Avocado Green Mattress review

About the Avocado Green mattress

• Firmness: Medium-Firm
• Trial length: 365 nights
• Warranty: 25 years
• Sizes: Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, and California King

Avocado is one of the numerous companies that sell mattresses online and directly to consumers. Avocado differs from brands like Casper, Nectar, and Tuft & Needle in its focus on beds made using sustainable and organic materials. Think of it as the Whole Foods of online mattresses.

For this review, we tested Avocado's most popular model, the Avocado Green Mattress. The Avocado Green Mattress costs $1,999 for a queen, which puts it on the pricier end of mattresses we’ve tested. The mattress is available in the most common sizes, including Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, and California King. The Green mattress can be purchased with or without an optional pillowtop. The mattress is classified as medium firm without the pillowtop. Adding the pillowtop changes the softness classification of the mattress to gentle firm. Depending on the size of the mattress, the optional pillowtop will add between $400-$600 to the final price.

The Green Mattress is a hybrid, which means it features a combination of foam (latex in this case) layers and pocket springs. In terms of the overall construction, the Green mattress comprises an outer cotton and wool layer, a layer of Dunlop latex foam, a layer of pocketed springs, and a final layer of Dunlop latex foam.

For customers who want to learn more about the mattresses but don’t live near Avocado’s brick and mortar stores, the company offers a “virtual experience”—a 30-minute Zoom meeting with a representative at one of its retail locations. This allows you to ask questions about the mattress and better understand the brand. We didn’t try the virtual experience, so we can’t say if it works, but it’s a nice touch that many other companies don’t offer.

What we like about the Avocado Green Mattress

It’s a sturdy mattress with excellent edge support

The Avocado Green mattress offers a high degree of edge support, almost on par with the similarly sturdy Zoma Hybrid. We use both subjective and objective methods to test a mattress edge support. First, we take a 150-pound bag and move it along the mattress to see how and when the edges compress. We also record how many inches the bag hangs over the edge of the bed before it rolls off. The bag rolled 6.5 inches over the edge before succumbing to gravity. We also spend some time sitting on the edge of the bed to see how it holds up. During this test, we noted that the Green mattress offers good support in a sitting position and while moving from sitting to standing.

We’re unsurprised that the Avocado Green performed so well in this area. The Green’s inner springs are close to the bed's edge, creating a sturdy perimeter around the mattress. As a result, getting in and out of the bed is easy, and you’ll be in no danger of rolling off if you sleep near the edge.

It does a good job of keeping cool

The Avocado Green is by no means the coolest mattress we have tested, that honor goes to the icy Serta Arctic, but considering it isn't marketed as a cooling mattress, the fact that it managed to perform so well in this area is impressive. If you run particularly hot at night, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you want something that will keep you reasonably cool, then the Avocado Green should keep you comfortable.

It has a very generous trial and warranty period

Pretty much every online mattress brand these days offers a relatively generous trial period and extended warranty. It’s common to see brands offer 100-night trial periods and a 10-year warranty. On the other hand, Avocado is one of the few companies providing a 365-day trial period and a lavish 25-year warranty. Buying something as important as a mattress online can be stressful, and Avocado’s extended trial period and warranty provide some peace of mind.

It’s perfect for back and front sleepers

The steel spring construction and relatively dense latex top layer give the Avocado Green mattress a pretty firm feel. The sturdiness makes it a perfect option for back sleepers, particularly those needing additional support. It’s also firm enough for front sleepers who generally need to keep their spine well-aligned.

Its green credentials are impressive

The “green” namesake of the mattress stems from Avocado’s sustainability-oriented manufacturing and certified organic components. Of course, it’s difficult to definitively know if a company maintains “environmentally conscious, ethical, and sustainable business practices” across its supply chain, as Avocado claims. That said, the company’s mattresses hold almost every mattress certification available, including GOTS organic fabric, GOLS organic latex, and MADE SAFE and GreenGuard Gold certified, which indicates limited VOCs and the exclusion of various chemicals in manufacturing.

Unlike most other mattresses in a box that use polyurethane foams derived from petroleum, Avocado uses Dunlop latex derived from rubber trees. Dunlop latex tends to be firmer than its counterpart, Talalay latex, which involves vacuum sealing the liquified latex into the mold, yielding a fluffier distribution of foam. According to Avocado, Dunlop latex is more environmentally friendly than Talalay, because the manufacturing steps don’t require as much processing.

The latex used in the Avocado Green Mattress comes with a Rainforest Council seal for that foam component. This shows that the rubber used is sourced from trees that are grown with sustainable practices. Avocado also holds the FSC 100% certificate, which is issued by the Forest Sustainability Council and demonstrates the forests used to produce its latex are managed in a way that’s good for eco-diversity and sustainability.

In addition to the latex, Avocado uses organic cotton and wool in the manufacture of the Green Mattress. The GOTS-certified organic wool is sourced from a farmer's collective that Avocado co-owns. In addition to being certified organic, the wool is certified to the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), which means it comes from farms that “have a progressive approach to managing their land, practice holistic well-being of the sheep, and respect the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare.”

What we don’t like about the Avocado Green Mattress

Motion isolation is inconsistent

If a restless sleeping partner easily wakes you, then you may want to give the Avocado Green a pass. To test motion isolation, we drop a 150-pound punching bag onto one side of the mattress, and using an accelerometer, we record how the motion is registered on the opposite side. The higher the force peak, the worse the bed isolates motion.

Generally, during this process, we record one high motion force peak as the bag vibrations reach the accelerometer. However, when testing the Green mattress, we recorded two peaks; the second was lower than the first but was relatively distinct. We can't be 100% certain, but this second peak might be due to the extreme bounciness of the mattresses springs. The Avocado Green skews toward the springy side and is currently the bounciest mattress we have ever tested. The optional pillowtop might mitigate the motion isolation, but we can't confirm this without additional testing.

Side sleepers may want to steer clear

The Avocado Green mattress is firm and, in the case of side sleepers, possibly too firm. Generally, firm mattresses can’t conform to your body shape as easily as softer mattresses. This is less of an issue when sleeping on your stomach or back because the weight is more evenly distributed, but when you lie on your side, most of your weight is focused on the shoulders and hips. An overly firm mattress will put a fair amount of pressure on those two points and good result in an uncomfortable night's sleep.

Our testing confirmed our suspicions in the case of the Avocado Green. To test pressure relief, we move weights, like a barbell, across the mattress and measure how the weights sink into the surface. This gives a sense of how various parts of the body would be supported or cushioned. Based on the pressure measurements under our dumbbell, the Avocado Green didn't do a great job conforming to the contours of the dumbbell and evening out the pressure distribution.

You’ll have to pay a fee if you decide to return it

Remember that generous trial period we mentioned? Well, it comes with a catch. Avocado is one of the few mattress brands that charge a fee for returns. If you decide to take advantage of the trial period and return the mattress, you will have to pay a $99 fee to send it back. It’s worth mentioning that considering the amount of carbon and pollution generated by shipping a large and heavy mattress across the country, charging a nominal return fee is consistent with the brand's focus on sustainable business practices. To that end, we wouldn’t necessarily regard the return fee as bad if it forces consumers to consider whether their experiences with the mattress warrant a costly return. That said, it somewhat lessens the appeal of the seemingly generous length of the trial period.

Additionally, the trial period is only valid for one product type per household, so if, for example, you purchase two queens and want to return them both, you will only be able to get a refund for one of them.

What is Avocado’s return policy and warranty?

Avocado mattresses come with a 365-night sleep trial, which is plenty of time to decide whether or not you want to stick with it. You must spend at least 30 nights on the mattress before initiating the return process, which starts from the delivery date. Unusually, Avocado does charge a $99 fee for returns. If you don't love the bed, reach out to the company before the 365-night window closes, and it will help facilitate a refund (minus the aforementioned fee). It’s important to note that you're only entitled to one trial period per household for a given product type (excluding some items like pillows). This means that if you purchase two mattresses, you can only return one.

The mattress also comes with a 25-year warranty. If, within that time, it starts showing signs of wear, like permanent indentations, owners can reach out to Avocado to make a claim, and the company will work to rectify the issue. As is often the case, certain conditions must be met for the warranty to be honored. Most notably, the mattress has to be rotated frequently, or the warranty is voided. Avocado also has particular requirements for the base or boxspring used with the bed, so check the warranty before committing.

What are other people saying about the Avocado Green Mattress?

The Green Mattress is only available on the Avocado website, where it has an average 4.7-star rating out of a whopping 13,607 reviews. We were unable to find the mattress for sale elsewhere. The vast majority of the reviews on the website are positive, with customers praising the mattresses' comfort, quality, firmness, and value for money.

“I am a physical therapist who was having almost constant back pain and issues with mobility in the morning, not OK! Turns out it was our mattress causing all of my issues. My husband and I bought the Avocado Green mattress and after 30+ nights of use, I can say my morning back pain is totally resolved,” writes one 5-star reviewer. “This mattress is truly supportive in all the right places and we both rest comfortably without being disturbed by movements of the other during the night. We are so happy we made this purchase!”

The few negative reviews were critical of delivery issues and mentioned that the mattress felt too firm.

Should you buy the Avocado Green Mattress?

Yes, it’s a great mattress for back and front sleepers

For consumers who value eco-friendly products, the Avocado is worth serious consideration. It helps matters that the Avocado Green is a worthwhile mattress in its own right that many people will enjoy. It does a good job of diffusing heat overnight, has excellent edge support, and is exceptionally comfortable for back and front sleepers.

If you’re a side sleeper who needs a more forgiving sleeping surface, then we would recommend a softer mattress like the Leesa Original or the Zoma Hybrid. For everyone else, however, the Avocado Green is a safe and sustainable bet.