Why are we not supposed to remove the tags from our mattresses or pillows?

Those warnings are for retails – not for you, the end consumer.

Apparently at some point in history some mattress manufacturers were dishonest (!) and sold old mattresses as new, or had fake stuff inside. So those silly warning tags were made into law and requuired.

Once you own it, it’s yours and you may feel free to rip off those tags.

(By the way, pillows have the same tags)

Think of it like do not take this medicine or eat this food if the seal is broken. It is a law to protect you the consumer, as @elbanditoroso explained. In the end I don’t think it necessarily protects the consumer, because my mattress still has the tag on it, so probaboy someone could try to sell it as new, even though it is used. Still, it helps try to deter dishonest business practices.

You need to read that tag better. It says it’s unlawful to remove except by consumer.

@JLeslie That is a good point… I suspect few people ever remove the tags… and consequently the trade in used mattresses is not much affected. Ick.