Popular Amazon Mattress Sparks Fiberglass Safety Firestorm—Class Action Lawsuit Looms

A budget-friendly mattress brand is facing serious backlash after customers reported alarming health complications tied to flame-resistant fiberglass exposure. The Zinus Green Tea Mattress, a bestselling option on Amazon with over 130,000 reviews and a 4.4-star rating, has become the center of a brewing legal battle that highlights potential gaps in product safety standards.

The Real Cost Behind a Bargain Buy

What started as an economical purchase turned into a costly ordeal for many households. Vanessa Gutierrez, a Sacramento resident, purchased a Zinus queen-sized Green Tea memory foam mattress for approximately $400 through Amazon for her daughter. What followed was unexpected—her family incurred nearly $20,000 in damages, with medical expenses forming the bulk of the bill. The culprit: fiberglass particles escaping from the mattress cover. Her four-year-old daughter developed visible scars on her chest and calves that remain evident today. Her case isn’t isolated; thousands of customers across the U.S. report similar complications.

Building the Legal Case

Gutierrez’s experience catalyzed formal legal action. A class-action lawsuit was initiated in Sacramento last July, consolidating grievances from multiple affected consumers against the South Korean manufacturer. The case alleges that Zinus mattresses have systematically harmed customers through the release of hazardous fiberglass fibers embedded in flame-resistance layers.

“It’s not hyperbole to say that this has ravaged thousands of individuals’ lives from across the United States,” according to James Radcliffe, a personal injury lawyer handling such claims at Cueto Law.

What Regulators Say About Fiberglass Exposure

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has weighed in on the fiberglass debate. Fiberglass—a composite of plastic and glass materials—can irritate eyes, nose, and throat upon contact. However, the Commission notes that the specific type used in flame-retardant barriers typically doesn’t pose severe or lasting health threats, provided containment remains intact.

The Commission emphasized a critical point: “Most consumer complaints about fiberglass being released from mattresses that have been reviewed by staff involved the outer cover being removed or damaged. If the outer cover remains intact, then the exposure to fiberglass particles is expected to be minimal.”

The Company’s Response and Market Position

Despite mounting allegations, Zinus maintains that its products are safe when used as intended. The company emphasizes that every mattress ships with explicit instructions warning consumers against removing or damaging the outer cover, which protects the internal flame-barrier layer. The queen-sized Green Tea model currently retails for roughly $310 on Amazon, maintaining strong consumer appeal despite the controversy.

The disconnect between regulatory guidance and consumer experiences raises important questions about product design, warning clarity, and the threshold for safety intervention in mass-market consumer goods.