Green home products

September 19, 2006 1:37 PM

I'm considering opening a retail sustainable home decor shop in Portland. What are some of your favorite green/sustainable/simple home products and where do you get them?

I would focus primarily on practicle and simple items that most people have in their homes but with a green slant. Organic cotton sheets, plates and bowls made from recycled glass, simple furniture made from recycled or sustainable products, etc.

posted by strangeleftydoublethink to home & garden (5 comments total)

MIO sounds like exactly what you're looking for. Although at the moment I don't think they've got sheets or dishware, they definitely have recycled furniture which is really neat, and lamps etc. I actually know the guys that started it- they work really hard and are incredibly dedicated to sustainable design, so I imagine they'd be good to do business with. Either way, good luck!
posted by Oobidaius at 1:44 PM on September 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

You should take a business trip to St. Louis to see the Earthways Home. It's an amazing Victorian-era home that's been retrofitted with sustainable and energy-saving materials. Everything from the furniture to the carpet to the heating and cooling systems is chosen with an eye towards sustainabilty and a low environmental imprint. They only give tours one day of the month, though.

Each room is packed with handouts on sustainable products and where to get them. Some of the cooler things included bathroom tiles made out of recycled automobile windshield glass and carpet made from plastic bottles.

I would also suggest soy candles. Regular old paraffin candles are made of a petroleum by-product and can emit dangerous fumes, according the the EPA .

Bamboo is becoming a popular and more sustainable substitute for wood in applications like flooring, window blinds, even fencing. I'm sure you could track down smaller home accessories using bamboo.

Inc Magazine recently had an interesting article about the "Coolest Little Start Up in America." They make organic plant fertilizer from earthworm droppings and package it in discarded bottles. Supposedly it's just as good as the eerily blue Miracle Gro stuff, but easier on the environment.

Good luck! It sounds like an intriguing store.
posted by Ostara at 4:48 PM on September 19, 2006

Try to get in touch with Daniel at Goods That Give. He can point you in the right direction.
posted by saladin at 6:51 AM on September 20, 2006

Compact fluorescent lightbulbs are an obvious choice.
posted by danwalker at 7:15 AM on September 20, 2006

Sell Milorganite, which has kept Milwaukee's feces out of the landfill since 1925!
posted by look busy at 11:49 AM on September 20, 2006