When we think of organic certification, we often picture clean farms, safer chemicals, and environmentally friendly materials. But for Avocado Green Mattress, certification and sustainability is much more than that. It’s a living framework that shapes not just what they produce. It is about how people within the company connect, collaborate and thrive.
“We’re not just checking boxes,” says Laura Scott from Avocado Green Mattress. “Preparing for each, for example, GOTS audit isn’t a box-checking exercise. It’s a process that brings our teams together around a shared mission.”
Avocado Green Mattress believes: The Heart of Sustainability Is People, which is why the brand operates with 686 employees across the United States, producing 15,000 sustainable products each month. From the outside, it’s an industry leader in organic bedding, mattresses, and furniture. But at its core, Avocado is a community built around shared values: transparency, respectful and fair working environments and social responsibility.
This exact commitment begins with their textile value chain, but doesn’t end there: “Our values require us to protect the people behind our products,” the company explains. “GOTS social standards ensure that everyone – from farmers to factory workers – is treated fairly, paid a living wage, and works in safe, respectful environments. When we hold our partners to these standards, we help the entire community rise.” GOTS certification sets clear expectations for socially responsible labour. But at Avocado, those standards have taken on a deep meaning – one that now shapes company culture and internal identity.
What makes Avocado stand out is how it uses means like a certification as a tool for empowerment and education. A mission and way we wholeheartedly support and share!
Every annual audit becomes a moment of reflection and coordination. Teams across departments gather to prepare – sharing knowledge, updating systems, and revisiting why they do what they do. It’s not about stress-testing the process. It’s about reigniting purpose. “One of the most meaningful outcomes of becoming GOTS-certified has been the transformation within our workforce, especially in material handling and manufacturing,” the company explains. Thus, sustainability isn’t just about external validation; it has become a catalyst for internal growth.
Employees are not passive participants in this journey. They’re deeply involved – reading policies, logging training sessions, and initiating conversations about safer practices and social safeguards. We at Global Standard don’t just create higher standards, but we strive to enhance and establish a shared language of accountability and pride. “This increased visibility into why we do what we do has raised our team’s understanding and pride in their work,” Avocado notes.
In a time when “sustainability” is often reduced to labels and buzzwords, Avocado is offering a different narrative: that real impact is driven by people who believe in what they’re doing.
Whether it’s farmworkers protected from pesticides, craftspeople paid a living wage, or internal teams aligned around purpose, Avocado shows that sustainability is a human issue, not just an environmental one. By turning purpose and dedication into an annual ritual of reflection and coordination, Avocado has built something rare: a certification process that functions as a team building and values-deepening practice. Avocado lives up to its mission of being “one of the world’s most sustainable brands.” But as they reflect on the path ahead, they emphasise that certification is not an individual accomplishment, but a collective responsibility.
“GOTS is only as strong as the collective of brands that uphold it,” they remind. “The more authentic and credible companies that commit to certification are, the easier it becomes to ensure real enforcement of the standard across the industry.”
Which is exactly why Avocado encourages other companies to look beyond the marketing benefits of sustainable claims and certifications. The real value, they say, lies in what happens inside the organisation, among the people, across the departments, and along every step of the chain.
To us, the story of Avocado Green Mattress reflects a tool that connects soil health with human dignity. A mirror that helps companies grow from within. And above all, a unified platform for building a more ethical and resilient industry. The most sustainable thing we can do might not be the product itself, but how we build it. Together.
