DIY retailers focus on greener home improvement

Earlier this year we wrote about Ecolect, an online library of sustainable building materials aimed at making it easier for builders to be green. Along similar lines, one of our spotters recently came across a Colorado-based store that showcases green products for building and the home. Aiming to provide the highest quality organic and environmentally friendly home products available, Natural Interiors offers a variety of flooring, counter tops, plasters, paints, cabinets and carpeting all based on natural ingredients, as well as a range of bedding, window treatments and mattresses. Cork flooring, for example, is made from sustainable tree bark, while a Natural Interiors counter top is fabricated from recycled bottles. Clay-based paints eliminate the volatile organic compounds found in most traditional paints; carpeting is 100 percent wool and chemical-free. Window coverings are made from rapidly renewable grasses, reeds, bamboo and hemp, and there’s even a line of nontoxic deck stains. Meanwhile, Amsterdam-based Eco-Logisch offers Dutch consumers a similar array of earth-friendlier building materials, selling everything from bamboo flooring to rooftop wind turbines. While eco-mattresses and bedding appear to be increasingly common, green building and remodeling materials are still hard to find in many parts of the world. By bringing many of them together in one retail setting, ventures like Natural Interiors and Eco-Logish take the category one step closer to the eco-iconic mainstream. Coming soon to an area near you… unless you get there first! 😉 Spotted by: Bill McMahon