There are many rumors and much concern regarding fire retardant chemicals being used in manufacturing mattresses in America. Historically, mattresses were made with natural fibers such as cotton and wool. These fibers are not fire proof, though they are naturally somewhat slow to burn. Since the 1960's, mattresses have been increasingly manufactured with synthetic materials-- many of which burn faster than natural fibers.

Developed in the 1960's for use by astronauts, memory foam is a synthetic material made of polyurethane. Many people who have refinished wood furniture are aware that polyurethane is highly flammable in most forms. But memory foam is not the only highly flammable material used in mattress manufacturing. Other foams and synthetic stuffing have also been shown to have particularly fast burn rates. This means that the flammability problem with mattress materials is two-fold: the rate of ignition is high, meaning they catch fire easily; and they burn very quickly.

This is cause for concern because many mattress fires involve sleeping persons. Over the years, many people, including many children, have suffered injuries and deaths due to the high ignition and burn rates of mattresses. This is why the state of California passed a law in 2005 regulating that all mattresses sold in California must pass a 30 minute ignition test. Many mattress manufacturers began treating their goods with fire retardant chemicals to meet the California standards. That is why it was easy for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to pass regulation in 2007 that expanded the fire retardation standards to all mattresses sold in the United States. Since then, there has been much debate over the safety of sleeping on mattresses that are treated with fire retardant chemicals. According to the Sleep Products Safety Council and the CPSC, the chemicals that are used to treat mattresses to hamper flammability are safe for extended exposure, both for the consumers and the workers who manufacturer mattresses. However, many groups claim that regulation of these chemicals is lacking and so is transparency in manufacturing methods. This means that it is difficult for consumers to know for certain what chemicals may be in or on mattresses.

In order to avoid this problem, many mattress makers use a design that keeps the treated materials inside the mattress. They also use fabrics that are naturally flame retardant to cover the mattresses so that immediate contact does not expose the user to the treated materials. Of course, memory foam mattresses present a unique situation. The Sleep Products Safety Council explains that bedding manufacturers have access to technologies that allow them to make flame retardant mattresses without the use of dangerous brominated chemicals.

There are still many questions and concerns over the safety of mass produced mattresses. Many consumers feel concern about the chemicals and materials used to produce mattresses. Still others worry about the high ignition and flammability rates of mattresses that are not made to be flame retardant. With new technologies come new answers, but they also sometimes bring new problems.