Not all mattresses are made equal

Here at Koala, we sweat over the small details so you don’t have to. Many mattress manufacturers will espouse the virtues of memory foam or latex as the best materials to provide a good, well-supported night’s sleep, but the truth is a little more complicated.

When researching mattress materials, Koala left no stone unturned in its quest to develop the ultimate in comfort, breathability and moisture-wicking technologies. During our research, we explored the relative merits of popular materials including springs, latex and memory foam before settling on the unique blend of environmentally-friendly foam now found in every Koala mattress.

Latex-free
Latex has been a popular material for mattress construction dating back to the late 1920s, but it suffers from a tendency to develop indents and valleys over time, which in turn creates an uneven and unsupportive surface. Latex also has very poor airflow and, as such, sleeps hot and is prone to pooling sweat – certainly not ideal for Australia’s temperate climate. Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for people to suffer extreme allergic reactions to the material, and for this reason, latex is not generally used in hospital mattresses. The manufacture of latex also leads to the release of volatile organic chemical (VOC) emissions, which can be dangerous to human health and cause harm to the environment.

The Inexpensive Inferiority of Springs
When comparing a base layer of foam to a spring base, it’s immediately obvious which is more supportive and durable – especially over time. Springs are mass-produced very cheaply, eliminating a significant material cost for the manufacturer. Unfortunately, spring bases offer uneven support, whereas a high-quality foam base can respond independently, supporting the body regardless of sleeping position, leading to a superior, deeper sleep.

Memory Foam, Only Better
Memory foam is a great product that contours to your body – a factor in its popularity in bedding products for more than 30 years. Memory foam is made of polyurethane and Koala actually uses a hybrid memory foam in its mattresses. However, most memory foams tend to be very dense and prone to sleeping hot, causing sweat to pool throughout the night as the moisture has nowhere to go. It’s also quite lifeless, which gives the sleeper the uncomfortable – and somewhat disconcerting – feeling of sinking in quicksand.

At Koala, we identified some of the strengths and weaknesses of memory foam, so we developed a specific material we call Ecofoam that contours to the body, but is more resilient, while avoiding the dead feel traditionally associated with memory foam.

Ecofoam
At their heart, all Koala Mattresses comprise two layers; a supportive base and top comfort layer. Through design and creation of durable and healthy materials, and by employing Australian manufacturing, we were able to develop and produce our own unique foams and make a mattress that is more technologically advanced, environmentally-friendly and comfortable than anything else on the market.

Koala uses state-of-the-art manufacturing to produce our unique comfort layers. Each layer has been designed, tested and made here in Australia to meet strict environmental and sustainability standards.

The most important element of any mattress is the base. This is where the mattress gets its firmness and resilience to keep you supported through the night. We’ve used high-density, ultra-resilient Ecofoam to provide a combination of firm and supportive springiness to bring the Koala mattress to life.

Atop the support is Kloud comfort; a revolutionary layer designed and made in Australia from specialised machinery that uses CO2 to create a fine and consistent cell structure. This results in a superior bedding comfort layer that is soft to the touch, while remaining both resilient and supportive. This state-of-the-art foam breathes naturally to promote air flow, helping make the Koala mattress feel cool, unlike a conventional memory foam or latex mattress top layer.

Koala mattresses employ a proprietary 5-zone system of differing foam densities to ensure your body is properly aligned from head to toe. This enables Koala to tailor the feel of the mattress across three dimensions. For example, while a traditional spring mattress would need edge support to stop you rolling onto the floor, firmer edge zones on the Koala mattress mean you can sleep right up to the edge without fear of falling. Your body weight and movements work down through the mattress instead of side-to-side, keeping you comfortable throughout the night.

Gentle on the Environment
Koala mattresses contain no heavy metals (such as lead or mercury) or potentially harmful fire-retardant chemicals. They’re also devoid of phthalates, harmful chemicals that are often used as binding agents designed to make plastics flexible. In recent years, they have been linked to a range of conditions ranging from asthma to breast cancer, obesity and even neuro-developmental issues and have no place in a mattress.

Adding to our environmental credentials, Koala mattresses are made without the use of ozone-depleting substances, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and methylene chloride, helping people rest easy without harming the environment.

In fact, our foam comfort layers are all certified by Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA), a not-for-profit organisation that runs Australia’s only independent, multi-sector ecolabelling program, and have earned the right to bear the Good Environmental Choice label.

Koala employs industry-leading manufacturing processes to ensure best practice in environmental sustainability and quality. Koala mattresses exceed Australasian and global regulations, with virtually zero emissions and no CFC’s or otherwise environmentally harmful auxiliary blowing agents used during production.

Koala spent countless hours experimenting and engineering the most comfortable, supportive, environmentally-friendly mattress available. Given we spend an average of a third of our lives in bed, we believe in uncompromising comfort – for ourselves and for our planet.

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