Dreaming Green
Date: January 9, 2009 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, Lifestyle, Stores & Resources, The Home
Losing sleep over your latest decorating dilemma? Stop counting sheep and start Dreaming Green.
Showcasing seventeen homes of varying sizes and styles, Dreaming Green is an inspiring book for anyone considering an eco-remodel. The first home featured in the book is a renovated Manhattan brownstone that belongs to co-authors Lisa Sharkey and LEED-accredited architect Paul Gleicher. With responsibility and without sacrificing beauty or elegance, the couples’ home sets the stage for the pages of incredible homes that follow. At $50, Dreaming Green makes for an excellent coffee table addition that will inspire guests and encourage eco-centric dinner conversation.
We Dig Organic Farming
Date: October 24, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Food, Food & Drink, Green Building, Lifestyle
While dirty fingernails may not be the hallmark of the ecofab lady at a cocktail fundraiser, there’s nothing like harvesting your own fruit and vegetables for a delicious home-cooked feast.
Our own Heather has been a member of Eatwell Farm since June, which delivers seasonal local produce right to her neighborhood. As a member of this Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, she also has the opportunity to indulge her inner earth child and participate in events like the Annual Tomato Party, where she can work in the fields alongside other members and farmers to turn sultry vine-ripened tomatoes into robust sauce and Bloody Marys!
With thousands of CSA’s sprouting up all over the country, members pledge to support their local operation, sharing the risks and benefits of production. It also provides a unique hands-on chance to learn about organic farming. For those who prefer to sponsor organic agriculture through consumption alone, Eatwell Farm charges around $125 per month for a weekly delivery of produce and a dozen eggs. To find a CSA in your area, check out Local Harvest or The Farm Locator. And, pssst, remember to clean your fingernails before your dinner guests arrive!
Happy Paint Comes from California
Date: October 9, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, The Home
By now you have probably figured out that it is far easier to do the right thing from the beginning than it is to undo the wrong thing.
Take paint for example: Did you know the EPA estimates that 64 million gallons of paint are diverted away from landfills and incinerators thanks to responsible disposal and recycling? The only problem is that the EPA also estimates it could cost close to $500 million to keep a handle on all that incoming paint.
Yikes!
A better alternative for safeguarding Mother Earth from toxic oil-based paints is to start out on the right foot from stroke one.
California Paints has recently unveiled its new Elements Zero VOC interior paint line and its Envirotech Zero VOC commercial-grade paint line. Both product lines are GreenWise certified and LEED Compliant, and - as the name suggests - are free of nasty VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which have long been used in paints to help ward off pesky microbes, like mold and mildew, but which play a significant role in contributing to the planet’s greenhouse gases. These two eco-friendly paint lines, boast Microban technology, also known for keeping paint (even in the bathroom) free of mold and other stains.
That’s the kind of news that can brighten your day, not to mention your walls.
Top Green Design
Date: October 9, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Lifestyle, Media, Office
As a self-trained designer, I get a special thrill out of indulging in an hour of Top Design, even last season when it was painfully bad. This season is actually well produced and addictive enough to thoroughly entertain me whilst I peck away at my keyboard round midnight.
It is tremendously enjoyable to see rooms come together, especially with time constraints, but I am always amazed at how the contestants are oblivious to what is happening in the ecosphere. Tonight was a refreshing exception. Danny Seo was the guest judge for an eco-challenge.
I thought that Danny did an excellent job delineating the eco-R’s “reduce, reuse, recycle, refinish, repair, reupholster, just be resourceful”. I was biting my lip when the very naive Natalie used MDF (medium density fiberboard) to make recycling bins - it is a material that can offgas for 14 years! I wanted to give Danny a big tree hug when he called her on it, though she still looked like a deer caught in headlights. Also I found it disturbing that they commented on how they were cleaning everything up with Windex, couldn’t they have used Method or Green Works?!
They should have given the contestants more furniture and accessory choices to show viewers what is possible, even judge Jonathan Adler has a bunch of eco-accessories to choose from at his store (we recently sprinkled them throughout the West Coast Green showhouse).
All in all, it was great to see mainstream media experiment with sustainable ideas. I hope next season that those ideas (and ideally many more) are incorporated into every challenge!
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.
Hear Zem On KFOG 104.5 on Tuesday
Date: September 22, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Lifestyle, Media
This Tuesday, September 23, around 8:00AM (PST), Zem will be revealing details about her upcoming project at West Coast Green in Silicon Valley and some of her favorite ‘green’ design resources and products. Feel free to email us questions or, better yet, call in and chat live with Zem. Join us at KFOG 104.5 FM or listen online! You can even TIVO it.
Slice of Life
Date: September 11, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, Kitchen
We found a beautiful way to add a slice of intrigue to any style of abode. At $78 and $148 these gorgeous Cheese Trays are a lovely way to display muchies from vegan dips to free-range kabobs. The trays are fashioned from petrified wood (fossilized oak tree to be exact) that was found in the volcanic areas of several Asian islands (dating back to the Jurassic era), then simply cut and naturally polished. Keeping a few on hand could be an easy way to add a little panache to a party.
Join the Club Chair
Date: August 15, 2008 | Category: Green Building, Home Furnishings, Office, The Home
Marrying a love of sleek contemporary design with a reverence for the earth, Animavi has created a line of iconic chairs and ottomans that celebrate the timeless appeal of the curve. Fit for a museum (with a price-tag to match), the sinewy set is apt to run more than $6,000. But if your castle is in need of a new throne, the Animavi is the kind of heirloom you are unlikely to outgrow.
Available in a broad palette of elegant colors and three textiles-organic felt, vegetable-dyed leather and cow-hair- Animavi uses soy-based foam and wool liners. The cushions are fully biodegradable, which means they require less time to decompose in landfills and significantly cut carbon emissions. The metal frame and other stainless steel parts can be recycled. Animavi prides itself on supporting a triple bottom line (modeling their business on economics, sustainability and social responsibility). If you’re looking for a reason to rationalize this exquisite indulgence, keep in mind that a purchase could earn you points toward LEED certification!
Shower Power
Date: August 12, 2008 | Category: Beauty, Green Building, The Home
Ecofabulous is all about loving the environment. But secretly we also all love an invigorating shower. Thankfully the two need not be mutually exclusive. The new Mira Eco showerhead allows us to stay clean without wasting precious energy. (more…)
All Decked Out
Date: August 7, 2008 | Category: Green Building
Throwing an elegant, al fresco soirée just got a little greener thanks to alternative decking company, Trex. Transforming millions of pounds of recycled and reclaimed plastic into beautiful outdoor flooring and fencing, Trex salvages 1.3 billion plastic grocery bags each year from landfills. Not only do we appreciate their quality products, but we applaud their environmental efforts. (more…)
