E
packaging.
lists.
use at parties where food is
served in disposables.
photocopying documents.
rugs, some of which contain the
natural color of the sheep from
which the wool was shorn.
to a cushy sofa to an ornament on
a wall -- Carpenter says an envi-
ronmentally conscious shopper can
set certain criteria to assure that
the manufacture of products within
the home environment has minimal
impact on the world environment.
for products that are sustainably
grown, locally produced, and made
by companies that recycle." She adds
that furniture hardwoods grown
in the U.S. and replaced with new
seedlings are not ruining the rain
forest.
furniture and textiles for your home.
"There are always alternatives," she
says. "Furnishing your home with
natural products and being environ-
mentally conscientious is healthier
for people and for the planet."
at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in
Hastings, voices firm opinions about
"green cleaning."
the environment," she says. "People
purchase these chemicals, bring
them into their homes, and use them.
They go down the laundry room
basins, toilet bowls, and floor drains
in the garage. They go into the storm
sewers and to wastewater treatment
plants, which can't adequately treat
them. Then, they go into lakes and
aquifers in trace amounts, and back
into our homes and bodies through
our drinking water. This is not a
good cycle."
cleansers, scouring powders, deter-
gents, and even nail polish remover.
"Some laundry detergents, for
example, may contain phosphates
and arsenic. This causes pollution in
our water and alga blooms in lakes,"
Howell says, adding a suggestion
make phosphate-free products by
purchasing their products.
solutions common to our ancestors
who, she affirms, "had it right when
it came to using things from nature."
She says that vinegar and baking
soda do an excellent job of cleaning
and disinfecting. She touts borax,
washing soda, and lemon juice along
with sunshine -- yes, she hangs her
family's laundry on a clothesline --
to brighten garments. And she uses
a green cleaner in her toilet even
though "it does take a little more
elbow grease."
presentation on this subject, she
is one voice arguing against an
$18-billion dollar cleaning industry
that uses glamorous advertising to
"monopolize on our fetish of being
super clean and anti-bacterial."
employed by our grandmothers and
great-grandmothers, remains alive
on the Internet. "We can't give up on
cleaning," Howell says, "but we can
find environmentally appropriate
substitutes to the products that
harm our homes, our health, and our
world."
4230 South Westnedge Ave.
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 382-9955
& FURNITURE
649 Romence Rd.
Portage, MI 49024
www.thirdcoastfutons.com
(269) 323-9667
Organic mattresses, eco-friendly,
American-made furniture.