Non-toxic natural pillows
A pillow sits closer to your airway than anything else you own, for longer than anything else you own. That is the whole argument for caring what is in one, and for asking a maker to be specific rather than reassuring.
Every pillow we make is fiber and cotton with nothing sprayed on it. The Organic Cotton and Organic Wool pillows are GOTS Certified Organic as finished products, the material inside as well as the cover, under license GOTS-10229 issued by Oregon Tilth. Our latex is tested to OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class 1, the tier written for products intended for infants, which screens more than 1,000 harmful substances. The remaining fills carry no organic certification and we will tell you exactly what is in each one. Ask us for any certificate and we will send it.
Different pillows carry different certifications, and stretching one label across a whole catalogue is the usual trick in this category. Here is which is which.
Texas-grown organic cotton, which covers the cotton inside the pillow as well as the cover cloth.
Best for the strongest certification we hold
New Zealand organic wool carrying the same finished-product certification, in an organic cotton cover.
Best for certified organic, for warm sleepers
From seed pod to pillow with no chemical step at any point, which is why this is the one we hand to people with chemical sensitivities.
Best for reacting to finishes rather than to materials
USA-grown hulls cleaned by air jet and UV light rather than chemistry, in an organic cotton cover.
Best for a firm pillow with a short ingredient list
The latex is pure tapped sap, tested to the strictest OEKO-TEX tier, screening more than 1,000 substances including PFAS, formaldehyde, heavy metals and phthalates.
Best for people leaving memory foam over off-gassing
Organic cotton on both faces with a bio-based TPU film between them rather than a vinyl or rubber laminate, and no crinkle when you turn over.
Best for protecting the fill without adding plastic against your face
As featured in
“Best for allergy-resistant wool”
“I love their Organic Cotton pillow!”
“Basically two pillows in one!”
“One of our favorite options”
“Why a certain fill will likely work for you”
“Crafted from exclusively natural materials”
“Best of both worlds!”
“Among the healthiest pillows I’ve evaluated”
“Plant fiber start to finish”
“Complete sourcing transparency”
“The easiest switch on this whole list”
Bedding is one of the least transparent categories there is. Most pillows are sold on a feeling rather than a list, and the language used is designed to reassure rather than to inform.
1
Natural, eco, green and non-toxic all mean whatever the seller wants them to. None of them requires anything to be true.
2
An outer fabric is certified and the whole pillow is then described as organic, which is legal and misleading.
3
Antimicrobials, wrinkle finishes and flame retardants are applied to the material and never appear on the front of the package.
4
So the choice comes down to which brand's tone you trust, which is no way to buy something you breathe against.
The only useful answer is specificity. We will name the certification each product carries, name the ones it does not, and send you the certificate. That is a harder claim to make than non-toxic, and it is the one worth asking any maker for.
The common approach is to certify the outer fabric and describe the finished pillow as organic. It is a real certificate covering a small part of the object, and it tells you nothing about the material your head rests on.
Our Organic Cotton and Organic Wool pillows are GOTS Certified Organic as finished products, which means the fill as well as the cover, under license GOTS-10229 issued by Oregon Tilth. The standard bans chlorine bleaching outright, permits only oxygen-based methods, and requires wastewater treatment at every wet-processing facility along the way.
Buckwheat hulls are USA-grown and go in with no chemical treatment, cleaned by air jet and UV light, under an organic cotton cover. Kapok is wild-harvested rather than farmed, which puts it outside the organic farming standards altogether. The hybrid sits outside our finished-product certification scope.
None of that makes them worse pillows, and stretching a label issued for cotton across a pillow full of hulls would be a lie. We would rather describe each one by exactly what is in it.
Our latex is tested to OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class 1, which is the most demanding tier in that scheme because it is intended for products that babies will have against their skin. It screens more than 1,000 harmful substances, including PFAS, formaldehyde, heavy metals, pesticide residue and phthalates.
That matters most for the fill people are usually replacing. Memory foam is a petrochemical polyurethane that off-gasses volatile compounds, which is the smell that fades slowly and returns on warm nights. There is nothing in tapped sap that behaves that way.
Including the ones that carry nothing, because that is the part most brands leave out.
| Pillow | What it carries | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Cotton | Certified organic inside and out | Texas-grown organic cotton, inside and out |
| Organic Wool | Certified organic | New Zealand organic wool, organic cotton cover |
| Tree-Tapped Latex | OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class 1 | Slow-pour Dunlop from pure sap, organic cotton cover |
| Buckwheat | No organic certification claimed | USA-grown hulls, air-jet cleaned and UV sterilized |
| Wild-Harvested Kapok | No organic certification claimed | Wild-harvested fiber, nothing applied at any stage |
| Buckwool Hybrid | No finished-product claim | Organic wool, hulls, organic cotton cover |
| Pillow Protector | Organic cotton faces | Bio-based TPU film, no vinyl and no rubber |
| Flame retardants | None on anything we make | Pillows are not subject to the rules that cover mattresses |
Organic cotton or organic wool. Both are certified as finished products, which covers the material inside as well as the cover.
Organic Cotton Pillow ›Kapok. Nothing was applied to that fiber at any point between the seed pod and your bed, which is a stronger statement than any certificate.
Wild-Harvested Kapok Pillow ›Latex, tested to OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class 1.
Tree-Tapped Latex Pillow ›Buckwheat. The entire ingredient list is USA-grown hulls cleaned with air and light, inside a cover of organic cotton.
Buckwheat Pillow ›It depends on which question you are asking. If you want the strongest certification, take the Organic Cotton or the Organic Wool, both certified as finished products under licence GOTS-10229. If you want the shortest ingredient list instead, the answer is different, and it is the kapok, where nothing is applied to the fiber at any point.
No. We use none on anything we make. Worth knowing that pillows generally fall outside the flammability rules that cover mattresses, so most pillows on the market do not contain them either. The claim is common because it is easy to make, and it distinguishes nobody.
There is nothing in them to off-gas. Off-gassing is volatile compounds leaving a petrochemical foam, which is why a new memory foam pillow smells for weeks and smells again on warm nights.
We use no PFAS on anything we make, and the latex is tested to OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Class 1, which screens for PFAS among more than 1,000 other substances. That certificate is the part you can verify rather than take on trust, and we will send it if you ask.
It covers the whole supply chain rather than the fiber alone. It bans chlorine bleaching, permits only oxygen-based methods, restricts dyes and finishes, and requires wastewater treatment at every wet-processing facility the material passes through. Ours is a finished-product certification, so it covers the fill as well as the cover.
Because only some of them qualify, and we would rather say so than stretch a label. Wild-harvested fiber falls outside organic farming standards, which are written for farms. The hulls and the hybrid sit outside our finished-product scope. All three are excellent pillows, and none of them qualifies for that particular certificate.
Yes. Write to us and we will send it. That offer is the most useful test you can put to anyone selling certified bedding, and it is worth putting to anyone else you are considering.
No, and neither are natural, eco or green. Any of them can be printed on anything. What is checkable is a named certification with a licence number and an issuing body, which is why we lead with GOTS-10229 and Oregon Tilth rather than with an adjective.
There are none. Everything we make is in the natural undyed colour of the material. Dyes and inputs sit outside the certified content in any case, so we avoid the question by not using them.
The bag is virgin polyethylene, and it is the one part of this we get asked about most. It keeps dirt and moisture off a natural fill through shipping better than the alternatives we have tested, and PVC is the material we refuse outright. We would rather explain that choice than swap to something that protects the pillow less.
It is the question worth putting to anyone selling certified bedding, including us. Sixty nights to be sure, handmade in our New Jersey workshop.
See the pillowsIf you've sent more pillows back than you've kept, you're our customer.
The three-star ones are in there too.
“I have owned more pillows than I have owned houses and I have owned 12 houses.” This is by far the only pillow to use if you don’t want to wake up with sore shoulders or neck. I have replaced all the pillows in my house with this pillow.
I have compressed discs in my neck, and I have spent hundreds of dollars over the past 6 months trying to find one that will help me sleep. Every pillow I bought caused me to wake up in even more pain than the night before!! The buckwheat pillow is life-changing!! I have slept through the night and wake up with no pain!!
I was leery to try another expensive pillow without some sort of trial period after being very let down by a different company's natural fiber pillow… I don't hear anything at all with the buckwheat! It does stay fresh and cool as well, but most importantly it actually holds my head/neck up and in place. Which allows me to actually get rest instead of always adjusting.
I've been a buckwheat pillow customer for the last 7 years and I can say that Circadian has the highest standards of quality paired with incredible customer service. Very very impressed and would not hesitate to send anyone their way.
I have spent years searching for a pillow that feels supportive and comfortable all night. I have finally found it. I absolutely love the Buckwool pillow. I removed a bit of the material to get it to exactly how I want it… I rarely wake up with neck pain now.
I find myself switching between the two and loving the feel of both. I haven't woken up with a sweaty head with either and that's an amazing feeling especially in the AZ summer. The buckwheat side is a lot quieter and more comfy/soft than others I've tried in the past.
I have tried at least 10 different pillows in the last 3 years. Nothing has worked out except for this wool pillow. I have chronic neck pain which has been greatly reduced. I am very happy with my new pillow.
I have pretty bad chemical sensitivity (housebound most of the time)… I try to only buy totally safe, non-toxic products. I found this pillow to be very safe and non-toxic, and the packaging was fragrance free which is always a huge plus.
I ordered this pillow to replace my very old (but beloved) down pillow and I'm so glad I did. It is heavenly!… I advise you to heed the recommendation given by the quiz. I ordered cotton initially despite the quiz giving me kapok as a result… the quiz was right.
The quality craftsmanship and materials is evident… when I asked if extra stuffing were available for the second one I'm using as a knee pillow, they not only pointed me to the right place on their site, but also created a new, smaller 1-lb. refill size based on my request.
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