With new owners set to move into the the LEED light Arterra we throughout that we’d pay a visit to San Fran’s newest LEED certified condo. Arriving on bikes, we discovered that no bike racks exist for those wishing to inspect the demo models. Thus we had to pull out bikes into into the sales office. Walking though the corridors to the demo unit, we couldn’t help but smell [...]
Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh are writing a series on the surprising journeys of everyday things. They will be posting previews on Green Options before launching the posts on Huffington Post. Here’s a sneak peek at the desk you threw away.
How can a mahogany desk, made of slow-growing hard wood plundered from the Amazon, be eco-friendly?
When it’s re-used.
Often, the greenest consumer route is not buying new products made with Earth-friendly methods but rather scoring used products made with traditional, possibly heinous methods. Reduce, reuse, then recycle.
This rule of thumb certainly applies to office furniture. Unlike energy-consuming products such as appliances, furniture is somewhat innocuous to the environment during that period between factory and landfill known as “in use.” The impacts on indoor air quality, however, are like Britney: Not that innocent.
A modern take on a Victorian classic, the Cleo sofa is just one in a collection of completely sustainable and modern furniture. Greener Lifestyles, based in Seattle, WA doesn’t believe you have to sacrifice your health, the environment or good design for well-made, long lasting pieces for your home. Priding themselves on impeccible craftsmenship and attention to detail with 100% sustainability their goal, they’re always searching for the best non-toxic materials.
Responsibly harvested FSC-certified wood is used for the frame, while sustainably harvested rubber tree sap is turned into their biodegradable and mold, mite and mildew-resisting latex cushions. Anti-microbial and naturally fire-retardant organic wool is used with organic cotton for all cushion batting.
We are doing a massive renovation at our house. Right now, we are living in a one room cabin with an outhouse, resident mouse, and possibly a bat (and oh, a one and a three year old) while our house is gutted.
Part of keeping the cost down is that we will do all our own painting and finishing of any wood.
So, we are on the lookout for low and no VOC paints and finishes to use. What are VOCs? Jessica shares about them earlier today and the virtues of new no VOC Mythic paint. Paints, finishes, primers and stains can all contain VOCs which causes indoor air quality to decline, putting little children at a greater risk of many health problems. According to Enviroblog:
Clean as Clean Should Be: Yes, this is the household bottleIt is difficult to find an all-purpose cleaner these days that doesn’t fill your kitchen with the fresh scent of artificial toxins. Whether the cleaning agents are safe or not, oftentimes the most harmful chemicals in cleaning products are the fragrances.
Currently, there are no regulations on the fragrance industry resulting in a lot of unnecessary airborne
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