Eco-Friendly & Green Living Blog

Aren’t these wall decals supersweet? And the best thing about them is, they’re made from fabric!

Most wall decals are vinyl or PVC, which is anything but eco-friendly, so these are a great choice if you’re into being green. Since they’re made from fabric, they’re washable, plus, if you stick them up in one spot and change your mind, don’t worry – you can move them around.

They come in all sorts of themes – the ones above are Forest Critters for Boys ($75), but there are more below. They’re made by a company in Australia whose motto is Charmed, I’m Sure, and I certainly am!

Available at: www.saplings.ca

Dinosaurs, $75

Oh Dear, $75

Winter Dress Up Dolls, $45

Twitter Birds for Girls, $45

Build a Tree, $105

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Whoever would have thought they would make a flashlight out of wood! And not only is it made out of beech wood, it has an LED light, too.

It would make an awesome present! Battery-operated. – Guest poster Shelby Webster

Price: approx. $53

Available at: www.anthropologie.com

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Fab idea: Buy one of these dog duvets, stuff it with old worn-out clothes or blankets, rags, whatever, and you have yourself a great looking dog bed!

Made from: 100% preshrunk, washable cotton.

Who wouldn’t love them! More pics below!

Price: approx $24

Available at: www.mollymutt.com or www.pawhauspetboutique.com

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Warm up chilly fall days with this sleek-looking, high-efficiency fireplace.

The RAIS 60 Insert System is a zero-clearance-firebox insert that has an air-tight lock for efficient wood burning and a cool (literally and figuratively!) hollow handle that you can touch bare-handed. The fireplace comes in both black and gray.

Price: $5,200

For more info and availability: www.rais.com

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Cannot say enough about the work that Boomerang Paint is doing!

The Quebec-based company takes unused paint and stain (even the hardened stuff!), reformulates it and repackages it, then sells it in a recyled plastic container. In 2008, the company recycled some 4,000,000 litres of paint.

About 1%  new material is added to ensure good quality re lustre levels (which are low across the brand), viscosity and drying time. The finishes are washable and the alkyds can be used on exterior surfaces, including wood.

The Boomerang paint colour palettes are shown below; the selection, not surprisingly, is somewhat limited, but for a lot of people who are racked with indecision when faced with thousand of paint chips, that will be a total bonus!

Price: approx. $15

Availability: For a retailer near you, click here.

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

I just fell for the classic but updated look of this Azure sofa from Crate and Barrel. Tufting, curves – it’s got it all!

It’s shown above in Whitney Bran linen/rayon blend with self-welt detail but it’s also available in other colour options (a custom colour is shown below).

And, of course, it’s eco-friendly.

• the seat and back cushions are filled with soy-based polyfoam
• the cushions are wrapped in fibre made from clear and white plastic bottles
• the frame is made from hardwood that’s FSC or SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) certified

With these lines, it would look amazing in just about any room, modern or fresh traditional, and with hundreds of fabric options, you could really give it your own personality twist!

Available at: Crate and Barrel stores; for locations and to order online, visit www.crateandbarrel.ca

Price: from $2,199

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Back to school always came way too soon as far as I was concerned, but one of the best things about it – aside from seeing school friends – was buying new school supplies.

For your own kids, go natural and eco-friendly this year with this selection of cute goodies from Indigo and Chapters.

Visit www.chapters.indigo.ca for store locations.

Smencils: Yummy-smelling pencils made from 100% recycled newspapers that come in a corn-based biodegradable tube; what a fun idea! $15.

Textliners: Superfluorescent highlighters made with FSC certified wood. They come in yellow, orange, pink, blue and green and won’t ever dry out! $2.50 each.

Staple Free Staplers:You’ll save on steel staples with these wee hardworkers! They come in blue and green (shown), as well as purple, orange, clear and silver. $7 each.

Pistachio Notebooks: Canadian-made from 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper and printed with vegetable- or soy-based inks. I can feel the inspiration coming on already!
Doodle Notebooks, from $6 each.

Be the Change Notebooks, from $6

Punctuate Notebooks, from $6

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I’ve gotten to know some fabulous people doing this blog, and Fiona Richards from Cartolina Cards is one of them.

She’s just come out with a new selection of cards and they’re stunning, of course! The two above are just some of the luscious patterns and event themes available.

The cards are all printed on recycled FSC certified paper (Forest Stewardship Council) with vegetable-based inks at an environmentally friendly printing plant. Gotta love the work Fiona’s doing! P.S. Check her out on Twitter at @Fionacartolina

For Canadian retailers and international retailers, click here.

Available online at: www.greetq.com

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Natura is a zero-VOC interior paint that comes in thousands of hues and flat, eggshell and semi-gloss finishes, and, unlike many paints, its VOC level is unaffected by the addition of colourant. That means you can get it in Benjamin Moore’s entire range of 1,800 colours or colour match it to basically anything and it will still be zero-VOC!

Carl Minchew, Benjamin Moore director of colour technology, says, “Natura is built upon Benjamin Moore’s patented Gennex waterborne colourant system, and it’s the waterborne technology that makes the difference. So, no matter what colour you choose, it will never add to the VOC level. Natura is green without compromise – the greenest paint Benjamin Moore has ever made.”

We like it! For some colour palette options, check out the rooms below.

For availability, visit: www.benjaminmoore.ca.

Price: $60 per gallon

Above: Gossamer Blue 4123-40, walls; Brookside Moss 2145-30, niche; Black Satin 2131-10, fireplace.

Above: Black Satin 2131-40, walls; Gossamer Blue, ceiling.

Above: Chantilly Lace OC-65, fireplace wall; Hazy Skies OC-48, other walls; White Sand OC-10, ceiling.

Above: Pale Avocado 2146-40, kitchen area; Sea Haze 2137-50, wall; Timid White OC-39, ceiling.

Above: Sea Haze 2137-50, headboard wall; Timid White OC-39, picture wall; Pale Avocado 2146-40, ceiling.

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I got my new Essentia latex mattress on Tuesday, and I’m simply loving it so far! It’s natural memory foam and compared to my old spring mattress, it feels like sleeping on thick gel, if you can imagine that. It basically moulds to your shape, in the most comfortable way imaginable. I’d heard that it takes some time to get used to memory foam, but that hasn’t been my experience at all. It’s like a cosy cocoon, in a non-cloying, non-warm way (it is summer after all!).

The mattress is great because:
• it’s made of natural latex, which doesn’t off gas
• it’s glue- and adhesive-free
• it’s entirely biodegradable
• dust mites can’t live in it, so it’s great for anyone with allergies or who suffers from asthma
• if you’re allergic to latex, the processing of the latex destroys the proteins you’re allergic to, so no worries!
• the unbleached organic cotton cover is made with organic dyes and is removable for cleaning
• it’s green – and how happy that makes me!!

How much greener could this all-Canadian company be?
• each mattress is hand made, with the liquid latex poured into a mould and cured, so minimal waste is produced
• Essentia’s website is stored on a windpowered server
• Essentia is a member of 1% for the Planet, an organization that funds green initiatives worldwide
• until Mar. 5, 2010, owners of hybrid and electric vehicles get a 20% discount on all Essentia sleep products. Woohoo!

The mattresses are available online, but if you live near the factory/showroom, which is just outside Montreal, you can try them out in person there, and now there’s also a brand-new store in Toronto, so if you live there, check it out!

Available at: www.myessentia.com; West Laval, Que,
888-764-4116; Toronto, 647-348-0321; Costco (Pure and Classic 8 models)

Price: from $1,299

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