Carpets

It's important to pick out carpets and rugs for your home that are environmentally healthy. After all, you spend many, many hours a day breathing around the stuff, don't you?

The problem with carpets: VOCs. Green is Sexy says, "Most carpet is made from petroleum byproducts and synthetics, treated with stain repellents, backed with latex, and padded with PVC." Pretty yucky stuff to let inside your body.

Good options: Rugs made from recycled plastic, like these, are especially good for outdoor spaces. For the indoors, good options include "natural fiber carpets made from chemical-free wool, jute, sea grass, sisal, coir (coconut-husk fiber), and even corn. When the time comes to dump those, you ditch them in the compost" (Ibid). Other natural fiber choices include hemp and reed, like the Japanese Igusa mats.

Certification: Look for the Green Label Plus Certification. "Check the carpet label for a little green house, which means it’s been tested by the Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) Indoor Air Quality testing program" (Ibid). This will ensure your rug is not going to make you sick.

Better options: If possible, you may want to avoid wall-to-wall carpeting all together. Low Impact Living says, "Natural, bare flooring options like reclaimed hardwood flooring or Marmoleum are really the best option from a health perspective–because they don’t trap allergens and chemicals like rugs and carpets do... Cork is a wonderful option because it is a renewable resource, dampens sounds (great for sleeping babies), and is soft on little bodies. Cork is harvested by shaving off the 'bark' of the tree– trees are not killed in the process."

More ideas and details, check out Low Impact Living's great article here.

And no matter what your flooring choices, always leave your shoes at the door to reduce the amounts of pollutants and dangerous chemicals you bring into your home.

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