Designing a nursery and looking for contemporary, healthy and eco-friendly furniture? Look no longer! Kalon Studios offers many healthy and well designed options for you and your baby.
The HUT HUT rocking horse takes a new spin on an old classic.
The Ioline crib is beautifully crafted, sure to produce incredible shadows and effects for your little one.
The Caravan line has a mid-century modern flare and comes in a variety of colors that truly POP!
Hushamok offers a truly unique and natural alternative to all of those plastic motorized rocking devices out there. Unlike those, however, the Hushamok is also a sleeping bassinet that can be converted into a chair once the baby grows. Their website claims: “Hushamok baby hammock is the ideal environment for newborn sleep, with its soothing rocking motion – it’s the next best thing to the womb.” That, plus the fact that everything is 100% organic is enough to get us excited!
Did you know that a simple indoor plant can filter many harmful toxins out of your air? It’s so simple, yet true. According to NASA, the top 10 plants most effective in removing formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air are:
Bamboo Palm – Chamaedorea Seifritzii
Chinese Evergreen – Aglaonema Modestum
English Ivy Hedera Helix
Gerbera Daisy Gerbera Jamesonii
Janet Craig – Dracaena “Janet Craig”
Marginata – Dracaena Marginata
Mass cane/Corn Plant – Dracaena Massangeana
Mother-in-Law’s Tongue Sansevieria Laurentii
Pot Mum – Chrysantheium morifolium
Peace Lily – Spathiphyllum
Warneckii – Dracaena “Warneckii”
Be sure to read more at TreeHugger.com.
We’ve tried several kinds of filling for our organic throw pillows. First we used organic cotton, but the loft wasn’t great and there are long-term dust mite and allergy issues with a cotton filling. Some of the pre-made throw pillows we’ve had in the store used a filling made of recycled plastic soda bottles, which is fascinating on some levels, and it’s less expensive than organic cotton, but it’s not a natural material so I was never a big fan. Then we tried kapok and fell in love. The loft is more like down, and when you really fill up the inserts they feel quite poofy. Kapok is naturally dust-mite and water resistant, like wool. The material comes from Kapok trees, which are grown in tropical climates near the equator. Silky strands are harvested from the inside of pods that grow on the tree, so the tree itself is not harmed when they are removed. In the early 1900s manufacturers made good use of this natural material, using it for a wide variety of products such as seat cushions and mattresses. But it was phased out in favor of petroleum-based foam in the mid-1900s. Today most people have no idea what kapok is, but it’s experiencing a comeback of sorts as a great “what’s old is new again” eco-friendly material.
There’s a lot of greenwashing out there when it comes to sustainable, eco-friendly, and healthy upholstered furniture. So what should you look for? Choose a company that uses all-natural latex (not soy foam or a blend) in the cushions. It’s expensive, but there’s no other option that won’t offgas harmful chemicals in your home. Also look for FSC-certified frames, low or no-VOC wood finishes, no-added formaldehyde adhesives or no adhesives at all, organic cotton and wool tufting, and organic, untreated upholstery fabrics.
We’re so used to stain-guard chemicals that the thought of not having a sofa or chair “protected” from spills makes some people shy away from healthier furniture. Yes, it’s true, you might stain your sofa. Isn’t a stain worth not having toxic chemicals seep into your body? Common-sense ways to avoid stains include not eating on your sofa, incorporating a slip cover into your design that can be removed and washed, opting for wool upholstery that keeps spills up on top of the surface long enough to grab a blotting towel, and scheduling regular visits with a nontoxic upholstery-cleaning service. And when you’ve flipped over each stained cushion a couple of times and the piece is looking too shabby, have it re-upholstered. It’s what your grandmother would have done (well, that or cover it with plastic in the first place, but let’s not go there…).
Want to liven up your laundry room? Or accent a wall in a bedroom? This pattern (aptly named “Delight”, shown here in the water/peppercorn colorway) particularly appeals to me because the forms used are reminiscent of Art Nouveau stained glass. The pattern offers a nice balance of negative and positive space. We love Mod Green Pod here at Reclaim because not only do they produce vinyl-free wallpaper, but they also hand-print their marvelous patterns using non-toxic inks!
A woman from San Francisco called Reclaim in a frenzy. She had just spent a week researching organic mattress options for her son, who is crawling out of his crib and ready to move into a twin bed. The more she researched, the more panic-stricken she became. There were so many odd websites that claimed to have organic mattresses but the prices were all over the map. How could a reputable brand making natural latex mattresses be selling a twin for a little over $1,000 while another brand says theirs is just as green but only costs $400? How could she know who was telling the truth?
Those of us who have spoken to the manufacturers and heard all the insider stories about where people source their latex from and which supposedly organic mattresses have caused people to have reactions know that there are a lot of gimmicks out there. There is a huge difference between natural latex–which is composed of 95% sap that comes from rubber trees and the other 5% is soaps and sulfer that helps the sap bake like a cake–and petrochemical based foam.
Remodeling your bathroom offers many opportunities to create a healthier, more energy-efficient, and water-efficient space. Whether you’re doing a minor facelift or a complete overhaul, you’ll most likely need to call in a professional for part of the job. Be sure to use contractors who support your desire for an eco-friendly remodel with a minimum of waste and offgassing materials.
It may not be glamorous, but the most important upgrade you can make to your bathroom is to select water-saving fixtures. Californians are not new to water conservation, but as the situation becomes increasingly dire it’s simply irresponsible to remodel a bathroom without making this a high priority. Look for WaterSense-labeled faucets and showerheads as they use less water than federal law mandates, and then be sure not to run water longer than necessary. Ever wonder which uses less water, a bath or a shower? If you have a low-emitting showerhead, you’ll use about 10 gallons of water during a four-minute shower. Most bathtubs take 30 to 50 gallons, so unless you take 20-minute showers – and I hope you don’t – soaking in the tub uses more.
Toto Aquia WaterSense Certified Dual-Flush Toilet
Once you’ve got the right fixtures, focus on maintaining healthy indoor air quality in the room. Using 0-VOC paint on the walls is a no-brainer, but you also need to consider the vanity and other cabinetry. Stock cabinetry available at home improvement centers is made of particleboard or plywood that will offgas formaldehyde and finished with high-VOC enamel paint or stain. Support a local small business and protect your health by hiring a cabinet shop to build something using special plywood with no added formaldehyde, and Forest Stewardship Council-certified or reclaimed hardwood. Finish the cabinets with 0-VOC paint or stain, plus two coats of water-based, low-VOC polyurethane sealant so they’re easier to wipe down in a wet environment.
Vetrazzo Vanity Top in Cobalt Skky (made from Skky Vodka bottles)
Prices for the American-made materials listed above range from $35 to $100 a square foot, which can be more than some natural stones. However, stone is usually imported from China, India, and Europe, increasing the carbon footprint of the material, plus it’s hard to know for sure that proper ecological care is taken when stone is quarried in third-world countries. If you must use a natural stone, try to find remnant pieces from fabricators or building salvage yards.
Will remodeling a bathroom using eco-friendly materials cost more? A little; but you’ll save money on water, keep harmful chemicals out of your home, use less energy, and have better-made cabinetry that will last for decades, so it’s a better investment overall.
A customer came into the store asking for something to unclog her sink drain. “I used to just pour Drano down the drain,” she said, “but I thought I should probably look for a more eco-friendly solution.” I showed her what we have, which is something that uses cartridges to pump a large and sudden amount of air through the pipe to remove hair balls. Pure force clears the drain without any chemicals.
She didn’t like the look of that. I asked if the problem was a sink drain or a tub drain and discovered that she had a slow moving sink drain.
“Why don’t you just remove the P-trap and clean out the hair and gunk inside? That’s why the water is draining slowly,” I suggested. But she said this sounded way too hard. Despite my assurances that she could do it, she went off to find another loosen-the-cap-and-pour solution. Why does it make sense to us to pour toxic chemicals down a slow-moving drain when just keeping the pipes clean would prevent it? There are much healthier alternatives to Drano, such as Drainbo, but before shelling out cash for something that may not work and could harm the environment and our water supply, clean out the P-trap first. I’d bet this will work 90% of the time. Other methods, such as snaking, are more time intensive and are only needed when the clog is beyond your reach.
I used to lug around a huge bucket while cleaning the house but then discovered that several of my simple, non-toxic cleaners – while marked “countertop cleaner” or “window cleaner” worked on most all surfaces. We really don’t need to buy all of these surface-specific products. I have a bottle of Howard Naturals Granite and Marble cleaner that works on stone and also on my stainless steel appliances. I’ve also been known to use it to clean spills off my hardwood floors.
And once I accidentally sprayed some Caldrea Countertop Cleanser on a mirror and realized it worked just as well as the Caldrea window cleaner. Borax works on everything from tubs to tile floors to sinks. And white vinegar gives a little shine to sink faucets while also cutting soap scum on shower tiles. Just find a couple good non-toxic, plant-based, or food-based cleaners and use them on everything! You’ll save money and storage space under your sink.
