WJ Southard :: Organic & Natural Materials

Organic Cotton

The organic cotton in a WJ Southard is 100% chemical-free. No herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers are used to produce it. In contrast, traditional cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops. When you sleep on a WJ Southard Mattress, you’re reducing your exposure to the harsh chemicals mentioned above—as well as the earth.

Dinner Conversation Fodder: ¼ lb. of pesticides is used to produce a medium-sized cotton t-shirt. We recommend organic clothing. But joining a nudist colony can also be fun.

Eco-friendly Wool

The wool in a WJ Southard Mattress is produced by sheep-friendly shepherds and growers who believe in a sheep’s life to live a baaaa-tiful life. A fantastic insulator, wool’s natural crimp traps in pockets of air to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Dinner Conversation Fodder: Instead of using chemicals, WJ Southard Mattress artisans cover each mattress in wool, a natural fire retardant, to create a natural flame barrier. Avoiding chemically based fire retardants helps to decrease our carbon footprint.

Pure Resilient Horsehair

Horsehair has been in our mattresses for almost a century – and is our true workhorse material. Springy and airy, horsehair can sustain constant pressure without losing its resilience. The horsehair in Southard Mattresses is of the highest grade and is boiled, washed, spun, disinfected, scorched, and then hand-teased. This process gives the hair its perm circa 1970’s look.

Dinner Conversation Fodder:During Medieval times, knights wore horsehair shirts under their armor. The rugged woven shirts served a dual purpose: 1. To give an extra layer, should a sword penetrate the armor. 2. To help ventilate—the hollow strands serve as an air conditioner. (Wearing armor is hot! And no, we don’t mean Leonardo DiCaprio hot.)

All-Natural Latex

The all-natural latex found in WJ Southard Mattresses repels water, and therefore dustmites and mold—making it the natural choice for seasonal and perpetual allergy and asthma sufferers.

Dinner Conversation Fodder: All-natural latex comes from a rubber tree, much the same way sap comes from a maple. Because the latex trees are huge producers, they save themselves from being cut down. This renewable source helps to preserve eight and a half acres of virgin rain forest.

Flax

Flax is infamous for its strength, elasticity, and ability to absorb moisture. WJ Southard Artisans rely on flax for extra padding throughout the mattress. Extremely durable and flexible, flax minimizes static electricity.

Dinner Conversation Fodder: Flax has been cultivated for more than 7,000 years in the Middle East as a source of linen fiber and for its oil. In 8th Century France, Charlemagne passed laws requiring his subjects to eat flax seeds so they would remain healthy.

Individually Wrapped Coils

The individually wrapped coils in a WJ Southard Mattress eliminate partner disturbance. When a partner switches positions, the coils absorb the impact. The other partner continues to sleep, undisturbed. Both sleepers benefit from the unceasing sleep they need and feel more refreshed in the morning. And the couple that sleeps well together stays together.

Dinner Conversation Fodder: Individually wrapped coils are the stars of the “bowling ball ad” produced by Simmons in the 1990s. A man in a white lab coat drops a bowling ball onto a Simmons “Pocketed Coil” Mattress. The ball bounces several times without disturbing the bowling pins that rest on the mattress. Because everyone remembers the “bowling ball ad”, several mattress manufacturers have tried to copy Simmons highly successful campaign.