Natural Home Products

In our fast paced world, getting a good night of sleep is not always easy.  Having comfortable bedding can help us sleep well and to wake up feeling revitalized and refreshed each morning. Organic bedding provides a healthy sleeping environment while providing the comfort needed for a good night’s rest.  Natural wool bedding, including wool duvets and wool pillows are becoming an increasingly popular choice of organic bedding, favoured for their natural comfort and for the health benefits associated with wool products.

Organic wool duvets and wool pillows are a healthy and friendly alternative to synthetics or down.  Wool bedding is naturally resistant to dust mites, mould and mildew, making this organic bedding an excellent choice for those who suffer from allergies.  Wool is a highly breathable product and both wool duvets and wool pillows help to naturally regulate body temperature.  Rather than trapping heat and moisture like synthetic or down products, natural wool bedding breathes, adapting to your body temperature.  Acting as a natural thermal regulator, wool bedding keeps you warm but not hot, cool but not cold. Natural wool is supportive and comfortable, making it a natural choice for pillows.  Also, wool duvets are not heavy and do not bunch up, so they remain light and allow us to move freely while we sleep. Wool is natural, renewable and bio-degradable, so we can sleep well in this comfortable organic bedding knowing that it is good for us and good for the environment.

While cotton remains one of the most popular textiles for clothing and bedding, the unsustainable farming practises used for growing cotton are damaging cotton’s once pure reputation.  The National Geographic’s Green Guide outlines the heavy use of chemicals used to grow cotton:  the use of insecticides, herbicides, and defoliants used in conventional cotton farming practices account for approximately 25% of all global insecticide use and more than 10% of global pesticide use.  In the USA alone, the 10.5 million acres of convention cotton grown in 2007 were sprayed with a staggering 55 million pounds of pesticides.  And while the use of pesticides is common, they are hardly safe.  The toxic accumulations in the cotton, in the soil, and in the groundwater are having disturbing consequences for both the environment and the people and animals that share the earth’s resources.  And the bad news about conventional cotton does not end there.   After the cotton is harvested, it typically undergoes a number of processes including regular bleaching and dying processes that will add another whole host of chemicals and dioxins into the cotton product and into environment.

So with all the chemicals involved in growing and processing cotton it begs the question, what are you sleeping on?   When you stop to consider that approximately one third of our lives are spent sleeping, it is easy to realize just how important healthy bedding products are to our general health and well being.     There is no need to snuggle up to synthetic fabrics or insecticide-laden cotton when there are healthier options available.   Organic sheets are now easier to find than ever, with options available in every price range.  Organic cotton sheets can reduce our daily exposure to pesticide residues.  Buying organic also helps to support more sustainable farming methods.  Make sure to look for an all-organic product when buying any bedding.  Look for organic sheets that have not undergone chlorine bleaching and have not been treated with any potentially toxic dyes or other fabric treatments.  While these organic bed sheets come in fewer style and pattern options, you can rest easy knowing your chemical free sheets are not only cozy and comfy, they are contributing to your health and well being.

As shops across North America gear up for Christmas, consumers will find a greater variety of green and eco-friendly gifts this holiday season.   Fuelled by the public’s concern for the environment, the number of organic and eco-friendly toys and gifts available in North American shops has grown dramatically in the last few years.  And, eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean “expensive” this holiday season! While consumers recognize that “green” gifts are great for the environment and parents recognize that “green” toys can provide a positive experience for children, cost has sometimes been an issue. But with greater choice available, living green and being eco-friendly won’t mean that you have to compromise on the gifts you choose to give this holiday season.

Green toys make wonderful Christmas gifts for the kids in your life. Many toys made from renewable, regenerative, and recycled resources, are showing up in local toy stores.  These green toys consider the earth while also considering the safety and enjoyment of your children.  Recycled plastic is showing up in a variety of toys so look for the recycled label when choosing toys like buckets and shovels and other plastic toys.  Handcrafted wooden toys still remain popular and chances are your child will be able to pass their wooden toys on to their own children some day, making these toys a great investment.   Green themed toys such as the recycling truck are also proving popular.  There are so many eco friendly toys this Christmas that are fun, creative, and environmentally friendly.

Many traditional gifts are also finding an eco-friendly twist this year, making eco-friendly gifts for all ages easier to find. There are so many eco-friendly home products that make great gifts and can range anywhere from solar lighting to new LED Christmas lights or outdoor LED Christmas decorations.  Luxurious bathrobes, towels and linens can be found in a variety of eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, hemp, or 100% organic cotton.  Giving bamboo bath towels, hemp table linens, or 100% organic cotton bedding will add a luxuriously “green” touch to your gift giving.  For a more personal touch, try some of the new organic bath and body products.  There is a great variety of organic hand lotions and handmade soaps that make a perfect eco-friendly gift.  Whatever your choice this Christmas, you will find that living green and being eco-friendly will add a special touch to your gifts this holiday season.

It seems that as soon as Halloween passes, Christmas shows up in the stores across North America.  Decorations, presents and all that pretty Christmas gift wrapping.   No doubt that Christmas is a joyful time of celebration, but with the increased consumption, Christmas can also be one of the least environmentally friendly times of year.  Just think of the tons of Christmas gift wrap, cards, and decorations that end up in our landfills.  Practicing a little eco-friendly thrift around the holidays is a gesture that everyone, including mother earth, can appreciate.

With a little planning, it isn’t difficult to make your holiday celebrations a little greener!  When I tuck away the Halloween decorations, I like to pull out the Christmas wrapping, gift bags and cards left over from the year before.  After taking inventory of what I have to re-use, I then like to start my holiday shopping by looking for innovative, eco-friendly gift wrapping that will match the great gifts of the season.   As the movement to eco-chic gift wrapping increases, it is becoming easier to find re-usable gift bags, many crafted from natural fibres and ecologically friendly dyes.  A natural fibre gift bag, like a vibrant red burlap gift bag, can make a great “Santa sack” for your gifts this Christmas.  Eco-friendly gift wrapping that is fun to give and a pleasure to re-use.   A little eco-friendly thrift for the holidays is a gesture that can be appreciated!

Our bedrooms should be a pleasant and peaceful retreat, but can often smell a little less than “fresh”.  As winter approaches and we tend to keep our windows closed more often, there are some tips we can follow to keep our bedrooms smelling pleasant, naturally.  Of course a fresh smelling room always begins with a clean room.  Keeping all dirt and dust out of the bedroom is not only healthy, it enhances better indoor air quality. 

A thorough cleaning of the bedroom to remove all dirt and dust will not only eliminate a host of allergens and irritants from the air, it will help to keep your bedroom smelling fresh.  Vacuuming all carpet surfaces with a vacuum equipped with strong suction, rotating brushes and a HEPA filter ensures that dust and dirt won’t get blown back out in the exhaust. Mopping non-carpeted floors will pick up the dust that vacuuming left behind. You can skip the soaps and cleaners and just use plain water to capture any lingering dust or allergens or add a little white vinegar to the water for extra cleaning power.  You may want to try the new microfiber mops (and dust cloths), they reportedly capture more dust and dirt than traditional fibres and don’t require any cleaning solutions.

The vacuum is also a good piece of equipment to freshen up your box spring and bed mattress.  A regular vacuuming of your box spring and your bed mattress will help to keep dust mites under control.  To help draw any scent out of the mattress, you can sprinkle a light dusting of baking soda on the mattress, leave for half an hour and then vacuum thoroughly.  Making your bed with fresh sheets will add a nice scent.  Using bamboo bed sheets will help to keep the bed smelling fresh; bamboo sheets are naturally bacteria and odour resistant.

Having a clean, fresh room will help to keep your bedroom smelling fresh.  If you want to add a light scent to the bedroom, avoid using synthetic “air fresheners” and opt instead for naturally scented products.  A little potpourri or naturally scented room crystals or even a dab of aromatherapy essential oil to scent a few hankies will leave a fresh light scent in the room.  If it is not too cold outside, consider opening a window and letting in some fresh air. With a quick cleaning and some natural home products, you can enjoy a fresh smelling bedroom any time of the year!

With the eco-friendly stamp of approval, bamboo towels are becoming an increasingly popular eco-chic home product.  No wonder bamboo bath towels have become so popular with eco-minded consumers; bamboo is an eco-friendly and highly renewable resource.  The towels made from the bamboo fibres are naturally absorbent and extremely soft.  Towels crafted from 100% bamboo yarn boast the softness and silkiness of cashmere, with an absorbency that surpasses cotton.  Bamboo towels claim natural hypo-allergenic properties along with anti-microbial and odour resistant properties.  A high quality bamboo bath towel is a sumptuously plush and durable towel.

Given the popularity of bamboo bath towels and the inherent qualities of the bamboo fibre, it is no surprise these towels are becoming an increasingly popular item in the kitchen.  Woven bamboo kitchen towels are a wonderful match to your daily kitchen chores and dining experience.  Bamboo kitchen towels are highly absorbent and naturally antibacterial.  These eco-friendly kitchen towels dry quickly and repel bacteria and odour.  Bamboo towels are practical kitchen products that will with-stand the wear of a busy kitchen.