place it in your garden as mulch.
- Needle Felting : The ancient art of needle felting has been around for centuries, and has recently gained popularity. It's a versatile and wonderfully therapeutic craft, mostly used to make miniature soft toys with some wool and a felting needle. The plush layer of organic wool in our baby mats would more than suffice if you want to try your hand at needle-felting.
Our natural-blend latex makes for the ultimate soft and supportive mattress filling in our Latex Mat and Spring Mat. But, there are a few creative ways you can repurpose these pads into bits and bobs for your home.
- Packing 'Peanuts' : We think wasteful packaging is nuts. Which is why we use the latex (and coir) offcuts from making mattresses, as padding to secure our beds and mattresses during transit. They work really well as packing 'peanuts', and are great to use as padding around fragile items to keep them protected when moving homes.
- Kneeling cushion for gardening : You can easily use the baby mat as is as a kneeling cushion while gardening. But, if you've repurposed the other materials, the latex pad on it's own is well suited to providing the soft support needed for your knees while gardening. You can even stitch up a waterproof cover to make it easier to clean and store.
This guide will evolve as we try to find more ways for you to repurpose our natural fibre fillings. If you come up with any creative ways to reuse your Naturalmat baby mattress, we'd love to hear from you! You can email us at impact@naturalmat.co.uk.
