You have a beautiful frame of a chair or couch that really needs some cushion, and you want to use chemical-free, eco-friendly supplies, but where do you start? Here is a list of substitutions from the standard petroleum based products.
Dacron Batting –> Wool Batting
Foundation Material –> Cotton Batting
Decking Fabric (to cover the springs) –> Organic Sateen Fabric
Poly Foam –> Organic Latex
Ticking Fabric (to cover the wool so that it doesn’t migrate through the decorative fabric) –> Organic Twill Fabric
Thin Foam –> Wool Felt
That’s it. It is really that simple. For a DIY project, purchase your custom cut latex here and contact us to sew you an inner case of our organic fabrics and an outer case of your decorative fabric.
Similarities between Natural Latex and conventional foam
- Five firmnesses available, use softer for the back cushions and firmer for the base
- Firmer means denser which means more durable
- Batting or a down jacket still can be wrapped around to add plumpness to cushion
- If using on top of springs, use a ticking fabric between the springs and the latex so as to not tear it
Unique Tricks to Natural Latex
- Cut only with a blade, not a hot wire
- Over time (15 years+), instead of softening, latex will harden as it dries out and eventually crumbles
What Sets Organic Latex apart from conventional poly foam
- No flame retardants
- Chemical-Free: The end product has only 5 ingredients with latex comprising of 96% of the finished product.
- Long Life: 20 -30 year lifespan
- Vegan: Tree Based not petroleum Based
- Compostable: Just give it time
- Sustainable: The Hevea brasiliensis trees are grown for 30 years before they stop producing enough latex and are harvested for their wood.
- Hypoallergenic
- Antimicrobial: In a closed testing environment, growing bacteria introduced to the latex were not able to survive.
- Dust Mite Resistant: It is simply inhabitable.
- Excellent Airflow: Compared to memory foam and all poly foams, latex allows more air movement and thus does not retain heat.