Essentia
| I'm new here. I've spent a few hours poking around but haven't found any information on the mattress I'm considering: the Classic 8 by a company called Essentia (www.myessentia.com). They are a Canadian company that makes what is billed as the world's only natural memory foam. Has anyone heard of them? Thanks for taking the time to answer. -Michelle |
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I agree the term "natural memory foam" is quite misleading. I think in using the term, the company was simply trying to make the link to Tempurpedic. There is actually quite a bit of educational information on their Web site. Here is how they describe their memory foam: Our petroleum-free foam was developed in-house and is the only natural memory foam manufactured in the world. Similar to natural latex foam, our natural memory foam is also made from rubber tree sap but organic essential oils, plant extracts and water are added into the foam composition to give it a memory foam like feel. Has no one heard of this mattress? I was hoping someone could tell me if it lives up to the company's comfort claims. -Michelle This message was modified Dec 28, 2009 by a moderator
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This company has only been around for about three years now. Being a Canadian company they cannot be checked out Through the Better Business Bureau. At least I don't know how to do it. They make some claims that sound quite fishy to me and I would not trust them with my money. That's all I can tell you. But I would be very leery of them. By the way, do you live in Canada? If you live in the United States there are a lot of good companies you can do business with here that are quite legitimate, well tested, and trustworthy. FloBeds has been in business for 30 years. There BBB rating is A plus excellent. They have not had any negative complaints in well over seven years. There are many other companies mentioned in these forums that are respected and people have had excellent results with doing business with them. One statement they made that is very misleading. And I quote. "Sourced from Indonesia, our 100% natural Dunlop Latex is collected from Rubber Plantations where acceptable working conditions are maintained and there is no practice of child labour" You cannot collect 100% natural Dunlop latex. It would seem to me that they are implying that they collect Dunlop latex from the rubber tree. This is impossible. Dunlop is a process that is applied to latex to make a certain type of latex. They also make many other claims that sound very bogus to me and I have never, ever, read anywhere else that you can make "natural memory foam" from latex rubber. No matter how many chemicals are additives are added to the natural rubber. Let's get one thing straight about memory foam ( I mean real memory foam) some people love it, and a lot of people hate it! Many people find that it sleeps hot. The reason that tempurpedic mattresses are so expensive, and a lot of people swear by them, is that they have their own formulation of petrochemical based memory foam. Do your research on this forum and you will find many posts regarding these facts. This message was modified Dec 28, 2009 by a moderator
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Thank you. I do live in the United States and will look at the US companies mentioned quite frequently on this forum (FloBeds, PureRest, SavvyRest, Sleep EZ, etc). I was just curious about this company as they seem to offer the best of both worlds: memory foam like comfort without drawbacks such as chemical outgassing and heat retention. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. -Michelle |
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Michelle said: "Thank you. I do live in the United States and will look at the US companies mentioned quite frequently on this forum (FloBeds, PureRest, SavvyRest, Sleep EZ, etc)." You have made a wise decision.  Though I do not recommend their mattresses due to the fact that they are so restrictive on choice, still Habitat probably has one of the best websites from the standpoint of educational videos about the subject of latex. My personal preference is FloBeds due to the fact that they have such a liberal exchange and return policy. SleepEZ would probably be the next best choice though there exchange policy is not as liberal as FloBeds. My next choice would be Savvy Rest. I think they have one of the best choices as far as Dunlop and Talalay latex goes, but they have no return policy, and they get quite a bit for shipping cost for there exchanges. There are other very legitimate companies that have varying exchange and return policies that you can check out. Any company that you're going to do business with, first check the Better Business Bureau and see how they rate. You have my best wishes. This message was modified Dec 17, 2009 by eagle2
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been a while since I have posted here....so long in fact my account was wiped lol. there are many things mentioned about their product that makes me question just exactly what goes into their products....much of the information given is incredibly ambiguous and vague. which in my experience is really just something done by marketing. "Latex: Milky white sap of the Rubber tree, collected much like Maple tree sap, which coagulates upon exposure to air. Sourced from Indonesia, our 100% natural Dunlop Latex is collected from Rubber Plantations where acceptable working conditions are maintained and there is no practice of child labour. We only use Oeko-Tex® certified Dunlop latex foam, the most expensive and finest quality natural latex available. It's also allergy-free because it's free of proteins which cause allergic reactions." This seems quite bizarre as although real allergic reactions to the latex used in mattresses is exceedingly rare you cannot claim it to be allergy free. Green Sleep makes the purest natural rubber in the world and they still get on occasion a latex allergic reaction. But more so than this....what bugs me about it is that if you are considering buying a latex bed for some of the 'hypo-allergenic' benefits you should be made to know that it is precisely because of the proteins found in natural rubber which make it resistant to dust mites and bacterial growth in the product (not just the mattresses ability to breathe). So removing the proteins kinda defeats one of the main reasons of buying a natural latex product in the first place. Also latex is not collected even remotely the same way that maple syrup is collected, it is also not technically sap, it is actually the 'milk' of the tree. Its one thing if someone outside of the industry called latex sap but when a manufacturer doesn't even seem to know exactly what it is just makes me shake my head. Other things they claim like having the only natural memory foam in the world kinda bugs me too....Magniflex has been making "natural" varieties of memory foam for years and years....although as mentioned I am incredibly skeptical as to whether this (or Magniflex) is truly an all natural product. This message was modified Dec 28, 2009 by a moderator
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| ummmm, try www.bbb.org/canada/ |
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| not that i can find them on the bbb, just saying, Canada is not a third world country to be suspicious of, it's exactly like the states only if you get your head cut off they'll try to sew it back on for free.... |
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Hi Everyone, I see there's a lot of confusion over our product. I thought i'd help answer a few questions. We invented a latex memory foam and manufacture it ourselves. Yes, It's a latex foam that feels like memory foam. It's not Dunlop or Talalay, it's our own process. So it has the properties of memory foam..delayed response, pressure relief etc but it's made from rubber tree sap. We call it natural memory foam because most don't know what latex foam is. Other latex mattresses are topped with wool or cotton to soften the surface, we use our natural memory foam. The mattress ends up being more comfortable than latex alone as it's far more pressure relieving. It's also much more breathable than memory foam....night and day. Breathability is just not as issue with us. Yes we are relatively new but our product is outstanding and we're doing very well because of it. Keep your questions coming ;-) |
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essentia wrote: Hi Everyone, I see there's a lot of confusion over our product. I thought i'd help answer a few questions. We invented a latex memory foam and manufacture it ourselves. Yes, It's a latex foam that feels like memory foam. It's not Dunlop or Talalay, it's our own process. So it has the properties of memory foam..delayed response, pressure relief etc but it's made from rubber tree sap. We call it natural memory foam because most don't know what latex foam is. Other latex mattresses are topped with wool or cotton to soften the surface, we use our natural memory foam. The mattress ends up being more comfortable than latex alone as it's far more pressure relieving. It's also much more breathable than memory foam....night and day. Breathability is just not as issue with us. Yes we are relatively new but our product is outstanding and we're doing very well because of it. Keep your questions coming ;-) For starters I have been unable to locate your company on the Better Business Bureau Website. I checked both your New Jersey and Connecticut store references and all the BBB could give me was that the zip code you had listed was inaccurate and could not give me any information. Then you make statements like this on your website, and I quote, "Memory foam mattresses are far more comfortable than latex mattresses. They outperform natural latex mattresses by a land slide. It’s not even close. Making the healthy choice (natural latex) or comfortable choice (memory foam) is a dilemma for many consumers." And then there is this message from Jack, and I quote. "I never thought I’d be in the mattress industry. It all started when a family member was diagnosed with cancer. Physicians made me aware of the toxins in every day items like TVs, microwaves, couches and dashboards. My family had been in the latex foam business for years and supplied most major brands. I studied the industry and realized that mattresses were manufactured with poor quality components, filled with toxic foams treated with harsh chemicals and layered together with glue. In looking for alternatives I realized there weren't any. I decided to research and developed something different, a foam made from natural ingredients. I tried offering this foam to major mattress brands but most weren't interested because of the high cost. Those who did buy it only integrated an insignificant amount in order to promote the foam's natural qualities. As I evaluated brand after brand I realized the industry wasn't overly concerned about consumer health or product quality, just catch phrases and profit margins. That's when I founded Essentia, more than a brand; a commitment to comfort and quality, without compromise. Come see what mattresses are like in the future, when the world is GREEN again." Your website is making claims, and statements, that make no sense to me. Unless, and until, I can see some ratings by the Better Business Bureau I will consider your website nothing more than an attempt at Internet Salesmanship. This message was modified Dec 20, 2009 by eagle2
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I’m still intrigued by Essentia and thank the company for taking the time to post more information about their product. I think what would be really helpful is to have actual Essentia customers post about their experiences with the mattress. I assume Essentia likely has a database of people who have bought their mattresses since they sell direct. Perhaps the company should consider sending a quick email to their customers, asking them to post their experiences, both good and bad, on this site. -Michelle |