Palm a Pom Tea...you keep the glass!

I was in need of a refreshing drink after class this past week due to the weather still being warm, despite the fact that we're about to enter into November. Anyways, back to my refreshing drink. I decided to pick up a Pom Wonderful Tea drink, but wondered why it was $3.25. I thought to myself, 'hmm, this drink is a little on the pricey side.' After talking with a friend about my purchase and checking out the Pom Web site, I was informed that the price was as is because the glass in which it comes in is reusable. So, besides coming in a beautifully packed glass container with a lid, the glass is yours to keep and refurbish later with your drink of choice. And what better way to compliment your kitchen cabinets, counter, desk, or dining table, than with recycled glasses?


Pom Wonderful drinks are made out of pomegranate fruit, which is historically one the earliest fruits cultivated on earth. Consuming pomegranate fruit has a number of health benefits including the prevention and slowing of cancer growth due to the fruits carrying of antioxidants. Products of Pom Wonderful includes their tea (which was very tasty-- I had the Peach Passion White Tea), juice and even pomegranate pills, for those with less time to enjoy the liquid form of the pomegranate fruit. After doing some research on the pomegranate fruit and its contribution to a better, healthy lifestyle, it also contributes to the green world of conserving products. And in this case, offering buyers a glass to keep and reuse.

Walking Barefoot Never Felt So Good: Earth Weave Carpet Mills, Inc.

Like walking barefoot outdoors? Earth Weave Carpet Mills, Inc. enables you to do just that--but indoors on all-natural, non-toxic carpeting.

"We're a very unique product," Kent Kelley, general manager of Earth Weave, said.

Based in Dalton, GA and as the only manufacturer in North America that produces 100 percent, non-toxic carpeting, Earth Weave has been in business for 12 years and obtains distributors all over the country, Kelley said.

Earth Weave's Bio-Floor Collection includes carpets that are biodegradable, are made with 100 percent all-natural wool, use natural pigmented wool fibers instead of chemical dyes for color and uses hemp and cotton as a base instead of polypropylene which keeps the wool yarn in place. Even the adhesive to combine all elements of the Bio-Floor carpets together is 100 percent natural and biodegradable. The adhesive is made from rubber trees. Jute is also used as a backing on the carpets, which comes from "a hardy earth friendly fiber producing plant," according to the Earth Weave Web site.

The photo below shows the different layers of Earth Weave's Bio-Floor carpeting. Photo Courtesy of www.earthweave.com.


Carpeting with wool has many added benefits, but costs more to manufacture, Kelley said.

"Wool is sustainable, and when you put it under a microscope, you'll see that wool has scales on it and many manufacturers try to mimic wool the non-natural way," he said. "Though it costs more to produce wool carpeting the right way and profit margins are thinner, wool is resilient and we believe in what we're doing by contributing to peoples health and this great country."

Earth Weave even maintains nature in the naming of their different carpet styles.

"All styles are named from mountain ranges," Kelley said. "Even the colors of the carpet is naturally named, indicative of nature, for example our Pyrenees style comes in a wheat color."

The photo below is a carpet sample of the Pyrenees style in a wheat color. Photo Courtesy of www.earthweave.com.


Below are carpet samples of the McKinley style in snowfield (top) and the Dolomite style in a granite color (bottom). Photo's Courtesy of www.earthweave.com.












Working with Earth Weave is Kelley's first opportunity to work in manufacturing he said.

"There are more people everyday that understand benefits of natural things, rather than synthetic materials," he said. "We've enjoyed 12 years of success and we love it."

Small Green Flare: Soy Candles

With all the hype on Target going green with numerous products, I had to mention them again for a second time to compliment my organic sheets.

Soy is all around us-- soy milk, soy beans, soy clothing. Recently, I was doing my usual drive by at Target and decided to browse the dollar bins at the front of the store. And what did I find? Method Soy Candles for a buck! It was quite amazing. I then decided that I'd browse the home section and came across bamboo candles that are made out of 90% vegetable wax. I bought a few of the method candles and a bamboo candle, and I must say that I'm pleased with their burning abilities and scents. Plus, what better way decorate any room in your house than with candles-- simple, right?


Why burn soy wax instead of regular candles that contain paraffin wax?
According to Greenspace Candles, soy wax is non-toxic, burns cleaner and longer, originates from a renewable source and is biodegradable. Paraffin wax, on the other hand, contains petroleum. Petroleum smoke contains carcinogenic toxins and produces black soot, is not a renewable source and contributes to polluting the air and global warming.

Besides adding a green flare to a room in your home, burning soy candles is not only better for the environment, but better for you. For more information on smoke and soot produced from candles made out of petroluem,check out the report that the Environmental Protection Agency produced on the reduction of soot.

Burn wisely, happy decorating!

Kitchen Solvers of Phoenix

This past weekend, me and a few fellow Catscanners attended the 10th annual Green Building Expo in Scottsdale. First off, the event was amazing, and over 100 booths from various companies who have gone green with their products/services were in attendance. I happened to stop by a booth, Kitchen Solvers of Phoenix, that specializes in remodeling kitchens and bathrooms with recycled, green products, such as cabinets (new and refacing), solid surface counter tops, glueless laminate flooring, bath liners and wall surrounds, and closet organizers.



While observing the booth, I noticed that the recycled counter top model pieces were popular with Expo attendees, so I decided to ask one of the representatives at the booth some questions about the counter top products.



Randy Fincher, a representative with Kitchen Solvers of Phoenix, was excited to be at the Expo and about going green. He said, "It's good to see people leaning towards this, I'll be happy when so many people do this because it's very important."



One of the counter top products that Kitchen Solvers installs in kitchens/
baths is from IceStone. IceStone provides durable surfaces that are made out of recycled glass and concrete. Their counter tops come in over 25 different colors and its contents contain non-VOC.

But not only does Kitchen Solvers install IceStone counter tops in kitchens, other uses for the product are endless and can be used "creatively," Fincher said.

"These products are mainly used as surface materials, but it's also used a lot as the back splashes for wall treatments, and also as tiles in showers," he said.

But with demand not as high in the green market for recycled counter tops, prices range differently from each household design to the next, Fincher said.

"Counter top prices are generally 15 to 20 percent more expensive than regular, non-recycled counter tops," he added. "The more in demand these products become, the more the prices will go down."

With the green movement coming a long very well, and taking into consideration that even counter tops can come from recycled materials,Fincher said, "All of these counter tops are made from stuff at the landfills, and that's the beauty of it."

After two long days of covering the Expo, I was ecstatic to see, hear and learn how the green movement has and continues to chug along.

Until next week, happy designing!