The Dunlop Process and the story of Organic Latex Foam Rubber ECOFORM ORGANIC DUNLOP LATEX IS NOT TALALAY LATEX.  THEY ARE AS DIFFERENT AS NIGHT AND DAY. I have spoken with many people, representing many companies, about latex:  how it’s processed, what’s added to it, how it’s shipped, how it’s tested, and what all the numbers mean. Let’s start with what everyone seems to agree on: Rubber trees grow only within 10 degrees of the equator, and they grow best on hilly slopes. The trees can be sliced 180 days per year and are productive for about 20-25 years.  The trees are sliced at an angle, 3 feet in length, and a small amount of serum is collected daily.  The tree heals in an hour and the serum stops flowing.    When the serum is harvested, it consists of 1/3 dry latex content.  In other words, it is mostly water. The latex in the pure state needs to be processed.  (The processing is not unlike maple syrup.  Maple syrup is boiled down from watery sap to a thicker, sweeter syrup, and then filtered.) From here, the latex needs to be expanded and concentrated.  This is done by  whipping, frothing, or centrifuging the material. Latex has natural proteins in it that some people are allergic to.  All agree that the process washes out the proteins, and is verified by testing. How the expansion and concentration happens, what ingredients are added, and working conditions on the farms—these are all things we are still investigating: 1.   What’s added?  I've heard lots of things—sulphur, soap, anti-oxidants, food grade anti-oxidants, gelling agents, and “other” chemicals.  This is the key step in the foam making process.  It is at this point that a phase change occurs and liquid foam becomes ‘solid' foam, and the foam sets or ‘gels'.   In the Dunlop Process, the foam is created by air whipping the sap into a thick gel like material .  In the Talalay version, the foam is frozen at 0°F then carbon dioxide gas (an acidic gas) is passed through the foam to lower its pH & set it. 2.   Fair Trade?  Everyone says that their plantation is family owned, that there are no child workers, and that all the workers receive a fair wage.  This is hard to verify. 3.   Dunlop Process vs. Talalay Process? The Dunlop process is a quick process.  The sap is tapped from the tree in the morning and crafted by mid-afternoon into the final product.  Talalay is a process used to froth the latex from drums shipped to a processing plant.  The process involves vacuuming the latex while it is being frothed, then freezing it to stabilize the material.  This process is more expensive than the Dunlop process and causes the cells to prematurely freeze at a given state, creating a less organically sound product that has lost the natural feel of the Dunlop process.  In the Talalay process, chemicals are almost always added.   It is possible to make natural Talalay, synthetic Talalay, natural Dunlop, and synthetic Dunlop.  This is where it gets confusing. 4.   What’s better? The Dunlop process has a product that is purer and superior, especially from the Sri Lankan plantations. The Talalay process claims that their product is more consistent, but due to the quicker breakdown, this offsets the gains.  I have been involed with both products, and everytime the Dunlop technique is the customers choice. 5.   What if I want 100% pure natural latex?  The Dunlop process is the only true 100% natural organic latex on the market.  All other foam mattresses,  will consist of  synthetic properties, including Memory Foam “100% synthetic" and Talalay latex use of acid freezing.. 6.   How does it affect the life of the mattress? Your Ecoform  Organic Mattress is going to last a long time.  Latex is extremely durable.  Latex mattresses made in the 1950s lasted 30 years and longer.  If you are happy with the performance of your mattress for 15-20 years or longer, you have made a great purchase.