Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper review: A competitively-priced latex topper that balances sustainability and comfort
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A comfortable bed has always been make or break for helping me get a restful night of sleep. As a renter who switches apartments every few years, I prefer to use one of the best mattress toppers for better sleep rather than investing in entirely new mattresses.
After sleeping on a memory foam mattress topper for the last eight years, I was more than overdue for an upgrade. Knowing that Avocado makes some of the best organic mattresses, I turned to the Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper, a plush and supportive latex topper that sleeps cool. It's also an environmentally friendly option. Plus, it comes in different heights and firmness levels to accommodate any type of sleeper. It rocked me to sleep from the first night and has been helping me sleep restfully ever since.
Construction
The Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper offers customization options for different preferences and sleeping habits. There are essentially four combinations to choose from. It comes in either a 2-inch height, which is recommended for most back and stomach sleepers, or a 3-inch height, which side sleepers will prefer. You then opt for either 'medium' or 'plush' softness, which changes the material.
'Medium' is made from GOLS and FSC-certified organic Dunlop latex, while the "Plush" is FSC-certified Pure Talalay® latex, a more premium material that feels softer. Avocado uses environmentally conscious materials, skipping polyurethane foams, which are often made from fossil fuels. They are finished with an organic cotton cover with a hidden zipper on the bottom.
The Avocado mattress topper also meets the OEKO-TEX standard 100, meaning it has been strictly tested for harmful chemical substances to meet global safety criteria, and is MADE SAFE certified, which screens for harmful materials. It is GREENGUARD Gold Certified and Formaldehyde-Free Claim Verified by UL Environment, meaning it has been scientifically tested for chemical exposure and pollutants and only contains environmentally healthy materials.
The mattress topper comes in sizes twin to California king and is spot-clean only, so you may want to use a mattress protector to preserve it. Latex is a natural material known for lessening dust and mold and is hypoallergenic, which is beneficial to someone like me with asthma. I found that it stayed in tip-top shape during the testing period with minimal upkeep, but Avocado also makes replacement mattress topper covers to prolong the lifespan of your pad.
Our review of the Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper
Setup
The Avocado mattress topper ships in a long, thin box. It was slightly heavy at more than 20 pounds for a full, but I was able to carry it upstairs in an elevator and into my apartment by myself.
The mattress topper was easy to remove from the box, but what I found inside was four layers of tightly wound saran wrap. I needed scissors to remove the wrapping, but I felt like with a wrong move I could easily cut into the mattress topper itself. Removing the saran wrap took precision and patience. I assumed the mattress topper would take time to expand since this has been my experience with other similar products in the past, so I set it up right before leaving for a weekend trip. However, it pretty much puffed up immediately once I freed it from the saran wrap.
The next hurdle was moving the mattress pad from my living room floor to my bed. The Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper in full size is much heavier than the one I was using previously, which I was able to remove from my bed in one swift motion. I found it hard to move more than a small amount at a time by myself and believe this would be easier with someone else helping out. I also should have opened it directly onto my mattress. The topper sits on your mattress, versus having straps or a skirt to attach directly to it, so you also need to be precise with where you place it. The weight, however, helps the mattress topper stay in place. It hasn't budged since I initially fit it to my bed.
Comfort and support
I'm a side sleeper who prefers my bedding to be as soft and cloud-like as possible, so I opted for the 3-inch plush mattress topper. Any time I sleep on a new bed or mattress, I get a bit nervous that it will mean a night of tossing and turning. I'm sensitive to different materials and am a light sleeper, which can be a recipe for waking up in the middle of the night. But with this mattress topper, I fell asleep quickly and slept through the night comfortably from first use.
Since I was previously using a memory foam mattress pad, I'm used to sinking into my bed. The Avocado mattress topper is soft to the touch but has noticeably more firmness to it than I'm used to. Latex is a rubber-like foam that has some bounce to it, so it actually adds more support and pressure relief as I sleep. I live an overall active lifestyle and don't suffer from any ongoing pain, but since I am in my early 30s, I'm no stranger to waking up with a knot in my shoulder or neck every now and then. I haven't felt any soreness or pain since I started using this mattress topper.
I feared that this mattress topper wouldn't be soft enough for me long-term, but over the past three weeks since I initially started using it, I've been sleeping so well that I forgot I made any changes to my bed at all. Despite not attaching to my bed, the pad has stayed in place and required basically no upkeep. As someone who is usually sensitive to bedding changes, this certainly feels like a win, especially when it means I can add a more sustainable product into my routine. Paired with my Boll and Branch Reserve Sheets, my bed has felt like a luxurious retreat at the end of a long, busy day.
Heat dissipation
I'm lucky in that I don't generally have trouble regulating my temperature when I sleep. That said, I tested this mattress topper during early fall in New York City when temperatures tend to vary from warm and sunny to chilly within the same week. Still, I never felt like the mattress ran hot or cold. Latex is an overall breathable, temperature-neutral material and the plush version of this topper is made with an open-cell structure to promote airflow. Using an infrared thermometer, I found that this mattress topper dissipated heat well. It generally stood at 71 degrees Fahrenheit when not in use. After sleeping a full night on the mattress topper, it went up to 84 degrees Fahrenheit, dropped 9 degrees within two minutes, and back to the initial temperature of 71 degrees in 13 minutes. This is slightly lower than the medium temperature of other toppers right after getting out of bed (88.5 degrees). Overall, this would be a good option for neutral to hot sleepers or for anyone whose home runs warm.
Motion isolation
I share my bed with a small dog, and she sometimes wakes me up with her movements and stretching throughout the night, which is why my mattress topper must be able to isolate motion. If you sleep with a partner or pet at night, you'll want to look for something similar so you won't be disturbed by them moving around. I put the mattress topper's ability to isolate motion to the test by dropping a few heavy coffee table books (weighing about 15 pounds) onto it and measuring the impact with a Vibrometer app. The app recorded this motion as 'weak' with no to very light motion. Unsurprisingly, my dog hasn't woken me up since I started sleeping on this mattress topper.
Trial period and warranty
Switching to a new mattress topper is a big change that can impact your overall sleep. Luckily, Avocado has a 100-night sleep trial to minimize risk. You can request a full refund within the first 100 nights if you decide it's not right for you, though shipping feesAvocado will ask you to package up the mattress topper and bring it to a local donation center. This is pretty generous, as some other brands offer 30 days or no trial at all.
Avocado also has a one-year limited warranty with proof of purchase. We recommend reading this upfront since it includes stipulations such as rotating your mattress topper head-to-toe once a month for the first six months, then every other month, for even wear.
Cons to consider
The main downside I experienced with this mattress topper didn't have to do with the product itself, but rather its shipping. It took a full month for me to receive my order due to inventory delays, and at the time I noticed that some sizes were completely out of stock. Some options say that they will ship in one to three days while others say one to two weeks. Waiting for my package to come did test my patience, but since a mattress topper can last for years, this doesn't feel like a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I also struggled to set the heavy mattress pad up on my own due to its heaviness and layers of saran wrap, but this was quickly forgotten as I started using it.
It's also worthwhile to note, that Eco Organic Mattress essentially has four options to choose from. Unfortunately, "upgrading" to the three-inch and the plush can really add on to the price. For instance, a queen-size 2-inch medium is a reasonable $299, while the three-inch plush jumps to $479. The standard truly beats competitor latex designs in price, like the two-inch Birch Plush Organic Mattress Topper or Saatva's 1.5-inch latex mattress topper. The closest in pricing and options would be Sleep on Latex, which offers three firmness and height options but has a far shorter trial.
Otherwise, I still can't help but wonder if I will continue to prefer this mattress topper to a more cloud-like option that I would sink into more. As someone who prefers soft bedding, I have to admit that eco-friendly options tend to sacrifice some plushness. This ultimately will come down to the personal choice of the buoyancy of latex and the sink-in feel of memory foam.
What are your alternatives?
Latex mattress toppers are definitely becoming more widely available. A comparable option the Business Insider team has tried is the Birch Plush Organic Mattress Topper. It's two-inches of plush Talalay latex, and features a layer of wool and cotton cover, whereas Avocado's version is vegan. In our tests, the Birch topper was pressure-reliefing, but also slept warmer and shifted a bit. The price is also pretty comparable if you were to choose Avocado's two-inch plush option. Birch matches Avocado's lengthy 100-night trial and offers a more generous 10-year warranty.
If you're curious about Avocado's other offerings, Avocado also makes a Wool Mattress Topper, which might be a better option for someone looking for temperature regulation. It comes in either "standard," which is medium-firm and made from 100% natural alpaca wool, or "luxury plush", made from baby alpaca fiber, ethically sourced from the Peruvian Andes. This mattress topper is notably more expensive than the latex pad, starting at $549 for the standard option and $999 for the luxury plush (in comparison, the Eco Organic Mattress Topper starts at $199). Similarly, this mattress topper sits directly on top of your mattress and is GOTS organic certified.
While lacking the sustainability factor of a latex topper, the Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt Topper is a great memory foam that features soft, body contouring foam that has that 'sink-in feeling' I've been missing and conforms to you throughout the night. This mattress topper is 3 inches in thickness, and it also has straps that will keep it in place. It's also very effective at dissipating heat. The knit cover is removable and machine washable, making it easier to clean than the Avocado option.
For more recommendations, check out our guide to the best mattress toppers.
The bottom line
Adding the Avocado Eco Organic Mattress Topper to your bed is a decision you can feel good about thanks to its use of sustainable, eco-friendly materials. It would be a great option for someone who wants to add more softness to their bed without sacrificing support, and it has a buoyant feel that's cushioning without sinking in. You may just end up feeling more well-rested — but either way, the brand's 100-night trial period means there's little risk in trying it out.