TOPIC:

Edit. Will update if anything changes.

Hi lilith,

I did a lot of research on organic latex and found myself on the 'essentia' website. I checked for the certification(s) and they're GOLS certified (or so, I assume... since they advertise it as so...); I decided that this company had all that I was looking for.

I’m sorry your mattress shopping experience isn’t going smoothly with Essentia. While there’s really not much I can do to assist you with shipping or customer service issues, I can help provide a little extra information regarding a few of your statements that might be helpful. Essentia does offer some models with latex that they list as being GOLS certified. Which model did you choose?

I never got the confirmation e-mail and when I made several attempts to contact them, via their website, e-mail and phone; I got no response. I was irked by this since I spent nearly $6k. I let that slide and thought it was due to the "holiday rush".

Yours is the second comment we’ve unfortunately had on the forum with shipping issues of theirs around the holiday season, and it is possible they were overextended.

Fast forward: I finally get a hold of 'essentia's' ONLY CUSTOMER SERVICE REP named Natasha. I emphasize this because there's literally no one else. How the hell does this "reputable" brand only have one person in customer care? It's bewildering. Anyways, Natasha is all over the place and hardly gets anything done.

I’m not sure of the customer service situation there, but it may be very true that there is only a small staff there, perhaps only one person, which I do see with some companies. However, while I know you are very frustrated, I think it’s unfair to make comments about someone “hardly getting anything done”, as you’re not aware of the situation that she is in and it could be that she is totally overwhelmed in what is expected of her and doing the best she can. The opposite of course could also be true. But neither of us has that information so to be fair I would focus on the fact that unfortunately you’re not receiving the information/service about your product in a timely manner.

Anyways, it turned out that 'essentia' used a delivery vendor that specifically delivers fax machines... not mattresses or furniture... go figure!

Companies shipping products will often use third-party logistics companies to perform last-mile services, and often these companies will specialize in delivering a variety of products, as bringing a mattress into a home generally requires little special training, unless assembly is required of bed sets or power foundations.

The mattress smells... it has a disgusting, chemical infested odor. The pillows and foundation do too. I spent $$$$ on the mattress ALONE and I got a gross smelling lump of latex. Oh, and get this... it's also ripped and warped... Yeah, ripped in several areas (like it's been used???) and warps to the side like a banana. It doesn't lay straight and flat. I'm seriously not buying into 'essentia' being "organic". There's just no way that something "organic" could smell so intensely of super glue.

Without knowing which model you chose, I can’t speak to your sensitivities to the potential sources of your odor. This is of course extremely personal, and every type of mattress will have some sort of initial odor to it, regardless of price. Latex having a GOLS certification wouldn’t have anything to do with the odor, although most latex tends to be quite neutral to “slightly sweet” smelling. Again, without knowing your model of mattress I can’t provide guidance as to the other components that might be causing your reaction.

Has anyone else had this issue or dealt with their customer care? How did you go about returning it? What was the outcome?

If your mattress arrived damaged, you’d of course immediately contact the manufacturer . When your mattress arrived did you inspect it before the delivery team left to see if there were any obvious signs of potential damage before you signed for the delivery, and if so did you note those when you signed? If you feel the product was damaged in shipping, you could contact the shipping company or of course Essentia directly. If you feel the product was shipped in a damaged state, I would again contact Essentia and ask for a replacement. There is something called a warranty of merchantability that may apply to you in this situation if the product is arriving in a condition unfit to perform its intended purpose. I’m not a lawyer, but if I received something and it had concealed damage, I’d expect the retailer to arrange for a replacement, and I would of course give them the chance to take care of that as my first course of action. If you aren’t responded to, you could always file a dispute with your credit card company. Or of course simply return the product and be done with them, less your fee.

Overall, I’m sorry for your issue and I know you would expect much better service and results with such a large purchase, but your first step will probably be going through the return or claim process with Essentia, which they describe on their web site here . Hopefully they’ll be able to assist you and do their best to get you an undamaged mattress. I wish I had better advice than that for you!

Phoenix

Thank you for the response. I ordered the 'Beausommet' model which does have the "memory foam latex". I also realize now that it's a bit of false advertising because what's "memory foam latex" anyways? I don't think you can make memory foam to be organic? If so, please let me know of a company. I've yet to find one.

I'm updating because I've yet to receive the return process e-mail... she stated it would take up to 24-48 hours and it's been well over that time frame. I'm getting really anxious because it seems like I'm getting dropped. I left several messages in her voicemail and they're not getting returned either.

I seriously don't know what to do at this point. It's mid January and this entire 'essentia' mattress debacle started in early December.

How is Naturepedic? I've been looking into them and they seem legit. They have their materials all certified and nicely explained too. Then again, I just don't want it to be another 'essentia' mess.

Hi lilith,

I’m curious as to why you deleted the content of your first post. Were you contacted by someone to do so?

Thank you for the response. I ordered the 'Beausommet' model which does have the "memory foam latex". I also realize now that it's a bit of false advertising because what's "memory foam latex" anyways? I don't think you can make memory foam to be organic? If so, please let me know of a company. I've yet to find one.

That certainly can explain a bit more about the odors you are sensitive to, as the Beausommet has a total of 3” of memory foam on top of a 5” latex core, and many people do report that they are sensitive to the smell of memory foam, and memory foam does have the potential to be “smellier” than latex. So it’s quite possible that is the main source of your complaint. Many people also have reactions to some of the tickings/coverings used in the industry. Your cover is removable, so you can place it in your dryer on an air setting and that may assist in reducing some of the odor, while at the same time allowing for your mattress to air out a bit more.

As I think you’re already aware, there is no such thing as “natural” memory foam, and this has been discussed in detail on the forum previously. You can start by reading this thread and the links contained therein for more information explaining this. You can also learn a more about Essentia and some of their history by doing a forum search on them here .

If you are interested, there is more information (in case you haven’t found it already) in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, "chemical free", and "green" mattresses and mattress materials that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer "how safe is safe enough for me". These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices. All the latex you are likely to encounter (either Dunlop or Talalay that is made with either natural or synthetic rubber or a blend of both) will have a reliable certification such as Oeko-Tex, Eco-Institut, Greenguard Gold, or C2C and based on actual testing I would consider any type or blend of latex to be a very "safe" material in terms of harmful substances and VOC's.

I'm updating because I've yet to receive the return process e-mail... she stated it would take up to 24-48 hours and it's been well over that time frame. I'm getting really anxious because it seems like I'm getting dropped. I left several messages in her voicemail and they're not getting returned either.I seriously don't know what to do at this point. It's mid January and this entire 'essentia' mattress debacle started in early December.

All I can tell you is to document all of your contacts (attempted and successful) and be diligent, but not rude. Hopefully your persistence will result in a positive result.

How is Naturepedic? I've been looking into them and they seem legit. They have their materials all certified and nicely explained too. Then again, I just don't want it to be another 'essentia' mess.

Naturepedic is a high quality option and I think highly of them as well, although they are generally in a higher budget range compared to other similar mattresses, so you’d want to make your own personal value equation about their items. A forum search on Naturepedic (you can just click the link) will also bring up more comments, information, and feedback about them as well.

If you’re looking for other options, the forum members listed in post #21 here are extremely knowledgeable about latex mattresses and latex component systems. I think highly of their knowledge, quality and expertise, and believe they compete well with the best in the industry . Many of these systems are configurable for each side of the mattress, which may or may not be desirable in your situation.

Phoenix