Eco-Friendly & Green Living Blog

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.

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I’m not generally into room sprays, preferring to just keep things clean and fresh smelling that way, but we work right next door to the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, and sometimes when they’re cooking something fishy, garlicky or overwhelmingly greasy first thing in the morning, it’s all we can do to not flee from our offices.

Smells Life a Flower Shop Body & Room Spray has been a saviour on those occasions.

Made by Canadian company Mythical Matters, this spray is so natural you can use it as a perfume, and it really does smell just like a flower shop – truly evocative, but in a really subtle way, of fresh-cut greenery and beautiful blooms.

It’s made of water, alcohol, witch hazel distillate, aloe vera extract, glycerin and perfume and comes in a recyclable amber glass bottle; a percentage of every sale will be donated to the Toronto Wildlife Centre.

Available at: www.mythicalmatters.com

Price: $24.99 (8 oz.)

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With the warm weather coming, it’s time to whip your skin into shape and that means some serious exfoliation!

Tackle the task with Naturally Upper Canada Body Polish with Buriti Seeds Warm Honey Nectar. It’s paraben- and SLS-free and filled with goodies like honey and shea butter and ground-up buriti and apricot seeds to get rid of dead cells and moisturize your skin beautifully. It smells yummy, too, in a lovely, subtle way that doesn’t overwhelm.

Available at: the Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears.

Price: $15

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If I didn’t live in an apartment, I’d be gettin’ me one of these babies!

American Standard’s H2Option dual-flush toilet is not only high-efficiency when it comes to water usage, it also has the benefit of high-tech action. Graeme Lennox, marketing manager for American Standard in Canada, explains the magic: The toilet “meets the 6-litre full flush, 3.4-litre partial flush standard for high-efficiency toilets, while at the same time boosts day-to-day performance by adding superior siphon jetted technology…When the user flushes the H2Option, some of the water is instantly diverted to the rim of the toilet where there are a series of chambers. The air in these chambers pushes the ongoing incoming water forcefully out into the bowl. Combined with the force of the rest of the water entering the bowl, the siphon pull action is strong.” Plus, it comes with a slow-close seat cover – a total bonus!

Coming in June 2009 to Canada!

Price: from $425

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Tried out a product I’ve been meaning to for ages and was so happy with it I wished I’d tried it sooner!

It’s the Eco-Me Scrub Cleanser and it’s part of the whole Eco-Me line, which is built around the idea that you mix essential oils with simple ingredients and, voilà, you have effective cleaning products for your home and yourself. For the Cleanser, Eco-Me provides the reusable jar,  single use essential oil blend (tea tree, lavender, rosemary and lemongrass  – an antibacterial and antifungal combo), and microfibre cloth; you provide the baking soda, vinegar and water.

Mixing everything together is hugely fun. If you have kids, this is something you definitely want to do with them – it’s like a magic show/science experiment all rolled into one. Add water, vinegar and oil to the jar, then slowly, I repeat s-l-o-w-l-y, add some baking soda, and watch in amazement as the mixture foams up to the top of the jar in a spectacular fashion. The kids will be amazed and so will you! When everything has simmered down and you’ve stirred up the whole concoction, you’re left with a cleanser that’s ideal for your kitchen and bath.

I used it on my sink, counters and stovetop and it cleaned them all brilliantly and left my sink sparkling. I just had to be sure to rinse everything thoroughly.

Eco-Me sells a whole home kit that includes the scrub cleanser, all-purpose spray cleaner and wood polish spray cleaner. They also offer body- and baby-care products and items for your four-legged family friends, too.

Available at: www.eco-me.com

Price: $8 US; oil refill, $10 US (good for 6 refills)

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Worried about all the paper you’re using up every time you have a cold and there are tissues littered all over the house?

With Scotties’ new EnviroCare tissues, you’ll still be using paper products, but at least these are 100% recycled ones, Canada’s first!

The tissues come in four box designs, two of which are shown here. There are 152 sheets per box, and the box itself is, of course, recyclable.

Available at: stores across Canada

Price: from $1.25

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Canadian eco hair-care brand Live Clean expands its line with a batch of new products, including two hand soaps and two body washes, but also some styling products that I think are really exciting, simply because it’s not that easy to find widely available eco-friendly styling products out there.

The Strong Hold Styling Gel and Firm Hold Styling Spray and Firm Hold Styling Mousse are all paraben- and silicone-free and completely vegan with no animal or animal by-products and the packaging, even the gel tube, is recyclable.

I don’t normally use products like this on my hair, since it has plenty of body on its own, but I did try out the mousse for the fun of it, and was impressed with the added volume and texture it did provide. My sister, Jamie, who has dead straight hair, will be thrilled I’m passing it on to her!

Styling products available at: Shoppers Drug Mart

Price: approx. $6.99 each

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I am in love! It happened this morning in the shower, when I tried a sample of John Masters Blood Orange & Vanilla Body Wash that I’d recently received.

What a way to start a Monday morning in February! The delicious scent transported me to a tropical land, far far away from frigid Toronto!

Plus, the body wash, like all John Masters products, is certified organic, and is also paraben- petroleum- and sulfate-free, has no artificial colours or frgrances, and isn’t tested on animals.

Sheer heaven!

Available at: www.johnmasters.ca

Price: $25.40

This is your chance to win a great prize! I’m giving away four Go Green Works Starter Kits, including the following products made from plant-based, biodegradable ingredients, all in a handy big metal bucket (retail value $50).

• Green Works Dishwashing Liquid
• Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
• Green Works Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
• Green Works Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Green Works Natural Dilutable Cleaner
• Green Works Natural Bathroom Cleaner

This is a super-easy contest. I’m giving away four kits over the next four weeks. All you have to do is be a subscriber to my blog.

If you’re not a subscriber already, sign up to have the Natural Chic blog delivered directly to your e-mail inbox for a chance to win. To do so, just click this icon:

I’ll pick one winner a week for the next four weeks. Best of luck!

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.

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

In these cold winter months, my hands really take a beating, and I’ve been using Lovefresh’s fragrant concoctions to rectify the sad situation. The Toronto company was started just over 18 months ago by aromatherapist Stacey Davis, who originally sold the stylishly packaged, plant-based products at the city’s St. Lawrence Market.

My go-to goodies have been the yummy scented Lemon Verbena Scrub followed up by the Pear Body Butter (both paraben and petroleum free), and my hands now look and smell beautiful. I also had friends who were over on the weekend test out the Body Butter to get their thoughts and they loved it, too!

Price: $22 (Body Butter), $24 (Scrub)

Available at: www.lovefresh.com

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