For two years I unknowingly slept on a mattress that used fiberglass as a fire barrier. Nowhere was this listed in the description of the bed when I bought it. For two years I suffered constant chronic allergy symptoms as well as gastrointestinal issues. We treated these issues as allergies because that was the best anyone could figure out even though we could never figure out what I was allergic to or why none of the prescribed medications were working. That is because my mattress was constantly shedding fiberglass every time I would lay down. After discovering the issue I made several attempts to contact the manufacturer but they would never reply or answer calls and I am now forced to take legal action. 

If this story sounds familiar, that's because thousands of people are going through the same thing. The fiberglass contamination has been so bad in some cases that people had to completely move out of their home. This is not a brand specific issue either, many cheap memory foam mattresses sold online are being manufactured using fiberglass as a fire barrier but not including that in the mattress description. They advertise these mattresses as hypoallergenic and breathable but they never mention the potential for fiberglass shedding or the extreme health risks fiberglass poses. The reason they use fiberglass instead of other materials, such as polyester, is because it is a cheap alternative and meets requirements set for fire resistance of mattresses. 

There are already laws in place stating what things can and cannot be used to make a mattress because of potential health risks. Those laws need to be amended to include fiberglass on the list of materials that cannot be used to manufacture mattresses.

Families are suffering every single day because of this issue, we must tell the government to take action. If we don't take action now more and more families will suffer from this and the majority are already on a tight budget which is why they bought a cheap mattress in the first place. Most people cannot afford a professional cleaner if they deal with mass fiberglass contamination and without that it can potentially linger on surfaces for decades and get stirred into the air regularly. Everyone deserves to sleep on a bed that isn't going to harm their health.