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I'm not sure about mattress alternatives but you definitely don't need a box-spring. I prefer slats and haven't slept on a box-spring since moving out of my parents house

Buy a hammock

There are very basic foam mattresses out there--IKEA's cheapest alternative is a foam mattress. I'm guessing a futon setup would also be classified as an alternative to the traditional bed set-up.

Straw or hay beds anyone? It reminds me of Laura Ingalls, but to each his own. (and someone out there will surely complain about the fire hazard that has mandated a lot of nasty flame retardants in each and every mattress sold. Ick.)

I have three ideas:

One would be piling blankets up on the floor, or large floor cushions pushed together and sleeping on those.

And, while you couldn't co-sleep this way, you could buy an army type cot with a wooden base and a fabric sling and sleepy on that.

Also, a tatami mat would work.

A lot of (most) foam mattresses are made with polyurethane (petroleum) and are not good for the environment or yourself. I second the futon idea—Near Sea Naturals, an organic fabric and sewing retailer, sells futon grade organic cotton stuffing if you really want to try and DIY it.

As far as other alternatives, wool is an accepted flame retardant, but if you are against that or allergic, you can get a doctor's prescription for a mattress without wool or chemicals.

Lastly, in the nytimes article on mattress greenwashing, one of the women interviewed had bought a roll-away bed frame and put a bunch of thermal blankets on it. She said she liked it.

Nice to know on the box spring thing... I've always wondered and was considering going without when I finally buy a natural mattress to cut down on the cost and bulk.

I'm loving the hammock idea! My only concern is that we have a family bed. Would we need three separate hammocks?

I bought an inflatable mattress to use when I visited my mother. It was quite comfortable, inflated and deflated quickly. Of course, you had to make and unmake it each time.

They do make two person hammocks...you could probably fit a child in there with you, but for an infant I think there would be safety concerns.

Here is a site that sells organic fairtrade hammocks and has a family size:

http://www.handmadehammocks.co.uk/acatalog/Organic_Cotton_Hammocks.html

I've always liked the Japanese-style futons -- it can be a simple mat on the floor, or you can have a more elaborate setup with a base. They're prefect for small spaces, because you can just roll them up when you're done sleeping and stash them for the day!

Hammocks are definitley a possibility, though they take some getting used to. Those from the Yucatan are especially comfortable and can be VERY spacious. Many places in the world, especially Latin America and other tropical locales, us hammocks as their primary space for sleeping. Barry from West Virginia sells some great ones from a place in the Yucatan he has a direct connection to. No website, but here's his info:

SWEET SPRINGS HAMMOCK
Barry
399 Looney Lane
Sweet Springs, WV 24941
304-536-2959
sshammocks@yahoo.com

Wow! I feel cool for having a good question! And thanks for all the responses!
I actually slept on a rope hammock for some time. It was a long time ago, before being able to buy a bed for my 1st apartment and I mostly loved it. They are available in eco-friendly materials, keep you up off the floor, generally inexpensive, readily available and comfy. I would be curious about if its good for your back or not... but I do still certainly love hammock time...
I would imagine that most foam is not very environmentally friendly, but I honestly don't know much about it... Is there a more eco-friendly biodegradable foam product out there?
While they take less resources to make than an innerspring, I agree with Annieo: air mattresses generally suck, unless you go expensive and have a motor that requires energy, etc. Plus they are made of plastic (mother earth says "ick").
Cotton or wool futon-like mattress is certainly an option over a boxspring-alternative...

Thanks for all the feedback!

This isn't for everyone, but a few years back I couldn't afford a bed so I unzipped a sleeping bag, covered it with a duvet and slept on that, under regular blankets. When it was time to wash my "sheets" I just took the duvet off and ran it through the laundry. It also saved space since I didn't need to find room for my sleeping bag when I wasn't off camping.

I'm curious about what percentage of people on Earth actually sleep on a mattress. My guess is less than 20%. What do the other 5 BILLION people use? I'm 100% certain that they all sleep on SOMETHING.

the ideas are mostly said already. i have been considering getting rid of my mattress and putting a stack of comforters and blankets on the floor to sleep on, or getting one of the really nice hammocks i used to see at my friends house, one that was steel reinforced and nylon made to hold up 3 people easily.

but i wonder how this damages one's sex life....

Atomdari...
Hammocks would just force you to get creative... ;)

Get a good air mattress. Look for one with a built in pump that's "raised" which means it's the height of a standard mattress with box spring. I have one that is the most comfortable bed I've ever had (I'll link below) and when I move, it fits on my front seat.

http://www.amazon.com/Wenzel-Insta-Bed-Raised-Bottom-Built/dp/B000ETXX1U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1232149413&sr=8-2

Atomdari:

I had a set-up like the one you mentioned (stacks of down comforters and blankets) for awhile in college (I don't like traditional mattresses; way too soft). I thought it was comfortable, but yes, I did get a lot of complaints from my boyfriend about it. I eventually gave it up and got a futon mattress and platform bed and was happy with that. Boyfriend was ecstatic with that.

My mattress is natural latex. And it's so much more comfortable than inner spring!

Before that I had a cotton and wool futon mattress, but they need replacing far more often than latex.

Two words: Tempur-Pedic, Baby. Cheap? No. Worth every penny? No question. It's made of an impenetrable cellular material and is allergen-resistant (no bed bugs), retains shape (no compression), and never needs to be flipped, rotated, etc (no maintenance). Also guaranteed for 20 years (Crimany, I sound like a salesman)... can't beat that. It's absolutely dreamy for your bod. Think about it - I do consider it an alternative to a mattress.

http://www.tempurpedic.com/

That was a shameless plug but I can't say enough good things about it - I'm stoked to crawl into bed every night and the quality of sleep is unlike any I've ever known.

i've slept on futons with and without tatami mats (my favorite, and they were taken from broken couches so it's reuse), a constantly-deflating air mattress, a hammock and a "human dog bed," which a clever friend of mine sewed together and stuffed with old clothes.

bed bugs aren't an allergen though. bed bugs don't really live -inside- your mattress, they live on it, in the seams of the quilting. they aren't even that small.

What about that child of the '70s, the waterbed? Of course, you can't avoid plastic, but wouldn't it use fewer non-eviro-friendly materials than a standard mattress?

sydney;

seems like you and i have opposing issues. the girlfriend would string me up by the crotch if i tried to make a blanket nest in the house.

so the human dog bed is also a great idea.. if you sewed a bunch of old pillows together and covered it with blankets made into a duvet cover or whatnot, youve made something i'd say is fairly green, without the usual base of luxury green options.

dunno, just coming back to this.

We sleep on a wool and foam filled futon mattress that's handmade here in Vancouver. The wool keeps out dustmites, is naturally flame retardant, antibacterial and insulating. Most of our mattress is compostable, too. The only thing is that you need a bed with slats so the futon can breath. I'm slightly allergic to wool, and have no problem with the mattress.

I used to have a Yucatan hammock in my room in highschool. Apparently, if you sleep crosswise on the hammock instead of lengthwise it creates a flat surface for your back. They sleep in these hammocks with their entire families - 3 or 4 people! I never liked it overnight though, only for naps. I think I was too worried it would pop out of the wall and fall to the floor while I was sleeping.

Coming from an Asian family, when I was little, I remember that our entire family slept on plain old blank-wrapped plywood. Good for straightening out your back and inexpensive too.

I threw such a board on my bed for all four years of college and it was hilarious to see people's reactions whenever they plunked themselves down really hard on my bed.

Every solution comes with a down side, and that down side is always going to be bugs of some sort and possibly issues with moisture/mold. Someone mentioned hay or stray, but these are likely to be infested by whatever lives in your area and certainly dust mites (this is what happens with tatami). Futons will get dust mites and you'll have to undergo the (at least weekly) ritual of airing and beating them to make sure you don't inhale their allergy-inducing dung on a regular basis. Trust me, I live in Japan and Japanese people are hanging out and pounding futons every day.

One of the reasons that plastics-based materials are often used for bedding these days is that it tends to lesson the chances of mold and infestation. It's not good, of course, but a lot of the alternatives are also fraught with problems.

It all really depends on what you're willing to tolerate in terms of comfort. The easiest solution is going to likely be sleeping on a hard surface with the most minimal of padding. Ideally, padding that can be easily washed and dried regularly.

I have a Tempur-Pedic as well and love it. I want redo the whole infomercial, but it was worth every penny. I have horrid allergies and buying the allergen resistant mattress really helped. It's also nice to not have to remember when the last time I flipped it was...

I used to sleep on a corn-shuck mattress at a friend's whenever I slept over. It was comfortable, but there was a lot of rustling when I turned over!

I've had the same waterbed mattress for over 20 years and I love it. It's comfortable and in the winter I can keep the room cool but when I get into bed it is always warm. I have the very basic, no baffle type, but for those who are bothered by the wave action there are certainly the waveless versions. To me, it feels like being rocked to sleep. Additionally, the frame comes apart and the mattress folds up, so it's relatively easy to move.

I've slept on comfortable air beds as well, but they tend to suck the heat out of you if you don't have a lot of padding on top, and they are much more prone to leaks.

Self-inflating camping mats are comfortable, though, as well as cheap and sturdy.

My brother lived in a hammock one summer and when he came to visit for a weekend and slept on the floor, he observed that he woke up without a back ache for the first time in a while. I know there are people who spend their lives in hammocks, but I couldn't do it.

Our mattress is getting old and I'm trying to figure out how to replace it. I haven't yet managed to persuade my better half that we could put a thin futon on our platform and sleep just fine.