Polyvinyl chloride – PVC – is the most toxic plastic for our health and it’s not so good for the environment either. First, it’s made from petroleum, one of our scarce natural resources. Globally, over 50% of PVC manufactured is used in construction, in products such as pipelines, wiring, siding, flooring and wallpaper – as …
Happy 2014 everybody! This week’s blog was written by Alice Shabecoff, co-author with her husband Philip of Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on our Children. I think she raises some issues that we all should be thinking about – and I agree with her statement that this isn’t all doom and gloom, because once we …
California has approved a new flammability standard for residential furniture that is receiving widespread praise among environmentalists. But we’d like you to examine, with us, some details about the new standard that you’ll need to know to keep you and your family safe from these extremely toxic chemicals. California is the only state in the …
In response to a post a few weeks back, Susan Lanham wrote to us: “I initially signed on to get this blog because I thought you would give practical ways to avoid these carcinogens. However, they are so pervasive, and there doesn’t seem to be any practical way to avoid them, so that reading your …
We hear about deaths from cancer – and how the rates are going down (1). And that’s fabulous – but the sad fact is that the incidence of cancer seems to be going up (2). The reason is complicated – we’re getting older, true – but we’re also getting better at fighting it: The number …
Buying a sofa is a big committment: it dominates the room, costs a lot, and should be presentable for at least 10 years. So let’s say that you’ve cruised the stores, sat in the sofas, lifted them, pushed and probed – and decided on a version that looks and feels right. And you’ve made sure that …
If a fabric is identified as 100% “cotton” – or even 100% “organic cotton” — it’s important to remember that processing the fiber, and then weaving it into fabric, is very chemically intense. One-quarter of the total weight of the finished fabric is made up of synthetic chemicals, so it’s important to know that the …
Design decisions influence our health –so your choice of a sofa fabric could influence you and your family in ways far beyond what you imagined. Our children start life with umbilical cords infused with chemicals that affect the essence of human life itself – the ability to learn, reason and reproduce. And fabric – which …
So we have produced the frame and put in the suspension system. Next in line are the cushions – something soft to sit on. In an upholstered piece of furniture, the cushions need a filler of some kind. Before plastics, our grandparents used feathers, horsehair or wool or cotton batting. But with the advent of …
Summer has been beautiful in Seattle this year – and I’ve been taking advantage of it. My month turned into almost two months – I just couldn’t bring myself back to the computer. But now I’m refreshed and ready to go again. We’ve often had people question why organic sofas cost “so much” – and …
OEcotextiles 