United States - FTC Reaches Settlements with Mattress Companies About False Claims

Under settlements with the FTC, three mattress manufacturers have agreed to stop making unsupported claims that the mattresses they sell are free of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The proposed orders bar Relief-Mart, Inc., EcoBaby Organics, Inc., and Essentia Natural Memory Foam Company from making VOC-free claims unless the VOC level is zero micrograms per cubic meter or the company relies upon competent and reliable scientific evidence that its mattresses contain no more than trace levels of VOCs, based on the guidance in the FTC’s Green Guides. The orders also bar environmental benefit or attribute claims, and certain health claims, unless they are true, not misleading, and supported by scientific evidence.