Archive for September, 2008
A Bewitchin’ Kitchen
Date: September 26, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, Kitchen, The Home
Recent headlines suggesting some granite countertops may emit hazardous levels of radiation are disturbing and have led many people to wonder what a safer alternative to their old standby might be. Enter EcoTop, a line of environmentally responsible countertops that are not only healthy but elegant.
EcoTop is composed of a Forest Stewardship Council-certified 50/50 blend of bamboo fiber - a rapidly renewable resource - and recycled wood fiber salvaged from demolition sites. These materials are bound together by a water-based resin formula that is both petroleum-free and VOC-free. Because of this, EcoTop products can earn you up to six points on your next LEED project.
So let’s review the choices: granite with potentially hazardous levels of radiation, or EcoTop’s chic, durable and environmentally-friendly alternative? Don’t you wish all of your decisions were this easy to made?
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Elsewhere on the Ecosphere
Date: September 26, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
Here are today’s picks for what’s wow in green. Enjoy!
The Reclaimer diverts lumber from landfills in LA.
Wal-Mart zeroes in on plastic bags.
Why one man refuses to take out the trash.
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Need a Green Guide?
Date: September 26, 2008 | Category: Featured, Garden, Green Building, Home Furnishings, The Home
Like everything we do, our Harbinger show house project at West Coast Green was big, and one that we could not have completed without the help of our trusted advisors at Green Fusion Design Center.
Green Fusion Design Center, located here in San Francisco, is the most unique green retail showroom in the Bay Area, and an invaluable resource for both the homeowner and the professional green builder. Green Fusion offers products and services of all types to create healthier environments, both commercial and residential.
Their philosophy is that too often the only thing standing in the way of the average person attempting an eco-design project is a lack of available green resources, information and products. The company is working to change that by bridging the gap between supply and demand, by providing education to its customers and only selling products that promote healthier lifestyles.
On our project, not only was Green Fusion an important one-stop-shop for many of the building materials, fixtures and paint that we used, its team of experts on green design helped advise on which components would work together most efficiently.
Don’t believe us? Come check out what the ecofabulous/ Green Fusion Design Center team accomplished at West Coast Green, at the San Jose Convention Center through Sept. 27, or take an interactive tour of Green Fusion’s showroom.
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Elsewhere on the Ecosphere
Date: September 25, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
Here are today’s picks for what’s wow in green. Enjoy!
The debut of the SC Blocks Harbinger prefab.
A boon in the solar power industry.
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Reuse, Reclaim, Repeat
Date: September 25, 2008 | Category: Home Furnishings, The Home
The team here at ecofabulous has a penchant for the past, and we are firmly of the belief that a rich history can add unique beauty to even an ordinary item.
Take flooring, for instance. Restoration Timber creates stunning floors out of reclaimed woods that have aged for a century or more. And, since they come from sources like old barns, abandoned schools and mills, warehouses and factories that have fallen into disrepair, the flooring comes with a built-in story.
Naturally weathered by use, the woods are first or second growth timber - now unavailable for environmental reasons - which provides a strength, stability, integrity and beauty not found in fast-grown new wood.
In addition to the beauty of reclaimed wood, Restoration Timber reminds us that unsustainable forest management causes massive soil erosion and a loss of biodiversity, which in turn hurts the economic future of communities around the world. Markets for new timber strain our forests, but using reclaimed wood offers compelling social and economic benefits.
As responsible citizens, we need to do what we can to protect our environment and our forests. Lucky for us, Restoration Timber proves that having a colorful past can be a very beautiful thing.
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Those Jeans Look Great in your Walls
Date: September 25, 2008 | Category: Events, Green Building, The Home
Reusing items we already own is a big theme here at ecofabulous, so it was with great excitement that the fashion junkies in our office discovered a new use for their old blue jeans: turn them into green insulation.
This fall Fair Indigo, in conjunction with Cotton Incorporated and Bonded Logic, is continuing its annual denim drive to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Here is how it works: You just send in your discarded denim and Cotton Incorporated shreds them down into fibers. Bonded Logic then steps in to turn your ratty old pants into natural new insulation for a Habitat for Humanity home.
Besides being a excellent insulator, for those of us who suffer from asthma, UltraTouch is a breath of fresh air; it recently passed the extremely stringent Environmental Specification 1350 Indoor Air Pollutant testing used for California Public Schools.
UltraTouch requires a minimal amount of energy to manufacture, which conserves energy and reduces pollution, especially in comparison to the methods used to manufacture traditional insulation. And you can lose the Haz-Mat suit: the fibers in UltraTouch insulation are so natural that there is no need for the protective clothing recommended for the installation of conventional insulators.
To find out where to send your old jeans, click here. This is one insulation that will give you a warm feeling inside knowing that you’ve contributed to a cool cause.
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Good for the Sole
Date: September 25, 2008 | Category: Featured, Green Building, Home Furnishings, The Home
The offices of ecofabulous are constantly inundated by companies trying to bamboozle us into recommending their green products, but we needed no convincing to feature Teragren, whose stunning bamboo flooring we want to shout about from the rooftops.
Beautiful, sustainable and durable, bamboo is the perfect choice in even the highest-traffic areas of your home. The flooring is made from moso bamboo, which is known for its density and remarkable tensile strength. In fact, the material is so strong that it has been used in the construction of buildings, bridges and scaffolds for centuries. (more…)
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A Very Green Scene
Date: September 24, 2008 | Category: Events, Featured, Lifestyle
Ecofabulous is thrilled to announce our participation in West Coast Green, the nation’s largest green building, business and design conference.
Our fearless leader Zem Joaquin, along with a bevy of amazing green companies, has undertaken one of ecofabulous’ most unique projects: designing and decorating the interior of the “Harbinger,” a two-story, 1,700 square foot show house which will be displayed on the tradeshow floor at the San Jose Convention Center, Sept. 25-27.
Zem personally created the design of Harbinger’s interior using products made by some of her favorite green companies, including beautiful sustainable flooring by Teragren and Wicanders; paint - mixed using C2 Lovo’s eco-friendly line – by Philip’s Perfect Colors; fixtures and faucets for the kitchen and bathrooms by Rohl, reclaimed hichory wood by Restoration Timber and stunning tile by Modwalls.
The showhouse also features organic fabric, furniture and accessories by companies like Pottery Barn, Jonathan Adler, Coup d’Etat, Eboniste and Coyuchi, natural window treatments from Oecotextile and Smith + Noble, and to keep it all clean ecofabulous has partnered with Clorox Green Works, which uses plant-based materials in its new line of products, to keep this high-traffic area sparkling green.
We invite you to stop by the showhouse to check out what we and our partners have accomplished or to stop by the ecofabulous booth or the Harbinger House booth to meet some of our distinguished partners, including Philip Reno, of Philip’s Perfect Colors, Ann Knight of Teragren and some of the scientists who created Clorox Green.
We will be writing in more detail about some of these amazing companies over the next couple of days but to really appreciate the design aesthetic you have to attend the event. We hope to see ya there!
View our press release here
View our ecofabulous sponsors here
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Elsewhere on the Ecosphere
Date: September 24, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
Here are today’s picks for what’s wow in green. Enjoy!
Fix our energy addiction and win $10,000!
A cathedral filled with light.
Dell announces mercury-free computing.
Interesting stats on your morning java.
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Orange You Glad We Found This Website?
Date: September 24, 2008 | Category: Care, Clothing, Food, Furniture, Kids, Toys
Why is it that tiny newborns raise such big questions in the minds of new moms? Instinctively, mothers want the best for their babies and often even the most thoughtless person will veer towards eco-friendly baby products when they become a parent.
When Generation Orange founder Shital Mehta gave birth to her son Krishna, now 20 months, she was intent on using only the most natural products on the market. So when she couldn’t find baby bottles made using BPA-free plastic in stores, she contacted a distributor of the bottles and ordered a case to share with friends who had also been trying to track the bottles down. As she researched other clean infant items, she realized that bottles weren’t the only hard-to-find sustainable products.
Founded by Mehta with her husband Prashanth Mysoor, Generation Orange is built on the principles of health, sustainability and community. The site provides one-stop-shopping for stylish baby and child products, including toys, clothing and foods, all made with the most natural materials available.
Generation Orange also puts a premium on giving back and works hard to partner with companies who take that principle seriously too; about 90 percent of the companies whose products are sold on the site give a portion of the proceeds to charity.
It seems that when you mix green with giving you make orange.
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