For some the bathroom is a place to relax and rejuvenate. For others it's where they get their best reading done. However you use your bathroom—for a quick shower, a soak in the tub, or the routines of daily hygiene—there are numerous eco-solutions that will transform even the most mundane tasks into planet-saving success stories.
If innovation in the toilet arena can serve as a barometer of our ability to trade outmoded eco-behavior for easy, smart solutions, then we are in for a clean green future. Sustainable Solutions International, a Canadian-based distributor of forward-thinking eco-friendly products, recently introduced to the United States the Caroma line of dual-flush toilets. Originally developed in Australia, the toilets are equipped with two water chambers, one to flush down "number ones" and a larger chamber to sufficiently flush down "number twos." The simple push-button flush action makes it easy to select the appropriate chamber. The forward-thinking design conserves up to 80 percent of the annual water usage of a typical toilet, and as an added bonus, the wider, four-inch trap-way eliminates unpleasant blockages and ensures that one flush is always enough.
The AQUS toilet system by Water Saver Technologies is a water conservation solution that is so elegant you'll hardly know it's there. Conceived some twenty-five years ago in the childhood imagination of founder Mark Sanders, the AQUS is an instantaneous water recycling solution for the bathroom. Used water from the sink is channeled to the toilet for flushing via a water storage chamber installed inside the sink vanity. The chamber captures and filters water from the drainpipe and then channels it to the toilet through a hidden tube to reduce or altogether eliminate—depending upon how often you go—the use of fresh water for toilet flushes. It's a simple, elegant conservation solution that requires absolutely no effort on anyone's part, save for the plumber, who will need about an hour to install it. For two people using a bathroom under normal conditions, the system will save about five thousand gallons of fresh water per year, which translates to savings of roughly $60 a year. With a retail price of around $200, the AQUS is an eco-conservation dream that pays for itself in cost savings within four years.
For the ultimate in an eco-luxury bathroom experience, try pairing an AQUS toilet system with a Toto Washlet. The Washlet is a super-smart toilet seat fixture that can be retrofitted to most toilets and comes equipped with a heated seat and retractable water-spray arm that provides bidetlike action. As if that weren't exciting and hygienic enough, the Washlet's integrated dryer air-dries your bottom after it's been washed. Good-bye toilet paper, hello pleasurable sensations. Toto Washlets are hugely popular in Japan, where the company is headquartered. More than fifteen hundred engineers are working hard to help Toto, the world's largest plumbing products manufacturer, deliver unprecedented performance and conservation. Spas around the United States are jumping on the clean-butt bandwagon, and homeowners can too.
If you still rely on toilet paper, there are several recycled options to choose from. Seventh Generation's absorbent toilet paper is made from a minimum of 80 percent recycled content. And the aptly named Shitbegone offers toilet paper made from 100 percent recycled content that is also exceptionally soft. At Shitbegone.com you'll get lessons on the art of toilet paper conservation—it's still paper after all—and learn what it takes to become a true toilet paper connoisseur.
Over in the shower, it's possible to combine water pressure with water conservation with the Oxygenics line of water-efficient showerheads. Thanks to patented technology that accelerates the pace of water flow through the showerhead—where the water is also injected with oxygen—Oxygenics showerheads deliver a powerful, healthy spray that simultaneously conserves water and oxygenates your body's skin cells. While the EPA mandates that showerheads use no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, Oygenics showerheads reduce that amount by up to 40 percent. And since heating water is super energy-intensive, opting for a water-efficient showerhead will save you money on both your water bill and your energy bill. For a typical family of four—each taking a ten-minute shower per day—the savings could be up to $600 per year. Oxygenics products are so powerful and efficient that the MGM Grand in Las Vegas installed them in all 4,500 guest rooms of its massive hotel, injecting a bit of eco-enlightenment into the Vegas strip.
Eco-awareness extends to the tub as well. There may be no better-designed bathtub on earth than a Durat from Finland. Each tub is deep and luxurious, and reclining against its contoured walls, as hot, steaming water envelops your body, just feels so right. The planet thinks so too. Durat was founded in 1990 with a mission to unite design with recycling. Its bold yet minimalist-designed bathtubs, shower trays, and washbasins are constructed with a solid polyester-based material made of approximately 50 percent recycled plastics, and the entire collection is available in forty colors.
When you're finished playing with your all-natural, sustainably harvested rubber ducky from Grassrootsstore.com, give yourself a good scrub with the world's only certified organic loofah sponge produced by Loofah S.A., a Paraguay-based company that works in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations to ensure that the local field farmers who cultivate the loofah fruit receive fair wages for their labor. Loofah sponges rejuvenate the body, exfoliate the skin, reactivate circulation, and now they protect the planet too. See Loofah-art.com for a list of retailers.
Toweling off in eco-style presents many possibilities. LOOP Organic offers highly absorbent, organic cotton terry-cloth towels (organic cotton has none of the toxic pesticides and insecticides sprayed on conventional cotton), while Anna Sova towels are made from luxurious Turkish organic cotton and come in a variety of rich colors. Ana Sova's deep, plush towel collection can be monogrammed for a personalized touch or coordinated with a bath mat so you can pamper your feet too. Nandina's Heavenly Bamboo towel collection includes hand towels, bath towels, enormous pool towels, and even bathrobes made from a patented blend of organic cotton, bamboo—the renewable, rapidly growing grass—and other natural fibers. The Heavenly Bamboo collection is available in a dizzying array of colors and is certified free of harmful substances by Oeko-Tex, a Swiss-based international association that has established extensive guidelines for approving ecologically sound products. At Branch you'll find the Millennium towel collection made by Bonjour in Switzerland. Each towel is made from an eco-aware beechwood microfiber that's sustainably harvested from tree farms in Scandinavia. They're made of beechwood, but they feel like cashmere—luxuriously soft and decadent. The Millennium collection is available in a wide range of colors made with nontoxic, colorfast dyes.
On an island off the coast of Japan, a wind-powered factory is making towels from a blend of organic cotton and bamboo. You can find them at Vivaterra.com. Yes, the ever versatile bamboo grass is gunning for Bathroom Eco-MVP. It can also be found in bath accessories collections from West Elm, Brookstone, and Target. The three collections offer varying aesthetics and include products such as toothbrush holders, tissue and lotion dispensers, trays, and wastebaskets. West Elm also extends its bamboo theme into a stunning line of towel bars, shelves, hoops, and toilet paper holders. They're only available online, so check them out at Westelm.com.
As for personal hygiene, when it's time to brush your teeth, check out Preserve toothbrushes, specially crafted out of 100 percent recycled plastic—primarily from Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. The advanced design was developed with dental professionals over a two-year period and is exceptionally strong and flexible. Sure, it's just a toothbrush, but it's great to know that the products we use daily can be designed to perform flawlessly while respecting the planet. Preserve also offers ergonomically designed razors made of 100 percent recycled plastics. Like the company's toothbrushes, the razor plastic is mostly created from Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. The toothbrushes and razors are also recyclable. At the end of their useful life, simply send them back to the company in the provided postage-paid envelope, and the entire toothbrush or razor—save for the blades—will be recycled yet again, this time into plastic lumber for outdoor uses.
For a sumptuous skin care experience, check out Pangea Organics. The company not only creates decadent natural soaps, shower gels, lotions, and toners, but also packages them in boxes that are made with a unique Zero Waste process that combines 100 percent post-consumer paper with organic seeds. Soak the box in water, plant it in the earth, and your packaging will soon transform into organic herbs, like sweet basil, for an entirely new take on recycling. As for the products, they boast a superb lineup of internationally harvested ingredients—think Egyptian calendula, Nigerian ginger, Argentinean tangerine, and French chamomile—that balance and cleanse the skin without irritating or overstimulating.
Toilets, Showers, and Baths
AQUS TOILET SYSTEM
Watersavertech.com
The AQUS is your instantaneous water recycling solution for the bathroom. Used water from the sink is channeled to the toilet for flushing via a water storage chamber installed inside the sink vanity.
CAROMA
Caromausa.com
The Caroma dual-flush toilets are equipped with two water chambers, one to flush down "number ones" and a larger chamber to sufficiently flush down "number twos." The simple push-button flush action makes it easy to select the appropriate chamber. The forward-thinking design can conserve up to 80 percent of the annual water usage of a typical toilet.
DELTA FAUCET
Deltafaucet.com
Several of Delta's water-efficient showerheads are equipped with "H2Okinetic Technology" to provide a satisfying spray while reducing water flow to just 1.6 gallons per minute compared to 2.5 gallons per minute for standard showerheads. It's a low-flow choice that still feels like high-flow.
DURAT
Durat.com
Durat was founded in 1990 with a mission to unite design with recycling. Durat is also the name of a polyester-based material made of approximately 50 percent recycled plastics, which offers a bold aesthetic and durable surface for countertops and is the material choice that informs the company's signature collection of minimalist-designed bathtubs, shower trays, and washbasins.
OXYGENICS
Oxygenics.com
The Oxygenics line of water-efficient showerheads deliver a powerful, healthy spray that simultaneously conserves water and oxygenates your body's skin cells. While the EPA mandates that showerheads use no more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, Oygenics showerheads reduce that amount by up to 40 percent.
TOTO WASHLET
Washlet.com
The Washlet toilet seat fixture can be retrofitted to most toilets and features a heated seat and retractable water-spray arm that provides bidetlike action for gently cleansing both front and back. The hygienic system incorporates an air-drier for your bottom that eliminates the need for toilet paper—a tree conservation solution.
Towels and Hardware
ANNA SOVA
Annasova.com
Wrap yourself in deep, plush organic cotton towels and bedding from Anna Sova's collections, which feature rich colors created from low-impact dyes, for uncompromising style and a luxurious experience.
LOOP ORGANIC
Looporganic.com
The LOOP Organic collection features deep-absorbing, terry-cloth, organic cotton towels in a range of natural colors that are derived from organic, low-impact dyes. Designer Carmel Campos also offers a sophisticated bedding line featuring 250-thread-count organic sateen sheets, textured woven blankets, and accent pillows.
MILLENNIUM
Branchhome.com
The Millennium towel collection by Bonjour is made of a cashmere-like, eco-aware beechwood microfiber that is sustainably harvested from tree farms in Scandinavia. Available through Branch.
NANDINA
Nandina.info
The Heavenly Bamboo towel collection offered by Nandina includes hand towels, bath towels, enormous pool towels, and bathrobes made from a patented blend of organic cotton, bamboo, and other natural fibers. The rich, woven textures are available in a wide range of colors.
VIVATERRA
Vivaterra.com
This premier eco-retailer of home furnishings provides lovely bamboo-fiber towels and sturdy bamboo board hampers in which to toss them when they need to be washed.
WEST ELM
Westelm.com
West Elm has gotten bamboo fever and now offers lustrous bamboo towels and sturdy bamboo cups.
Hygiene and Skin Care
AVALON ORGANICS
Avalonorganics.com
Avalon Organics offers all-natural, nontoxic skin care. And the company announces its pledge to organic body care clearly on the label of each product. Whether it's wild yam deodorant or lavender facial wash, you can be guaranteed that there will be no artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, or parabens—chemical preservatives. And though the herbs may sound feminine, the lightly scented products are unquestionably unisex.
BURT'S BEES
Burtsbees.com
Burt of Burt's Bees started out as a beekeeper in rural Maine and has upheld the same simple, eco-friendly values ever since. Expanding beyond beeswax candles and lip balm, Burt's Bees offers a comprehensive line of all-natural face, body, hair, and makeup products made of all-natural ingredients and packaged in containers that either contain recycled content or are designed for reuse.
DR. HAUSCHKA
Drhauschka.com
Those willing to invest in a highly effective beauty regimen should not miss Dr. Hauschka's line of body and face cleansers and moisturizers. The German skin-care line, which been around for more than thirty-five years, has started to gain significant attention in the U.S. for its unique blend of ingredients that are organic and biodynamically harvested—a method of farming that considers numerous outside factors, including the cycles of the stars and moon.
LOOFAH S.A.
Loofashop.com
Loofah sponges rejuvenate the body, exfoliate the skin, reactivate circulation, and now they protect the planet too. Loofah S.A., a Paraguay-based company, offers the world's only certified organic loofah sponge.
PANGEA ORGANICS
Pangeaorganics.com
Pangea creates decadent natural soaps, shower gels, lotions, and toners, but also packages them in boxes that are made with a unique Zero Waste process that combines 100 percent post-consumer paper with organic seeds.
PRESERVE
Recycline.com
Quality, ergonomic Preserve toothbrushes and razors by Recycline are crafted out of 100 percent recycled plastic, most of which comes from Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. At the end of your products' useful life, send them back to Recycline and they'll be recycled again.
SEVENTH GENERATION
Seventhgeneration.com
Seventh Generation is an industry leader in providing products that make your home healthier. Renowned for its nontoxic cleaning products, Seventh Generation also offers toilet and tissue paper made from 100 percent recycled content.
SHITBEGONE
Shitbegone.com
Shitbegone offers toilet paper made from 100 percent recycled content that is also exceptionally soft. At Shitbegone.com you'll get lessons on the art of toilet paper conservation—it's still paper after all—and learn what it takes to become a true toilet paper connoisseur.
TOM'S OF MAINE
Tomsofmaine.com
Famous for its all-natural peppermint toothpaste, Tom's of Maine has expanded to include spearmint, cinnamint, gingermint, and wintermint, as well as bold non-minty flavors like fennel, apricot, orange-mango, and lemon-lime.
Retailers
Many of the bath products discussed here are available through an increasing number of eco-furnishings retail stores and online stores opening throughout the United States. Here's a list to get you started.
3R LIVING
3rliving.com
Brooklyn, New York
A home decor and lifestyle store dedicated to "future friendly" products. 3R Living carefully selects products according to the principles of reducing waste, reusing unwanted or discarded materials, and recycling. Co-founder and product buyer Samantha Delman-Caserta has a sharp eye for design.
ABC CARPET & HOME
Abchome.com
New York, New York
ABC Carpet & Home offers a wide and distinctive collection of organic bath and bedding, organic beds, and decorative items. The trendsetting Manhattan department store offers a unique retail experience renowned around the world and is fully committed to environmental and social responsibility.
BLUE HOUSE
Shopbluehouse.com
Baltimore, Maryland
Bluehouse offers a strong collection of eco-aware furnishings, housewares, accessories, and gifts. Bluehouse's 7,000-square-foot retail store near Baltimore's Inner Harbor was built to green specifications and features a café serving natural and organic food and drinks.
EARTHSAKE
Earthsake.com
Berkeley, California
One of the early pioneers of eco-retailing, Earthsake got its start in 1990 and now offers high-quality organic and natural beds, bedding and bath products, and body care products. Choices are plentiful and feature materials like organic cotton, bamboo, and legna, a silky fiber made from tree cellulose.
ECO-GREEN LIVING
Eco-greenliving.com
Washington, DC
Eco-Green Living pulls together quality collections for home furnishing, redecorating, and renovation projects. At this Washington, DC, store, you'll find products like Vivetique natural and organic beds, as well as a luxurious line of Anna Sova bedding and bath products.
EQUITA
Shopequita.com
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Located in an historic ice factory, Equita assembles many of the best eco-furnishings and accessory collections. You'll find recycled glassware by Riverside Designs complemented by organic cotton tablecloths, placemats, and napkins made by artisans in North Carolina. Bath and bedding products feature LOOP Organic. Rugs are available courtesy of Angela Adams.
GREEN FUSION DESIGN CENTER
Greenfusiondesigncenter.com
Marin County, California
A giant eco-home superstore, Green Fusion Design Center offers quality green products for home improvement projects and stylish green living. You'll find natural and organic beds from Vivetique and Green Sleep and bath and bedding products from Coyuchi and Anna Sova.
GREENER LIFESTYLES
Greenerlifestyles.com
Seattle, Washington
A Seattle-based provider of contemporary, eco-friendly furniture, Greener Lifestyles also makes its own line of stylish, sustainable, and affordable sofas, chairs, and loveseats constructed with FSC-certified woods, natural latex cushioning, and nontoxic glues. The company also offers luxury organic bedding and bath products from Anna Sova.
ORGANIC AVENUE
Organicavenue.com
New York, New York
Get your raw food and your organic denim jeans all at once by visiting this Lower East Side store in Manhattan. Del Forte and Natural High Lifestyle are just two of the featured labels in this eco-lifestyle store, where you'll also find stylish collections of tabletop, bath, and bedding products.
ORGANIC INTERIOR DESIGN
Organicinteriordesign.com
Venice, California
This company offers quality natural and organic mattresses as well as luxury organic bedding and bath products by Anna Sova. Principal designer Kelly Laplante is also available to work with clients to design interiors using today's most cutting-edge sustainable products.
SPRING
Astorecalledspring.com
San Francisco, California
Step into Spring to find eco-aware products to create a healthier home and planet. Kitchenware, bath and bedding, and baby products are just a few of the categories in which you'll find better ideas for your home and loved ones.
TWOKH
Twokh.com
New York, New York
An upscale eco-home store located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, TwoKH offers contemporary organic collections of furnishings for most rooms in the home, as well as several outstanding lines of natural and organic skin care products.
VIVAVI
Vivavi.com
Brooklyn, New York
The company I founded in 2003, Vivavi represents many of today's most forward-thinking furniture and home furnishings designers, who combine cutting-edge aesthetics with pure, renewable, and recycled materials. Our motto is "Live Modern + Tread Lightly," which also reflects our commitment to green business practices. Our headquarters and showroom are powered by 100 percent wind energy.
Online-Only Retailers
BRANCH
Branchhome.com
If the MoMA Store carried only sustainably designed products, it would be Branch. Superbly designed modern and contemporary products demonstrate how fine attention to detail and aesthetics can easily align with environmental awareness. Branch offers furnishings for nearly the entire home, as well as outstanding gifts for men, women, and children.
VIVATERRA
Vivaterra.com
This premier eco-retailer of home furnishings provides high-quality kitchen and dining products as well as organic bath and bedding products. In addition to bamboo and organic cotton towels, you'll find organic cotton damask duvets and shams; pure silk sheets, duvets, shams, and pillows; and natural merino lambswool comforters—everything you need to be nice and cozy.
Information/Education
WATERSENSE
Epa.gov/watersense
A program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency patterned after the Energy Star program. WaterSense is the EPA's rating system designed to promote highly efficient home products such as toilets and sink faucets that help conserve water without sacrificing performance. Visit the website to find products that have earned the WaterSense designation.
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