subject: 10 Tips To Achieving Ecostyle With A Conscience [print this page] To many, the word 'EcoStyle' conjures up images of happy hippy macrame, and furnishings and fittings in a 1,000 shades of brown. Our 10 tips help show you how to create a stylish and comforting home environment while at the same time achieving 'style with a conscience'.
I recently read a travel article about a mid-range eco resort. And while the surroundings were breathtakingly beautiful and natural, the resort itself was stuck in the hippy era with the uncomfortable recycled furnishings and fittings harking back to the less stylish moments of the 1970s.
It made me think about eco style; what is it and can you have a stylish, modern and sustainable home while helping save the planet?
Is style with a conscience hard to achieve? Not at all. Here are 10 top tips to help you achieve your own eco style.
Tip #1: Avoid landfills. You can do this by buying the very best homewares that you can afford. Quality lasts and can be passed down generations. It also helps you create your own unique style.
Tip #2: Follow the well known adage: Less is more. Choose a few items of great beauty and style over lots of inferior products. With just a few 'statement pieces', you can change the ambience of a room. And when shopping, do you really need to have everything individually wrapped just to take it home?
Tip #3: Seek out natural fibres for your home furnishings including furniture, rugs, cushions, throws and household linens. Look for organic fibres or those grown from renewable sources such as bamboo. And remember to ask about the timber; is it a sustainable wood, where does it come from, is it certified as a renewable?
Tip #4: Look for recycled materials for their beauty, history and creativity. Aged furniture and timbers can have a wonderful patina of wear and they can help create the feeling of homeliness and comfort. Alternatively, creativity is strong amongst artisans who use recycled materials to craft everyday objects. I just love South African designer, Heath Nash's exquisite Leaf and Flowers Drum Lights that are created from recycled plastic bottles and containers that are recut, assembled and then mounted on handmade wire structures. They also support Fair Trade!
Tip #5: Vintage is very eco-chic and the earth loves it! Buy vintage fabrics, lamps, pillowcases, buttons, glass objects, furniture - the list is endless. Again, this helps create your own unique style.
Tip #6: Everyone loves the ambience that scented candles create. Choose soy or beeswax candles that have been scented with essential or natural oils and look for cotton wicks. Avoid paraffin (petroleum based wax) candles or even some palm wax unless it's sourced from well managed, renewable plantations (most likely from the USA).
Tip #7: Re-use and recycle wherever possible. Don't dump - donate! Someone else will love your used items. When decluttering your wardrobe or house, collect all those items you no longer need and want and take them to local charities such as the Salvation Army, St Vincent's de Paul or other opportunity shops (look them up in your local directory). Not only are you recycling, but also supporting worthwhile charities.
Tip #8: Consciously purchase Fair Trade products. There are many beautiful and stylish products available today that are made in developing countries and which support the very poor by paying a fair price to the respective artisans and craftspeople. Oh, and while you're redecorating your home, don't forget to stock Fair Trade chocolate, coffee and other foodstuffs. Look for the international Fair Trade label on products.
Tip #9: Use bio-degradable products wherever possible. For example, instead of buying disposable plastic picnic ware, seek out beautiful (and inexpensive) Areca Palm Leaf picnic ware which is bio-degradable, strong, heat resistant, and reusable many times over! Alternatively, sugar cane fibre wares are made from the residue fibres after cane sugar juice extraction and are fully compostable in up to 90 days.
Tip #10: Support the organic fibre trade including cotton and bamboo by actively seeking out organically produced fabrics. The market for organic fibres is growing and over time, we will see many traditional fibres being organically produced and becoming readily available.
By just taking action with a few of our tips, you too can start creating a stylish, welcoming and healthy home, while helping save our planet. Remember, every little step matters!
