Eco-Friendly & Green Living Blog

Sapadilla, a Vancouver-based company, is rocking the Western Canadian market with their green cleaning products, featuring two essential-oil scents, Rosemary + Peppermint and Grapefruit + Bergamot (my absolute fave — it makes me want to wash dishes and that’s saying something!).

The products boast impressive green credentials since they’re non-toxic, biodegradable and free of the following common chemicals:

• synthetic fragrance or dyes
• petroleum-based solvents
• phosphates
• ethylene Glycol Ethers
• chlorine
• ammonia
• EDTA
• formaldehyde
• parabens

Plus, 1% of all revenues from the products is being donated to 1% For The Planet (www.onepercentfortheplanet.com), which is a network of environmental organizations around the world.

And soon, Sapadilla hopes to spread out across the rest of Canada (keep your fingers crossed!).

For retail info: visit www.sapadilla.com

Prices: $6 (dish soap), $7 (countertop cleanser), $9 (all-purpose cleaner)

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

The winners of the Toothbrush Contest from my Nov. 3 contest post are K. McGlennon, Laurel Radley and Alisa. Congratulations to them all!

To win, entrants had to comment on the best thing they’ve done in their life to make it more eco-friendly and green. All the comments and suggestions were wonderful and a big thank you to everyone who entered. I had a really hard time deciding on just three finalists.

Each winner receives toothbrush set with a Source toothbrush, which has a handle made from 50% recycled wood fibre or flax and 50% post-consumer polypropylene, along with one extra replacement head, one Toothbrush Travel Case and one Silk Floss (each set is valued at $13.85 US ).

To read the winning comments, click here; for a look at the toothbrushes, travel cases, floss and other products, check out Radius’s website.

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at  naturalchic at styleathome.com!

I love journals and have them everywhere: at work and at home, tucked away in drawers and in my purse, just ready for any note that needs to be jotted down.

My latest purchase is from Pistachio and features a cheery, brightly coloured design by design consultant Bruce Mau. The aptly titled Bruce Mau Optimism Collection features 100% recycled papers and soy ink and is printed in Canada.

And should you not be into journals, you can also get wrapping paper, note cards and gift cards that boast the same uplifting splash of colour.

Available at: Pistachio, www.epistachio.com; select Chapters and Indigo Books & Music stores, 800-832-7569, www.chapters.indigo.ca

Prices:
Rolled Gift Wrap, $10
Optimism Spiral Journals, 5″x7″, $9; 8×10, $11
Boxed Notes, $14 (includes 10 blank cards and envelopes)
Optimism Gift Enclosures, $10 (includes 8 gift enclosures)

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

Part of living an environmentally friendly life includes buying products that are long-lasting so you don’t have to continually replace them.

100% linen tea towels are a perfect example. I have a set from my family that is at least 60 years old (unbelievable, I know, but it’s true!) and you’d never guess it to look at them. Plus, linen is the perfect material for tea towels, since it’s lint-free and fast-drying.

When new, the material is quite crisp and stiff but it softens with age and use. And while it is more expensive than, say, cotton, because it lasts forever it ends up being less expensive in the long-run in terms of monetary and ecological costs and really is an heirloom item that you can hand down to a younger generation.

Canadian company Rawganique’s organic linen tea towels are certified organic and sweatshop-free. They come in Ivory, which is whitened with hydrogen peroxide, or Evening Sand Dunes (which is shown in in the background of the picture above and is the natural, unprocessed colour of the linen).

Available at: www.rawganique.com; 877-729-4367

Price: $28 each

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

Looking for a water pitcher with a built-in filter but want something with a more beautiful aesthetic than the usual stuff on the market? Look no further!

Design Within Reach offers up this sleek stunner. The Charcoal Water Pitcher uses a mix of Binchotan charcoal and stones to filter and create mineral-rich water. The charcoal works on two levels: to ensure the water is potable (not a problem if you’re using tap water in the first place!) and as a deodorizer, so your water is odour-free – useful if you live in places where the water smells of things like sulphur.

The stones and charcoal last up to six months, depending on how much you use the pitcher, and the real beauty of the system is that that afterward, they can simply be chucked into your garden – no used filters to dump into landfills. Love it!!

Each stainless-steel-and-glass pitcher comes with one charcoal-and-stone set; additional sets can be purchased separately for $25 US each.

Available at: www.designwithinreach.com

Price: $85 US

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

Brunswick Hills, Ohio-based artist Mark Langan sent me a comment today on my Brad Pitt-Kiehl’s post (to check out his comment, click here) and he said I would be blown away by his cardboard art and I was!

He was inspired to use cardboard when he noticed the fluted inner layer when tearing apart some cast-off boxes from his neighbours and thought he could create interesting effects by slicing, stacking and gluing it together in different patterns.

For more on his art, which at times has overt messages about recycling and waste, check out his site, as well as a review at www.inhabit.com, a fabulous blog that tracks trends in green products, design and architecture. Thanks for the comment, Mark!

Available at: www.langanart.com

Prices: available upon request

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

What’s not to love about this smart desk set?

It’s beautiful, with its smashing red colour; the set consists of a magazine/file holder, pencil cup, mail sorter and journal; and the whole shebang comes in a matching box that you can then use to store all sorts of goodies.

And the best thing about it? It’s 100% made from cotton remnants from the garment industry!

Available at: Crate and Barrel, www.crateandbarrel.ca

Price: $39.95 US (regular price $69.95 US)

Do you have a product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

I’ve always thought it an incredible waste to throw away an entire toothbrush when just the head needed replacing and now I’ve found Radius, a company that makes two types of toothbrushes with replaceable heads.

My fave is Source, which has a handle made from 50% recycled wood fibre or flax and 50% post-consumer polypropylene. When the head needs replacing, you’re only tossing out 7% of the toothbrush as opposed to 100%. Brilliant!

So brilliant, in fact, I’m giving away three toothbrush sets (each set is valued at $13.85 US and includes one Source Toothbrush with extra replacement head, one Toothbrush Travel Case and one Silk Floss).

To win a set, add a comment on this post before Nov. 24 midnight EST listing the best thing you’ve done in your life to make it more eco-friendly and green. After the contest closes, I’ll pick what I think are the three best tips, and the people who posted those tips get the toothbrush sets shipped to them for free anywhere in Canada, excluding Quebec (see below)!

You can check out the toothbrushes, travel cases, floss and other products at Radius’s website. Right now, Radius is offering a great discount offer of 10% off to styleathome.com visitors; just use code SAH5934 (offer expires 11/17/2008).

Available at: www.radiustoothbrush.com

Open to all residents of Canada, except those in Quebec. Not open to any Transcontinental Media employees, their families, or any other persons with whom they reside.