Breathe Easy, Baby: Why GREENGUARD® Gold Certification Matters

You’ve picked the crib, folded the onesies and painted the nursery that perfect calming shade. Every detail feels just right. But amid the soft blankets and sweet lullabies, there’s one invisible detail that often goes unnoticed when nursery planning – and it lives in the air your baby breathes.

The not-so-comforting truth? New furniture, paint, flooring and even crib mattresses can release potentially harmful chemicals into the air through a process called off-gassing. These chemicals, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aren’t always detectable by smell, but they can linger in your baby’s environment and affect indoor air quality, especially in a closed-up nursery. Of course you want to avoid these chemicals, but how do you know what's safe and what isn't?

That’s where GREENGUARD® Gold certification comes in. In this blog, we’ll explore what VOCs are, why they matter and how GREENGUARD® Gold makes it easy to choose certified low-emission products that help you create a cleaner, healthier nursery where your baby can rest and grow right.

VOC stands for "volatile organic compound," which means chemicals that easily become gases at room temperature. These compounds are found in many everyday items, such as:

• Paints and varnishes
• Cleaning products
• New furniture
• Building materials
• Some personal care products

The word "volatile" might sound scary, but it simply means these chemicals evaporate easily into the air we breathe. Not all VOCs are harmful, but some can affect our health, especially for our littlest family members.

Although not all VOCs are harmful, some are associated with short- and long-term health effects, especially when exposure happens in enclosed indoor environments. Short-term exposure can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness and nausea. Long-term exposure may lead to more serious health problems, including damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system, and some VOCs are suspected to be carcinogenic. What's worse? Children are especially vulnerable.

Think of GREENGUARD Certification as a safety seal for indoor air quality. Products with this certification have been tested to ensure they release only minimal levels of chemicals into the air, helping to create healthier environments in the home and for the planet as a whole.

GREENGUARD® Gold takes that protection a step further. This elevated certification is designed specifically for the most sensitive populations, including babies, children and the elderly. It comes with even stricter limits on chemical emissions and more rigorous testing protocols.

While standard GREENGUARD allows up to 500 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³) of total VOCs, GREENGUARD Gold cuts that limit by more than half, down to just 220 µg/m³. It also screens for over 360 VOCs and 10,000+ chemicals, with special consideration for how children’s developing bodies respond to chemical exposure.

To earn GREENGUARD® Gold Certification, products go through rigorous scientific testing in specialized chambers designed to mimic real home environments. Over the course of several weeks, researchers measure the chemicals that off-gas into the air, checking for more than 360 VOCs and other potentially harmful compounds.

But the testing doesn’t stop once a product hits the market. To maintain their certification, manufacturers must retest their products every year and undergo routine audits. That means the crib mattress or nursery item you bring home isn’t just certified once, but rather held to these high standards year after year.

Your little one spends 10-14 hours a day sleeping with their face just inches from the mattress surface. That's why all Lullaby Earth mattresses are GREENGUARD® Gold certified. We want to make sure those precious sleep hours are as clean and safe as possible.

Our certified mattresses avoid harmful materials like PVC, phthalates and flame retardant chemicals while still meeting all applicable safety standards. With Lullaby Earth, you get peace of mind knowing exactly what's not going into your baby's air, backed by rigorous third-party testing.

Beyond choosing certified products, here are some simple ways to keep your home's air cleaner:

• Ventilation Is Your Friend: Open windows daily for a breath of fresh air. Use exhaust fans when cooking or cleaning, and let new items "air out" in the garage before bringing them into baby's space.
• Choose Wisely: Look for "low-VOC" or "no-VOC" labels on paints, carpet and other furnishings When possible, choose solid wood furniture over pressed wood.
• Skip the Synthetic Scents: Avoid heavily fragranced cleaning products and air fresheners that add unnecessary VOCs. Choose unscented baby products and let fresh air naturally keep your nursery smelling clean.

Creating a safe sleep environment for your baby involves many decisions. Choosing GREENGUARD Gold certified products is a powerful step toward healthier indoor air.

At Lullaby Earth, all our crib mattresses are GREENGUARD Gold certified because we believe every baby deserves the cleanest, safest sleep possible. We understand that parents have enough to worry about without questioning the air quality in their nursery.

When baby breathes easier, everyone sleeps better. And that's something every parent can appreciate during those precious early years.