What does sustainability look like? Well, it depends who you ask. At Urban Mattress in Boulder, sustainability means more than just offering eco-friendly products. It also means helping customers think sustainably, buy green products and recycle old mattresses from their homes.
“Over eight million mattresses end up in landfills each year. At Urban Mattress, we feel a social responsibility to not only build products that last but also do whatever we can to prevent more landfill buildup,” says Madison Williams, chief marketing officer at Urban Mattress. “We offer free mattress removal so that we can recycle the mattresses. Most are broken down and turned into carpet backing or even dog beds. We also donate to programs such as Refugee First Arrival Apartments and halfway homes.”
Sustainability is not a new, trendy word for Urban Mattress. It’s something the company and its founder have focused on for years.
Urban Mattress owner and founder Billy Williams has worked in the mattress industry for more than 35 years.
At the age of 19, Billy arrived in Denver and started selling mattresses out of his truck bed, then a converted gas station off I-25. With $5,000 in cash and knowledge of the industry passed down from his father, he began his journey toward becoming one of the leading innovators in sleep.
Urban Mattress is now run by Billy, his son and his daughters, including Madison.
When visitors walk into Urban Mattress on Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder, they will quickly see the difference between this family-run business and big-box retailers. First, Urban Mattress’ customer service is genuine from the minute you walk through the door to the moment your mattress is delivered and beyond. Their non-commission-based staff is intentional about listening to each person’s wants and needs before finding the perfect mattress.
Unique in the large range of firmness choices, all Urban Mattresses are made with clean, non-toxic materials. While most organic mattresses sold online can be very firm and often exclude side sleepers from finding a mattress with enough pressure relief for hips and shoulders, Urban Mattress has over 10 firmness levels in the organic line alone, and a 100-night sleep trial to make sure that it’s the right fit.
“What you’ll find at Urban Mattress that you won’t find anywhere else is not only the highest quality organic products, but the charm and tradition of a family business that has made a name for itself by creating raving fans in Colorado through over-the-top customer service,” Madison says.
Purity is another important value at Urban Mattress. The company’s organic line uses organic wool, cotton and latex all with GOLS and GOTS certifications that ensure the materials used are organic. “We select our raw materials very carefully so that we can be sure they are not only the purest, but the highest quality,” Madison says.
The use of organic materials also means mattresses at Urban Mattress last longer than most other brands, Madison says. A mattress purchased from an online brand, for example, uses cheap foam that’s easy to ship. Those mattresses also only last three to five years, Madison added.
“We began sourcing materials that no one else was using and found a factory here in Denver that would build higher quality mattresses for us,” she says. “The comfort life of an Urban Mattress is 12 to 15 years and 15 to 18 years for our organic line — four times the industry standard. Not only is this a commitment to customers, but to sustainability as well.”
Urban Mattress
2830 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder
303-440-0288