Green Products

Green products are becoming increasingly important in the world of interior design because our customers are becoming more aware of the environment and want to protect it. Many companies have begun to offer eco-friendly/sustainable/green products. They are focusing on using natural renewable materials, products that promote energy savings, and having minimal impact on the environment in the production process.

The following is a list of green products that we can provide to our customers:

Rugs/Flooring

· Classic Home Rugs: Natural fiber rugs- jute, coir, seagrass, and sisal. All of their rugs are eco-friendly, the vinyl tufted coir mats being the least so because the vinyl backing is not bio-degradeable.

· Colonial Mills Inc: Earthtone- 100% all-natural jute fibers, Oak Harbor- 100% wool, Ridgevale- 100% wool, Shear Natural- 100% un-dyed wool

· Shaw Rugs: Many of their rugs are 100% machine tufted wool, 100% machine woven recyclable nylon, 100% machine woven Evertouch recyclable nylon, 100% printed recyclable nylon, or 100% machine tufted wool. Premiere and Natural Expressions are Shaw Living’s newest collections, and the first to go to Shaw’s Green Edge cradle-to-cradle design solution. Both collections are made of 100% machine tufted Anso recycled nylon. Anso Caress nylon is a type of nylon that is recyclable (Type 6 nylon). These rugs are luxuriously soft and exceptionally durable. Shaw also offers a variety of carpets, tiles/stones, hardwoods and laminates that are environmentally friendly. (Available at Success Flooring).

· Platinum Designer Rugs & Diamond Carpet: New green products including wood flooring, carpet and tile.

· Merida Meridian: Their product line demonstrates their commitment to using natural, sustainable and renewable fibers. They use the following fibers in their rugs: Abaca, coir, jute, paper, sisal, and wool. The Abaca rugs are 100% natural.

Window Treatments

ADO: Their fabrics are considered eco-friendly and sustainable because they-
- Are manufactured for endurance
- Hold up better than other fabrics and last longer in window spaces
- Do not contain allergenic dyes
- Have been tested for pesticides and chlorinated phenols
- Are free from formaldehyde or from trace amounts that fall well under legal limits
- Are free from biologically active finishes
- Have a skin-friendly pH

Hunter Douglas: They offer many window treatment options that can help you save energy lost through your windows. Duette Architella & regular Duette honeycomb shades offer the best efficiency. As part of Hunter Douglas’ commitment to environmental consciousness, they have commissioned the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute to verify that their products meet their stringent indoor air quality guidelines. GREENGUARD certification assures that their products are as environmentally friendly as they are beautiful for your home.

B&W Window Fashions: Their new Nature's Creations™ line is a sensational new
collection of hand woven and hand crafted patterns exclusive to B&W. “They have that wonderful organic look and feel that is so important in today’s decorating pallet.” There’s also the eco-friendly advantage. The grasses, reeds and other fibers of the Nature’s Creations™ collection as well as all Horizons™ Natural Shades, are some of the most highly renewable materials on Earth and are 100% natural.

Fabrics/Bedding/Upholstery

Robert Allen: Their collection of Pure Style fabrics put equal emphasis on “pure” and “style.” Each of the 55 available items in the line is made with organic, recycled, or sustainable fibers. The fabrics are also made with low-impact dyes and finished using environmentally responsible treatment processes
Carole Fabrics: The Tapestria line of Carole has a book/collection called Footprint. These natural fabrics are made from 100% Certified Organic Cotton and Organic Cotton blended with bamboo, or hemp. All patterns are sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable making any pattern an excellent choice as an environmentally friendly fiber throughout its product cycle.

Wallcoverings

· Blue Mt. Wallcoverings: Olney’s Road to Hana IV & Eastgate IV Collections are environmentally friendly natural fiber products. They are handcrafted and made up of oriental grasscloths, paperweaves, cane, burlap, and textiles.

· York Wallcoverings: York’s Asian Accents, Wind Song IV, Naturals from the Orient II, & Silvercord V are environmentally friendly natural fiber products. They are handcrafted and made up of oriental grasscloths, grasscloths, paper weaves, textiles, and micas.

Lighting & Electronics

CFL bulbs, lower energy consumption

· Energy-star rated products

Green Practices

Green design is design that goes beyond being just efficient, attractive, on time and on budget. It is a design that cares about how such goals are achieved, about its effect on people and on the environment. An environmentally responsible professional makes a commitment to constantly try to find ways to diminish design's impact on the world around us. It is also a smart way of doing business: sustainable design is the fastest growing segment of our industry.

The following is a list of green practices we participate in:

Rugs

· We recycle old rugs and carpets as much as possible by finding new homes for them.

Window Treatments

· We recycle old window treatments as much as possible by finding new homes for them.

· We recommend window coverings with good insulating quality to our customers when applicable to help them save on energy costs.

Fabrics/Bedding/Upholstery

· We recycle old fabrics as much as possible by finding new homes for them or re-purposing them (use the fabrics in a new way).

Lighting

We recommend dimmer-controlled lighting to help save energy costs.

Accessories

· We like to find creative ways to use objects in a new way to keep the décor interesting, or donate unwanted accessories to others.

Furniture

· We like to re-use old furniture as much as possible. We often find a way to make it “new” again. Some examples are: painting it, reupholstering or recovering the seats, adding new hardware, and using it in a different room or in a different way.

by Jillian Friend for decorator's nook

Resources:
www.asid.org
www.interiordesign.net
Product catalogs & brochures