Certified versus Non-dusted US grown buckwheat hulls.

Open Your Eyes Bedding now only supports certified organic farms ! 

A Common Myth: Buckwheat hulls are normally grown organically as there are no pests that bother buckwheat.  The truth is that even though buckwheat hulls can grow well without pesticides, conventional farms will likely spray young plants with an herbicide and overspray with pesticides targeting neighboring crops (crop dusting planes spray far and wide). Our hulls are NOT grown on conventional farms, only organic farms.

If grown on a farm that sprays chemical pesticides, the hulls will be sprayed, whether the crop needs it or not.  Price points under $2/lb for hulls usually come from spray farms or imported from developing countries who may or may not care about what is sprayed on the hulls in order to export them.

We sell US grown, non-certified organic hulls to offer a lower price option for our customers as the cost of certified organic hulls has more than tripled since we started in the business in 2009. But we are no longer dusting these hulls as it turned out to be too costly in labor.  But this does not mean you cannot do it yourself!  We now make sure that the buckwheat grain that our hulls come from are certified organic and that we have documented proof that they are on file.  

So why would the edible part of the plant be certified and not the hull?  The dehulling plant certifies the grain but does not include the hulls as this adds to the labor process and cost of the product.  This does mean that the hulls do not need to be processed and stored in accordance with the organic plan the company has set forth for the grain.  We do have to trust when the mill states that they keep the organic hulls separate from any non-organic products and do not expose them to any chemical treatments or cleaners. 

Appearance:  Our US grown hulls are slightly darker and larger than our certified organic hulls.  Both are screened but only our Certified Organic Hulls are air dusted to be suitable for use in bedding right from the bag.  No chemicals are added during storage.  

Non-dusted US grown hulls may contain a few stems, certified organic has almost no stems.

Cost:  Non dusted US grown hulls are 25% less expensive than certified organic.

Packaging: US grown hulls are packaged in biodegradable, double-walled kraft paper bags inside a heavy-duty shipping box.  Certified hulls are packaged in heavy poly bags inside a heavy-duty shipping box.

Non-dusted US grown hulls:  It's best to cut open the kraft bag inside the shipping box to avoid the paper from getting punctured outside of the box. If it is left inside the box and it should get punctured you won't lose any hulls!

Cleanliness:  Only our Certified organic hulls are air dusted and suitable for bedding. Non-dusted US grown hulls must be dusted before they can be used for bedding and they may contain a few stems.

Our certified organic hulls have almost no stems.

We would also like to state here that the reason we do not recommend other supplier's hulls is that we have no way of knowing how they are actually grown and processed (roasted hulls will not work in our kits), how old they are, or if the weights to volume ratio of another supplier's hulls will equal ours and this can definitely affect the outcome of your mattress.  That said, many customers have used locally sourced hulls with success. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our buckwheat hulls!