You know what it means to eat well—organic fruits and vegetables, cage-free eggs and grass-fed meats may be mainstays of your menu. But when you consider that the average woman applies more than 200 chemicals to her skin each day and sixty percent of these chemical are further absorbed into the bloodstream, it becomes clear that perhaps eating clean is not enough. Research shows that a good, green skincare routine is essential to not only looking but to feeling your best.

As a registered nurse, Catherine Chamberlain of Newtown understands the link between chemicals and disease. She explains that many chemicals commonly used in traditional skincare products have been discovered in biopsies of breast cancer tumors. “These ingredients are bio-cumulative,” explains Chamberlain. “They may not hurt you in small doses, but if you cleanse and moisturize your skin twice daily for decades—as most women do—who knows what could happen?”

A passion for all things healthy, coupled with a love of cosmetics products, prompted Chamberlain to open Eden Organics in Doylestown this fall. The store’s mix of natural- and organic-based products for home, skin, body, and hair for men, women, and children contain no gluten, no artificial colors or fragrances, no genetically modified organisms, and no artificial preservatives, and they are available at a range of price points. There is also a spa offering a full range of skin- and body-care treatments using only natural products.

All-Natural, Organic, Biodynamic…What Does It All Mean?
Natural products are not all created equally. “Consider this,” implores Chamberlain, “an apple is all natural, but if it is sprayed with pesticides, it is not organic. ‘All natural’ is the first level; it means nothing is added, everything is in its natural state.”

The next level is organic, which means that the ingredients are grown without pesticides, and no genetic modifications have been made. To be labeled organic, the product can contain only ingredients that are organically produced and must be paraben-, cruelty- and water-free. You read right: Water is not organic. If water appears in the ingredient list, the product is not truly 100-percent organic.

“Biodynamic is the ‘mother’ of all organics,” explains Chamberlain. “Biodynamic focuses on sustainability of soil. There are organic ingredients that are biodynamically grown, but an ingredient doesn’t have to be biodynamic to be organic.” Wild harvested is another buzz phrase. It means an ingredient is handcrafted from its wild state so it is even more pure.

Myth vs. Fact
It is a common misconception that if a product says “organic” it doesn’t contain chemicals, but the appearance of the word organic doesn’t mean it is free of them. The good news is that the FDA has begun to force manufacturers to ensure simple warning labels declaring dangerous chemical use, if there is any.

Alternatively, a product may not be 100-percent organic, but that doesn’t mean it is not safe, or that it is not a safer alternative; it just means that not every compound used in the product is organic. While the USDA seal that certifies a product as organic is a good indication of a safe product, it is not the only measure. The process to be certified is expensive and time consuming. Some manufacturers may opt not to pursue it in order to avoid passing that cost—or the long wait for an effective product—to consumers. Additionally, European brands do not boast the USDA seal, but, since the standards for organic declaration in Europe are more stringent and have been in force longer, they should not be ruled out.

Bottom line: Consumers should read the product’s packaging—some may not have the seal but will state that the ingredients meet the criteria of the USDA or other governing body. It’s also important to be ingredient savvy. Says Chamberlain, “If you don’t know what something listed as an ingredient is, or cannot pronounce it, think twice before you put it on your skin.”

The Benefits of Organic Beauty
The effects of products made with ingredients that are naturally in harmony with your body are more than skin deep. By reducing exposure to chemicals, you may slow the signs of aging and, literally, add years to your life.

Chemicals commonly used in traditional skincare products can cause more than skin reactions and inflammation—think redness, blotchiness, irritation, and other signs of aging, often the very things you are trying to avoid by using the product in the first place. The ugly truth is the ingredients causing the reactions may also be wreaking havoc on your hormones.

Here’s a rundown of the ingredients one should avoid … and why:

Phthalates—Used as a solvent in many cosmetic products, these are known as “endocrine disruptors” because they mimic the body’s hormones. Lab tests have shown a link to reproductive and neurological damage.

Parabens—A common preservative in many shampoos, moisturizers, shaving gels, etc., they imitate the hormone estrogen, which has been found to play a role in the development of breast cancers. Stay away from all of the “bens,” including butyl-, ethyl-, methyl- and propyl-parabens.

Nano-particles—These are small clumps or crystals of substances used in many cosmetic products. While the chemicals may not be harmful in their original forms, they often behave differently when packaged into nanoparticles.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)—The key ingredient in foaming facial washes, SLS is a detergent that started its career as an industrial degreaser and garage-floor cleaner. When applied to human skin, it can strip off the oil layer, causing erosion and irritation.

Artificial fragrances—Synthetic perfumes contain Benzene derivatives and air-polluting aldehydes and can cause allergic reactions, like redness and irritation, as well as toxic reactions like headaches and dizziness.

Petrochemicals—These chemical products are derived from petroleum; they include toluene, which can cause allergic reactions
and skin irritation.

The more aware people are of what to avoid, the more companies will be forced to change. Consumers can help by beginning to swap products containing harsh chemicals for natural products.

“It’s not necessary to change everything at once,” says Chamberlain. “And it often takes a bit of time to find the products you like the best and that fit your lifestyle. But, once you feel the difference and others see it on your face, the momentum will build.” And, you’ll be on the natural path to truly healthy beauty. 

Story by Vicki-Lynn Bilotta

Composting is becoming more and more popular. It is happening all over Bucks County, and fall is a great time for you to start. While you’re raking up those autumn leaves, think about how much they could help your spring vegetable garden. It takes more than just leaves to make good compost, though, so let’s dive right into the matter.

Composting helps everyone and is good for the environment, reducing waste in landfills and churning into a rich, dark soil that acts as a natural fertilizer. It’s also a great tool for educating children and adults about sustainable living and how their every day food scraps can help their gardens grow.

COMPOSTING IS LOCAL

Barbara Simmons of Solebury has been composting for almost twenty-five years, ever since starting her family garden at home. Simmons composts “to return things to the earth from whence they came, to complete the cycle, to reduce burdens on the earth, to be part of the solution, and [to] reduce a tiny fraction of the carbon footprint I have on the planet. It also makes good common sense! There is no reason to throw organic matter into a landfill and add to the mountains of space it takes up in our county.”

What Barbara says is true. The (literally) dirty little secret is plain as day in landfills across the country. Without composting, waste is increased, creating an unnecessary rise in methane gas and having an impact in groundwater as well as transportation and energy costs associated with landfills. These effects could be greatly reduced with regular composting practices. According to the EPA, it is estimated that around 25% of trash is made up of food matter and yard debris, causing the landfill environment to create greenhouse gasses that threaten our climate. Those same resources could be used to create richer soil and more robust vegetables. There is a movement afoot to capture the methane and use it to produce energy, but it is still widely believed that the benefit does not outweigh the cost—with composting, however, there are many benefits.

Composting is “nature’s recycling,” explains local resident John Vaughn, who resides in Solebury with his wife Cara and their two daughters. John has been composting for fourteen years and describes the results as “gold” for the garden. Vaughn says, “Good compost is a balance between brown and green material—as in dead leaves and grass—and wet and dry material layered throughout, with kitchen scraps added as they are collected. The best compost ‘cooks,’ so the balance is important. You don’t want too much or too little of each.”

According to Vaughn, the most important thing is to aerate your compost pile. Contrary to popular belief, it does not need to be completely turned. This task can be as simple as taking a metal rod and introducing air/oxygen where the heat is working its magic; this process helps to keep the matter decomposing properly, literally by poking holes in the pile. If the pile is not aerated, the compost will not break down evenly.

Most serious composters use bins to achieve their mountains of natural treasure; or, if you are creative, you can make your own. The website, www.compostmania.com has an abundance of choices for compost bins, as does your local garden store. Vaughn has three bins going at any given time. As one fills up, he turns it and starts a second and a third one.

For individuals interested in composting, below is some helpful information.

COMPOSTING 101 – Classes for Composting
Yet another area resident, Cathy Leiber from Riegelsville, has been a Master Gardener for five years through The Penn State Cooperative Extension all-volunteer program; she also teaches composting for Lehigh and Northampton Counties. In partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Penn State has developed a Backyard Composting Education Program and the college even provides free composting bins to participants who sign up for the class. Leiber has personally been composting for nineteen years, and she loves showing off her own compost pile when people come to visit her home.

A WORD ABOUT WORMS
Many people want to know about year-round composting and options for city and apartment dwellers. According to www.cityfarmer.org, “The great advantage of worm composting (vermicomposting) is that it can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year-round composting. Worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost.”

TIPS AND TRICKS

Barbara Simmons wants to remind people that it is important not to let your animals get into the compost pile, as they could get sick from eating things like half-rotten potatoes (a good reason for using a bin).

Another tip: John Vaughn recommends not putting seeds in the compost, because they will end up growing in places where they are not wanted. He uses mesh screen to put the compost through, and he only uses compost in the vegetable garden so it can do its best by nurturing the food that is put on the table. He also suggests using coffee grounds for moisture and notes that most coffee shops offer grounds for compost (and it is ok to use the coffee filters). Other items, like egg shells, should be rinsed. Do not use animal byproducts, cheese or dairy, and no fats should be used. While fish is considered acceptable to use for compost, Vaughn says the odor isn’t worth it!

So take a little trip down the composting trail, and try it yourself. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and so will your garden.

Story by LisaBeth Weber

“You’ve got to make hay while the sun shines” is not just an expression.  What it really means is that when you are blessed with sunny, dry conditions in June, you cut hay like there is no tomorrow. Actually, you cut hay either way, because it’s grown, and your animals will need to eat come winter.

This is all kind of new to me, the city girl. But as I set out to interview farmers who are raising grass-finished beef and meat in Bucks County, I learned the hard way. Everyone was knee-deep in the stuff and almost too busy to talk. So when a farmer says his animals are grass-fed, I now know it’s the truth.

But what does “grass-fed” mean? There is a lot of interest these days in eating healthier meat, and “grass-fed,” “grass-finished,” “pastured,” “antibiotic-free” and “hormone-free” are terms being freely thrown around.

Let’s start at the beginning. Most cattle in this country are grass-fed for the first months of their lives. Then it’s off to huge feedlots, where the cattle are crammed in, creating unsanitary and stressful conditions for the animals. Antibiotics are used prophylactically to discourage disease and to promote faster growth. Hormones are used to fatten the cattle faster. The animals are fed a diet of mostly grain, soy and other supplements (even animal by-products), which is difficult for them to digest. Faster, fatter cattle means faster to market and more profit for everyone in that industrial food chain. But is it good for us, the consumers?

Most say no. There is increasing concern that this widespread use of drugs (which farmers can buy over-the-counter, not approved by a veterinarian) is creating resistance to antibiotics in the overall population. On June 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a draft proposal for a guidance on the use of antibiotics in the industry (a “guidance” is not binding but represents the FDA’s “current thinking” on the topic and may indicate stronger, more binding regulations in the future). In this proposal, the FDA calls the widespread use of antibiotics in healthy animals to boost growth and production “injudicious” (Nature.com). Further, The European Union banned the use of antibiotics for these purposes in 2006.

And steroids. If it’s not good in our athletes, why are we feeding them to the animals we eat? “Cows are designed to eat grass,” says Nevada Mease, who raises grass-finished beef at his family’s Meadow Brook Farm in Springtown, Pa (Upper Bucks). “Growth promotents (steroids/added hormones) are designed to maximize weight gain and [to] put it on faster. Along with a grain-fed diet, this can create more marbling, or fat, but it’s not always the kind of fats we should be eating.”

According to a study earlier this year in the Nutrition Journal, grass-finished beef tends to be “lower in overall fat content” and has lower levels of dietary cholesterol. It’s also higher in Omega-3 fatty acids (which are better for cardiovascular health), and Vitamins A and E. The report also found that grass-fed beef had twice the levels of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, isomers, which may have cancer-fighting properties.

Fortunately, there are a number of farms raising “grass-finished” meat in Bucks County—meaning the animals are fed mostly, if not all, grass/hay (see sidebar). Beef, bison, and pork are all available at local markets, farmers’ markets, and direct from the farm. Poultry and lambs are, too, but we’ll save that for another day.

What about “organic?” That’s a bit trickier. It’s hard to raise good “grass” that is completely pesticide-free. Sometimes, economics get in the way (like a local rancher who depends on selling good quality hay – without other species mixed in – to local horse farms as his main source of income). Or sometimes, it’s just a matter of not having organic certification, an expensive and complicated process that many small family farms forego. “We call it ‘organic on a handshake’” says Marc Michini, who, with his wife, Joanna, raises pigs, lamb, chickens, turkeys, and rabbits at Purely Farm in Pipersville. “We try to stay within the Pennsylvania Certified Organic guidelines,” adds Marc, “in fact, we often go beyond.”

The real key, say many local farmers, is getting to know the producer of your food. “We encourage customers to ask questions, to even come visit the farm, to get to know us,” says Joanna, “then make your own decisions on what is most important to you.”

Grass-finished beef tends to be leaner, and often requires a slower cooking time. But it’s nothing that a marinade, or a meat tenderizer, can’t handle, as my husband and I learned when we cooked a Meadow Brook Farm sirloin one summer evening after we thawed the steak late in the day. We used our favorite meat rub, then grilled it. It was wonderful. In fact, my husband—who is a big-thick-steak kind of guy—was duly impressed, and I think I can now bring him along on my mission for healthier – and local – meat in our house.

Story by Lynne Goldman

So, you’re saying you’ve spent too many winters with ice on your bedroom windows—on the inside? That you just installed a room air-conditioner in that south-facing guest room for your parents’ week-long visit—even though you have central air? That some of your windows won’t open any more, and your doors rattle like percussion instruments when the wind blows?

These are some mighty sound reasons to investigate upgrades to your home’s windows and doors right now. You’ll save on heating and cooling costs for your home, increase your home’s value, become less reliant on fossil fuels and other energy sources, and make your home safer and more comfortable year round. And, if you improve your current home by installing new, energy-efficient replacement windows and doors before December 31, 2010, you may qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $1,500.

Here are some points to consider:

Aesthetics
How do you want your house to look—not just to you and your family when you pull in the driveway, but also to neighbors, friends, and maybe, down the road, to a potential buyer? New windows and doors can dramatically improve curb appeal. At the same time, new windows can enhance the look of the rooms in your home and change how you view the world through them.

Maintenance
Think about the work you put into your older windows. Are you planning to spend part or all of your vacation this summer scraping, painting, and caulking? Or, maybe you’d planned to borrow your brother-in-law’s forty-foot ladder so you can wash the third-floor windows? The new options for both windows and doors feature cladding, a protective exterior covering that requires little or no maintenance. And many windows offer easy-cleaning, tilt-in sashes so you can wash every pane with your feet firmly planted on the floor inside.

Performance
For many people, performance is the key reason to replace a door or window. It’s the solution that comes to mind when you can’t get that window open on the first warm spring day—or close it again when a rain storm passes through. That’s inconvenient. A leaky door or window, on the other hand, can be downright uncomfortable throughout the year. But most important are the doors or windows that don’t open easily or close securely, because these can be true safety hazards that put all the residents of your home at risk.

Energy savings
It’s difficult for anyone to separate saving energy from saving money—the two are so entwined. Perhaps that’s a good thing. When oil was cheap and plentiful, people didn’t talk so much about how tightly their windows fit. Often, comfort was the main reason to caulk or put in the storm windows and doors. As prices rose, however, we all began to pay more attention.

To check the efficiency of your windows and doors, close them and slowly move a lit candle around the edges, looking for a flickering flame—a sure sign of a draft. Skip the candle step if your curtains are rarely still in the winter, if you can fit your fingers in the space between the top and bottom sashes, or if you can see daylight between the edge of the entry door and its frame—you already know that dollars are blowing out those cracks in the form of higher heating and cooling bills.

“With an inefficient window, you’re wasting energy,” explains Joe Ryglicki of Window Depot in Springhouse, “and the cost of energy is going up every day.” An Upper Bucks resident, Joe’s power company has announced a thirty percent rate increase. “That’s the trend, and we’re all going to face it.”

Choices, choices
Quality is the first factor to look for in a replacement door or window. The materials and manner of construction will determine efficiency and appearance, as well as how long the replacement will last. Keep in mind that windows and entry doors are the most noticeable features of your home—you’ll want your upgrade to enhance its beauty, not detract from it.

“While base model windows might be a considerable improvement for some, they do not qualify for the tax credit,” cautions Ryglicki, a member of NARI—National Association of the Remodeling Industry, Bucks-Mont Chapter. “The cost of installation is relative to the complexity of the project, not the quality of the product, so you should choose the best window you can afford.” [See sidebar: Getting the Tax Credit]

If you own a home that has historic significance or architectural interest, you’ll probably want to match replacements to the home’s era and style. Check with your local historical and architectural review board when you investigate your options, since you may have to retain certain features or meet other requirements.

Today, we share in the responsibility to use our natural resources wisely and to conserve where we are able. When it comes to our homes—the single largest investment most of us make in a lifetime—that might mean small investments to be more energy efficient and to save substantially on our utility and home-maintenance costs. Vastly oversimplified, you can save the planet (and Bucks) while saving bucks.

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Story by Anne Biggs

Sidebar:
Getting the Tax Credit

• Upgrades must be to existing home and principal residence, not new construction.
• Must be installed by December 31, 2010, to be eligible.
• SHGC [Solar Heat-Gain Coefficient] no higher than 0.30.
• U-Factor [measures heat escape] no higher than 0.30.
• Credit covers thirty percent of cost of replacement window, door, or skylight.
• Save receipts and Manufacturer’s Certification Statement.
• For work completed this year, submit Form 5695 with your 2010 federal tax return.

The dream was three-fold: put the freshest, best-tasting and most nutritious food on the table, keep dollars in the community by supporting local producers, and make this bounty available to families from one central location.

It is a concept whose time has come. Or more accurately, whose time has come again. This is the way our agrarian society once functioned. The idea of an industrialized agriculture system that requires products be shipped thousands of miles to consumers is relatively new, and in recent years more and more people—scientists, ethicists, politicians, local businesses and consumers—have begun questioning its true cost to us and to the planet.

That was the environment in September 2009 when Steph Walker spearheaded a meeting of like-minded families to discuss forming a food club or cooperative. Although their reasons may have been slightly different, they found common ground as locavores: those who eat primarily from local sources.

The Doylestown Food Club is just a few months old. Made up of dues-paying member families who also volunteer to keep it running, DFC held its first distribution November 5. Ten families participated, meeting at The Goddard School at The Farm on Route 202 in Doylestown to pick up their orders of meats, eggs, fall vegetables and fruits, and other products. Earlier that day, volunteers collected fresh items from six local vendors and a regional wholesaler, ensuring that each item would be dispensed to buyers at the peak of freshness.

“Our primary goal was to support local producers and provide a vehicle to bring food from farm to plate,” says Shannon Albritton, a board member, club member, and spokesperson for the organization. “We’re also committed to the sustainability of our community food system.”

According to Albritton, DFC meets many of the same goals as shopping at farms or centralized farmers’ markets, but offers a single source for local foods that’s more acceptable to people who just don’t have time to get around to individual farms or markets. In addition, the distribution process is more efficient: one trip to the farm for multiple orders and a central location to pick-up orders.

“During our most recent ordering cycle,” she says, “twenty-nine members participated, ordering from 16 vendors and our regional wholesaler. We do go into the surrounding counties if a vendor lies within our preferred 100-mile radius; for volunteer pick-up, we try to stay within a 30-minute drive from Doylestown.”

Club or co-op?

Food buying clubs consist of a group of people, all members, who pool their resources to purchase bulk foods at discounted prices, or hard-to-find food at a reasonable cost. DFC focuses on local, preferably organic, foods and orders through a natural foods distributor for dry goods. A buying club can be any size, with its members sharing the chores. The club provides a social network for people interested in supporting a local, sustainable economy and living a healthier lifestyle.

In contrast, a co-op ideally serves thousands of members and also provides a storefront open to the public. This store offers anything that is available through the buying club as well as refrigerated and frozen items. It has a smaller price markup than a traditional grocer; and discount pricing on bulk quantities. To do all this, the organizers need to form a co-op corporation.

“Our short-term goal is to keep the food club operating and growing, while streamlining efforts so we can open up our membership,” says Albritton. Currently the membership is capped at 50 families, a limit imposed by the capacity of its distribution space, generously donated by The Goddard School.

“At the same time, we have an ongoing goal to establish a store within the Doylestown community that can be open six or seven days a week and to which everyone has access whenever they need it. We’re in the process of building the model and writing feasibility plans to make this work, and also exploring how we can become a food co-op.”

The food club experience

DFC members pay annual dues of $100, and 80 percent of that can be earned back by volunteering for club duties. Virtually every member pitches in. Ordering currently is done biweekly through their website with pick-up one week later.

“As we move toward the growing season our distribution will increase,” says Albritton, “along with the numbers of items, storage issues, and interest in what we’re doing.” The club still accepts applications; names are placed on a waiting list.

“This is a community project,” she says. “Many households bring their whole families to the distribution. Kids get to see that food doesn’t come from a shelf with a fluorescent light over it.”

Who’s your farmer?

The members of the Doylestown Food Club believe that “local buying, while often times more costly in the short term than supermarket buying, is rewarding for several reasons. First, local buying reduces the number of miles foods must travel to reach our homes, which is better for our environment. Second, local buying supports local producers, which is good for our economy. As more conscientious consumers create a market in Bucks and Montgomery counties for locally grown or produced foods, we hope to sustain our current farmers and add more as we grow. Finally, local buying allows our members to know where their food is coming from and how it is produced.”

Albritton, who grew up in Bucks County, has watched her perspective on local farming change over the years.

“We have an idea of what we want our community to look like: resources, farmland, architecture, history. If we’re really talking about preserving that, it starts with our farmer. When farm families sold to a developer, I used to think the farmer had sold out. Now I think, ‘What have I done to support my farmer?’ It’s a question that catches a lot of people off-guard and gives them pause to consider, what am I doing to support my community?

“Not everyone can say, I’m going to eat only local. But one meal a week, with all the others who do so, can be very powerful. We vote with our dollars. We can choose to vote at the grocery store or for our local farmers. We can know our farmers and we can know each other, and we can all work together.”

For more information on the Doylestown Food Club, visit www.DoylestownFoodClub.org.

Story by Anne Biggs

Green. Sustainability. LEED. These terms are tossed about a lot lately.

Sustainability and health are two main aspects of environmental commitment. The chemical pollution in the world is having an alarming impact on the health of present and future generations. The options for going green are increasing; homeowners have a wide range of choices for floor coverings now, ranging from fun to sophisticated.

An environmentally responsible approach to preserving your health is selecting flooring harvested from fast growing, sustainable sources. Consumers can integrate continual advancement in ecological accountability with a greater selection of earth-friendly, comfortable and natural floor coverings, and still decorate with panache.

Wool
New Zealand’s distinctive farming practices concerning animal welfare and sustainability allow wool growers to produce some of the finest wool in the world. Wool fibers, naturally soil and stain resistant, are long and coarse; they can’t be inhaled. It is a natural fiber made without petroleum, there are no harmful emissions, and it does not promote the growth of bacteria or dust mites. The natural crimp of wool allows it to spring back quickly after compression and retain its original shape.

Nothing compares to the pleasure of soft wool carpet underfoot. Wool carpeting, the hardest fiber to ignite and the easiest to extinguish, absorbs moisture and prevents the buildup of static electricity, practical in offices and homes containing computer and electrical equipment. 

Wood
Traditional wood isn’t truly sustainable. It takes 30 to 100 years to grow a tree that can be harvested for flooring.  Reclaimed wood flooring is timber salvaged from old buildings, milled from structural beams, or wood that was used in warehouses and factories in the early 20th century. No trees are cut to install a floor.
Suppressed wood flooring uses harvested trees, but these are taken to encourage forest health. Sometimes woods can become overly dense, resulting in disease and fire susceptibility. Tree trunks and saplings are removed from under story, during the thinning-out process and they make excellent hardwood floors.

Cork
Cork is the ultimate green flooring material, delivering durability, styleand ambiance.  Not only does it offer a stunning, resilient surface, it’s also a completely renewable resource, as only the bark is harvested; the tree will replenish itself and suffer no harm.  Cork is also low maintenance. Antimicrobial cork does not harbor dust, dander, or other particulates. With millions of air-filled cells, it’s a terrific thermal and acoustic insulator, cushioning feet and retaining warmth. It is available in unusual patterns are quite elegant.

Bamboo
Bamboo, a harvested grass, regenerates eight times faster than hardwood. It can grow to floor quality in five years, with subsequent crops springing from the same roots.  Strong bamboo resists denting better than oak, and is equivalent to maple, our hardest native wood. However, there are no bamboo companies that have credible environmental certification and large amounts of chemical fertilizers are allegedly being used to increase bamboo yields.

Eucalyptus
Eco-friendly, plantation-grown, European eucalyptus has a smooth, refined grain with the depth and shimmer of exotic wood. and eucalyptus is 65% harder than white oak. Harder than oak, the colors are warm, inviting, and varied with an exotic grain. However, the plantations might be a false shade of green. The trees grow rapidly and require substantial amounts of water, depleting the water table increasing the salt content of surrounding soil that kills native vegetation. 

Tile 100% recycled aluminum or brass tiles add a versatile and textural element to your kitchen and bath floor designs. Metal tiles appeal to our senses, achieve balance in a kitchen design dominated by wood, and can be as funky or finessed as your taste desires.
Limestone and tumbled slate are slip-resistant for bathrooms or foyers. Honed stones are gentler on bare feet than cleft, rough slates. Stone tiles are receptive to passive solar heating, holding and radiating heat long after the sun sets.

Stones have a natural beauty that will last for many years. It never goes out of style and stone can be repurposed for landscaping and other household projects.

Linoleum
Natural linoleum is a durable, nontoxic, biodegradable material made from linseed oil, wood flour, pine resin, and ground limestone on a jute backing. It is comfortable, warm and quiet.

Glass
Recycled beer and wine bottles find new life transformed into glass floor tiles.  Cracking and bubbling, a result of the recycling process, adds visual interest to the floor.

Fiber
Natural fibers such as sisal, sea grass, jute, and coconut fibers, also known as coir, give Third World countries the opportunity to benefit from their local renewable resources.

Rubber
Recycled rubber carpet padding and rubber interlocking tiles or mat gym flooring is made from shredded tires.  Every 100 square feet of flooring keeps 7.5 tires from the landfills.

Taking the step to choose greener floors is a stylish way to preserve the environment, but also can contribute to a healthier household.

Story by Cate Murway