Eco-Friendly & Green Living Blog

Green & Black’s organic chocolate goes Fair Trade and I, for one (crazy chocolate lover that I am), couldn’t be happier! The line will be converted starting this year, and Fair Trade labels will begin popping up early in 2011, with full conversion expected by the end of 2011.

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I have a thing for crisp, clean white bed linens and Restoration Hardware’s high-quality bedding is among my favourites.

This organic Italian 200-thread-count percale linen has a lovely added touch – it’s embellished with satin stitching in Chocolate, Flax, White, Celery, Sky or Silver Sage (clockwise from bottom left). Beautiful!

Available at: Restoration Hardware stores or online at www.restorationhardware.com

Price: from $89 for a standard sham, $269 for a full/queen duvet

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Just got back from London and am suffering serious jetlag, but wanted to let you know quickly about a fabulous organic shop/bakery/food shop I found while there.

Daylesford Organic not only has amazing food products, but also absolutely lovely home and beauty products. So if you’re heading to the U.K., it’s a must-see for organic fans. In the meantime, check out the website at www.daylesford.com. Cheers!

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One thing that’s sure to make a winter night feel cosy to me is lighting up a candle, and now all I use are soy or beeswax candles – they don’t have any nasty things like carcinogens.

Dirt Candles are my latest indulgence. Sure, at first glance the name sounds strange, but dirt is, as the website says, “where nature begins and ends,” and Dirt Candles are “formulated from beginning to end with natural things.”

The 10-oz candles made of GMO-free organic soy wax and natural essential oils, are lead- and soot-free and have a natural cotton wick. They come in 25 fun scents like Take It Easy (Bulgarian & English lavenders, Mexican and Madagascar vanillas) and Beach Bum (seawater, kelp, fresh rain, white sand), and the metal lids ensure those scents remain fresh.

I like them because the ones I tried out (including Fountain of Youth, After Hours and Open Arms) are subtle and not overpowering, a big plus in my books. I like some scent, but being knocked over by any too-powerful perfume is not only irritating to me, it’s also potentially harmful since it can trigger a painful migraine. There’s also an unscented version, cheekily called Skinny Dip.

The paper packaging is 100% post-consumer recycled (and recyclable) and printed with soy inks and the labels are made from corn. The recycled-metal lids and glass are all recyclable, but hold onto the glass containers – after you finish burning the candle and wash them out, they make nice tumblers for drinking!

An added bonus: a portion of the money made from each candle sold goes to charity; for a list of the charities funded click here.

Available at: www.dirtcandles.com, as well as Pistachio stores in Toronto (check out www.epistachio.com)

Price: approx. $31.50

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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

A couple of posts back, I mentioned Green & Black’s Ginger bar, which I first encountered a few years ago on a trip to Ireland. I’ve been in love with the company’s organic chocolate since then. It’s the perfect blend of flavour and values – what’s not to like??

Whether or not you’re going to be celebrating Valentine’s Day this year, this fondue recipe is sheer comfort in a bowl on a cold day, so enjoy!

Green & Black’s Amaretto-Almond Fondue

1 100 gr (3.5 oz) Green & Black’s Milk Chocolate and Almond bar
1/8 cup plus 1 tbsp water
2 tbsp (1 oz) Amaretto

conventional method

Break up the chocolate and put in a saucepan with the water. Over low heat stir with a small wire whisk until ingredients are smooth and combined. Add the amaretto and stir. If the resulting sauce is too thick, add a few drops of water and whisk to blend. Serve with desired fruit and nuts. If fondue becomes cool and thick, microwave for 10 seconds and stir, repeat if necessary.

microwave

Break up the chocolate and put in a plastic bowl with the water. Give the mixture of ingredients 10-20 second bursts in the microwave, whisking in between. Do this until blended and warm.

Suggested dippables: Strawberries, peach slices, grapes and almonds.

Serves 2 to 3

Green & Black’s Chocolate Bars available at: Sobey’s, Metro, Loblaws, Shopper’s Drug Mart

Price: approx. $3.89

Recipe courtesy of Green & Black’s Organic Valentine’s Day 2009

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The last winner of a Go Green Works Starter Kit, including the following products, is Stacey Dempsey of Duncan, B.C.! (To see the original post announcing the contest, click here.)

• 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

If you’d still like to subscribe to my blog, just click this icon:

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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!

Style at Home’s design editor, Samantha Pynn, took to the small screen this fall with her very own TV show, Pure Design, and I’m loving it! (And I’m not just saying that because I work with Sam!)

She’s got great taste, is fun and friendly and tackles the show makeovers with an eye to keeping things environmentally friendly – who could ask for anything more?

In the bedroom pictured, which was made over for one of the episodes, the night tables are eco friendly, the headboard has a soy-based foam core to make it cushy, the lamps are old ones made over with recovered shades, the bedding is all organic, and the walls were painted with no-VOC paint.

Watch for episodes of Pure Design on HGTV Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET (10 p.m. PT); for more info, check out hgtv.ca.

Photo, HGTV, John Queenan.

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

This post premieres CHIC CHECK, in which I’ll test products on occasion and let you know what I think about them. I’ll also pick my fave from each batch, so if you’ve tried any out yourself, be sure to comment and let me know what you think!

1 ORGANIC KITCHEN LAVENDER BERGAMOT ANTIBACTERIAL HAND WASH
Green Cred No SLSs or parabens, synthetic fragrances, petroleum products, colourants and animal ingredients, biodegradable.
Scent Great lavender smell with a hint of bergamot (think Earl Grey tea) – pleasant, not overpowering.
Special Bonus Also available as a gift set with a matching lotion and a bamboo tray that’s perfect to use afterward as a key tray on a console table in your entryway or to hold jewelry or coins in your bedroom; $28.
Available at gift shops and department stores across Canada.
Price $12.

2 BURT’S BEES MILK & SHEA BUTTER HAND SOAP
Green Cred No SLSs or animal testing, paraben- and phthalate-free, bottle contains 80% post-consumer recycled material.
Something of a Surprise This soap doesn’t lather the way most do but feels more like a lotion. Not a problem for me, but some might find that off-putting.
Scent A subtle, sweet honey-like, beeswaxy scent, which I find intoxicating.
Available at stores across Canada.
Price $6.

3 ORGANIC SURGE LAVENDER & GERANIUM HAND WASH
Green Cred 99% naturally derived ingredients, no animal testing or animal-derived ingredients.
Scent Lavender, a known relaxant, perfect for those stressful days!
Charitable Work Part of the proceeds from the sales of Organic Surge products funds aid work in Africa.
Available at Shoppers Drug Mart/PharmaPrix across Canada.
Price $4.99.

4 METHOD WATER FLOW FOAMING HAND WASH
Green Cred Paraben-, EDTA- and triclosan-free, biodegradable, no animal testing
Scent Very light and subtle; I think my tween nieces will love it!
Fun Factor Wee ones will love the way the soap magically foams up when it comes out of the pump.
Available at stores across Canada.
Price $5.

♥ CHIC CHECK FAVE: BURT’S BEES!!
I absolutely love everything about this soap, from the way it smells to how it makes my hands feel to the fact that the bottle is made from recycled material. This will be the soap of choice in my apartment from now on!

Plover Organic has come out with their new fall line of bedding and the patterns are simply beautiful!

Made from organic cotton grown from non-genetically engineered seeds, bleached using non-chlorine bleach, coloured with low-impact dyes, and manufactured according to Fair Trade practices, the bedding will ensure you get a good night’s sleep in more ways than one!

Available at: www.ploverorganic.com

Price: from $33 US (standard pillowcase), $235 US (250-thread-count queen sheet set)

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