Don’t buy one until we find out what company is now suppling the latex and the certifications, if any. Also, with a new latex comes a new mattress so there is no useful information that I can find to help potential buyers of this product.
A request for information to the Helix CEO about invalid certifications posted on their website is unanswered and the deadline for a response is now past, so I am posting this article.
Scott’s Subjective Ratings
Disclaimer: I do not own a Birch mattress nor have I ever slept on one. This information is based on the research I have conducted and are my thoughts based on such.
Table 1. Scott’s Subjective Ratings
| Attribute | Rating (1 – 10) | Scott’s Thoughts |
| FIRST THING | Scott’s running tally of favorable versus unfavorable mattress reviews = about 10 to 4. I will have to add them up | |
| Age of Company | 1.2 | 0.2 points per year the company has been in business. Birch mattress was introduced in 2019 by the Helix Sleep company, which was established in 2014. |
| Warranty 0.4 points per year | 9 | Limited 25 year warranty 1 point deduction for being limited |
| Trial Period 0.5 points/m | 1.6 | 100 days |
| BBB Rating | 6 | B+, but there are four reviews with an average rating of 1 star and 20 complaints filed. |
| Charity | 3 | Donate 1% of revenue to National Forest Foundation |
| Environmentally Friendly | Unknown at this time due to change in latex supplier. | |
| Trustworthiness | 5 | See certifications below. |
| Website | 7 | Lots of information in the FAQ section |
| Certifications | 0 | Their latex supplier, Talalay Global, is bankrupt and out of business as of June 2020, therefore it seems as though they only have one certification that is valid and all others are not valid and the claims on the website appear to be false as of September 1, 2020. Talalay Global’s OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification expired on March 30, 2020, and they have not updated their website to tell buyers where their latex supplier is located and if it has any certifications. |
| Buyer Complaints | This model is too new | |
| Label Law Conformance | Unknown | |
| Shipping Time | 2 | The company states that it ships in 5 – 10 days, but now that they don’t have a latex supplier in North America. They are scrambling to import latex and they are very late on shipping times. |
Considering another company, check these out:
Where Is Their Headquarters Located?
Broadway 1123, Suite 600
New York, NY
10010
Who Makes Birch Mattress?
Helix Sleep Inc.
Edge Support
The pocketed coils extend to the edges of the mattress to provide good edge support.
Certifications
- Wool Integrity NZ and you can see a copy of Birch’s certificate on its website here.
- IS THIS CERTIFICATION VALID? Their latex supplier is out of business so I will contact Birch and see if I can get an answer. GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and you can confirm compliance on the GOTS website here.
- NOT CERTIFIED AS FAR AS I CAN DETERMINE. OEKO-TEX Standard 100: Birch once used latex supplied by: Talalay Global, but the certificate that Birch links to expired on March 30, 2020.
Talalay Global entered bankruptcy in 2015 and again in 2019 and sold its assets to Artilat NV, a European latex manufacturer, in June 2020. - Talalay Global was the only manufacturer in North America (source). So where is Birch sourcing its latex now? Talalay Global’s website has been removed so I am guessing they don’t exist now.
- I don’t know if this certification is still valid. I will update this article as information becomes available. GREENGUARD and GREENGUARD GOLD:
You can see the certification here, but you will need to register with spot.ul.com first. They both expire on November 9, 2020. - Obliviously this certification is no longer valid either: ECO-INSTITUT: Ecological product testing certification for natural latex rubber foam. You can see the invalid certification here (it has been updated).
Is It a Hybrid?
The Birch mattress is a hybrid with pocket coil springs and latex.
Is Birch Flippable?
It is not designed to be flippable.
What Is The Warranty?
It comes with a limited 25-year warranty
What Is The Trial Period?
The trial period is 100 days.
I am ending my review here as it is a total waste of my time until the company lets the world know where it is getting its latex from and what, if any, certifications it has.
And then we need people to try the new latex models out and let the world know what they think.
