Organic Fabrics

Fabrics, whether for furniture upholstering or drapes, are a prime area to go organic in your home. Conventional cotton accounts for 25% of insecticide use and 10% of pesticide use worldwide, despite using only 3% of the world's cropland. These chemicals infiltrate the soil and are taken up by growing cotton, and thus end up in fibers and fabrics. Most non-organic wool is processed with solvents and detergents that can be toxic. Choosing organic cotton and wool, as well as alternative fibers like bamboo and hemp, can reduce or eliminate the chemical load in your fabrics and upholsteries.


Several companies offer organic textiles made from natural materials in a variety of designs and textures. Twill Textiles offers a line of fabrics, the Climatex Lifecycle Home collection (see image above), that is produced using a 100% biodegradable production system that is one-of-a-kind in the textile industry.

Mod Green Pod produces organic cotton fabrics that are silk-screened by hand with water-based paint. They also offer vinyl-free walpaper, which is produced without the use of chemical finishers. The images below are from their print collection.










Aurora Silk offers a range of products including organic cotton fabrics, organic hemp fabrics, and "Peace Silk," silk produced through a process in which the life cycle of the silk-producing caterpillar is allowed to complete itself. In other words, cruelty-free silk. Aurora products are produced using natural dyes, and the company offers workshops on the use of these dyes.

Other purveyors of organic fabrics include California-based Ambatalia, New Mexico-based Near Sea Naturals, and Manhattan-based Designtex, which recently launched a sustainable home line.

Green Roofs

This Earth Day, Mayor Bloomberg unveiled PlaNYC, a multifaceted, long-term framework for the greening of New York City. Some elements of the plan involve the promotion of green building practices, including green roofs. The following excerpt is taken from the Water Quality section of the report:

Starting in 2007, the City will begin providing incentives for green roofs ... New York City will support the installation of extensive green roofs by enacting a property tax abatement to off-set 35% of the installation cost of a green roof. The pilot incentive will sunset in five years, when it will be reassessed for extension and inclusion of other technologies.

The City has good reason to promote green roofs in the five boroughs. Besides their aesthetic advantages, green roofs have several environmental benefits. For individual buildings, they provide insulation against cold and act as a shield against the sun's rays, decreasing the amount of energy needed for heating and cooling. On a larger scale, they can reduce the urban heat-island effect, which often makes Manhattan a few degrees hotter than outlying areas. They absorb rainwater, alleviating pressure on the city's sewer system. They reduce air pollution by absorbing carbon dioxide and filtering out particulate matter.

Green roofs come in two types: extensive and intensive. Extensive roofs, which require only one to five inches of soil, can support grasses and flowers. Intensive roofs, which require deeper soil, can support larger plants like trees and shrubs.

Several companies in the New York City area offer green roof design and build services. Balmori Associates, based in Manhattan, and Greener by Design, based in Pelham, designed and built the green roof at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, Queens. At 30,000 square feet, this is the largest green roof installation in the city. Manhattan-based Mingo Design also has green-roof experience, as does Green Engineering Project Construction (GEPC), which has offices in New York, New Jersey, and Miami, and which recently participated in the New York Botanical Garden Second Annual Green Roof Conference.

Green roofs typically cost about $8 to $10 more per square foot than regular roofs, and maintenance costs are higher, but the money saved through lower energy costs and the new city tax incentive will help offset this extra cost. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll be seeing a lot more green on the skyline.

Blue Green: Water Conservation in the Home

OK, let's get back to basics. Conserving water is one of the simplest and most important things you can do to be greener at home. Some newer apartment buildings in New York City have elaborate systems of water retention and re-use, such as treating wastewater for use in toilets and air-conditioning systems and rainwater storage tanks for the irrigation of rooftop gardens. Fortunately, it's not necessary to undergo a complete plumbing overhaul to make a significant dent in your water use.

First things first: check for leaks! Leaks account for about 15% of water use in the average home. That small, pesky leak in your toilet or shower can lose about 22 gallons of water per day, which translates into about 8,000 gallons per year. Saving that water could be as simple as replacing a washer.

Toilets are a huge drain (no pun intended) on water. To reduce the amount of water flushed away, put an inch or so of sand or pebbles inside a plastic bottle, fill the bottle with water, screw the lid on, and place them in the toilet tank. Make sure at least 3 gallons of water remain in the tank to keep it flushing properly. And if you're in the market for a new toilet, buy a low-flush model, which uses 1 to 2 gallons per flush instead of the usual 3 to 5. And if you're inclined to install a urinal (hey, people do it) you can get one that uses no water at all.

Showers account for 22% of individual water use in North America. Installing low-flow shower heads can reduce the amount of water used without reducing shower pressure. Equipping each faucet in your home with an aerator is another extremely easy and inexpensive way to reduce water waste.

Of course, there's always that thing about how if you want to save water, bathe with a friend. Just watch those claws.