History of Latex Mattresses
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While it may seem that latex mattresses have only recently exploded onto the sleep system scene they’ve actually enjoyed intermittent popularity for many decades.Those who are fortunate enough to enjoy nightly slumber on a latex mattress should consider a quiet salute to the French. It was French explorers who first discovered “Caoutchouc” which is what they called natural rubber or latex.
Fast forward a couple of hundred years and latex rubber mattresses are becoming a hit in 1950s America. These dense early latex mattresses were heralded for their firm properties that seemed to help relieve back or joint pain.
The latex industry faced its first challenge during World War II when Japan captured most of the world’s rubber plantations which were located in East Asia. This greatly impacted the American latex market. To counter this impact, a synthetic latex industry popped up in the U.S. virtually overnight.
With the end of World War II the popularity of latex mattresses rebounded. In the 1950s the Talalay brothers began experimenting with a new manufacturing process that would change the bedding industry. Their Talalay process - that involves an extra “flash freeze” step - is generally considered a product far superior to others.
Latex mattresses’ popularity would persist into the 1960s. But it was then that the latex industry and the American market in particular, ran into another major problem - Vietnam.
As the conflict between nationalistic Vietnamese and French (at first) and then American forces escalated, rubber production was significantly disrupted and U.S. consumers again had to rely in synthetic alternatives.
But the Vietnam War eventually ended and latex again became a popular bedding material during the 1970s. With the advent of newer eco-friendly technology, latex would enjoy resurgence in the 1900s as people began to embrace all-natural products.
With natural latex’s hypo-allergenic, anti-bacterial, anti-mold properties, combined with superior body contouring support, these mattresses are once again at the top of the sleep system market with few true competitors.
