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From the foods you eat and your exercise routine to the products you’ve started using on your skin, waking up to a healthier lifestyle begins one choice at a time—and often, one informs the next. For many of us, food and personal care products are at the top of the living well list, but we may forget to consider our home environments as part of the equation. We’ve compiled our favorite five ways to get a cleaner, greener (read: healthier!) home for all your loved ones—people and pets. Read on to discover how easy getting a healthy home environment can be…and how these switches can help the health of the planet, too.
1 . Rethink Your Textiles
Textiles—from sheets and blankets to towels and shower curtains—are a staple in our homes, and we can’t imagine living without them! But with the fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides used to farm the conventionally-sourced cotton with which they’re made, these textiles can be hard on the environment. Harmful chemicals leach into soil and waterways and can impact global warming, pollute water supplies and damage the health of plants and animals. Making the switch to organic cotton textiles throughout your home can benefit the environment, and the farmers who harvest their cotton crops. And when you bring it into your newly green home, you may just find you love knowing you’re using safer textiles against your skin. We love Coyuchi for its commitment to sustainability and its gorgeous aesthetics, and Boll & Branch for its Fair Trade practices and beautifully woven items.
2. Try a Sustainably Sourced Rug
Just as the materials in everyday textiles are treated with harsh chemicals, so too are the fibers in our favorite rugs. Using an organic rug ensures that whoever uses your rug for lounging, crawling or playing will not come in contact with these chemicals, but it also ensures the weavers are safe from interacting with them, too. Organic Weave rugs are certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and employ a sustainable supply chain and living wage to the weavers in India who make them.
3. Clean Your Home with Plant Based Products
We all want the surfaces of our homes to be clean; whether we’re standing barefoot on floors or putting food out on a countertop, we gain peace of mind knowing dirt and germs are at a minimum. Luckily, getting a clean home no longer means subjecting yourself or your family to harsh chemicals that can irritate eyes, skin and lungs or end up down the drain and into our water supply. We created L’AVANT Collective products to make sure you get all the benefits of a deep clean using high-performing, natural ingredients that are safer for all the people and pets in your home. The plant-based formulas clean as well as—or better than!—conventional products, and look a whole lot better left on your countertop, wouldn’t you agree? Bonus: They’re safer for the planet, too.
4. Invest in an Air Purifier
Dust, dander, pollen…for any of us who suffer from allergies or asthma, we know all too well how environmental triggers can negatively affect our lives. Cue the air purifier, which reduces airborne allergens like dust, pollen, smoke, dust mites, mold spores and pet dander to significantly improve the air quality within your clean, green home.
5. Tap Into a Water Filter
While many of us have made the switch from single use plastic water bottles to reusable, eco-friendly options, sometimes we just have to admit that tap water doesn’t always taste as good as spring water. Enter the under-the-sink water purifier, which filters out chlorine, lead, odors, heavy metals and other contaminants so water tastes, well, like water should taste. We love that it’s hidden out of the way for aesthetic purposes, doesn’t take up any room in the refrigerator and lasts a long time—a minimum of 3 years, or 10,000 gallons. With water that tastes this good, you just might find you’re filling up your reusable water bottle more frequently!
