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Story by
Iheartmoustaches
Published on August 2, 2009 in Spotlight |
Photo by |
This weekend's Get the Look: Decor is inspired by the philosophy that we are able to live without damaging or depleting the environmental, economic or social resources of future generations. More and more people are beginning to realize the impact their lifestyle and consumer choices have on our environment and are taking the necessary steps toward creating a sustainable home that aims to secure a bright and promising future.
From off the grid Earthships in Taos, New Mexico to the sustainable, green buildings, which are popping up in our world's most congested cities, people are on a mission like never before to create a home with a low environmental impact.
Check out the Etsy Finds below for creative decorating ideas that you can feel environmentally good about adding to the place you call home.
Looking for more styles and interiors? Check out our video series, There's No Place Like Here, where creative types show us their unique spaces — infused with their aesthetic and filled with the treasures they collect. Get involved and show us your amazing space in this Flickr pool.
Check out other Get the Look: Home Decor Editions.
A Cozy Home Gift Guide | Housewares Category | Vintage Housewares
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123 comments Login to add your own!
VintageJamie
opendoorstudio
TheCottageCheese
Gorgeous dining table, and the whale and peace fork are too much fun! It never ceases to amaze me, the creative minds our there in Etsyland.
slinkymalinkicat
Great article and finds! Thanks Christine!
You may be interested in this, a house very near to me in Latvia, built using straw bales ...... http://www.camphillrozkalni.lv/en/his... .... these people are friends of mine and have a very good attitude towards the environment.
vintagebyalexkeller
great post - there are all sorts of ways to help. living in the desert, one of the first steps is to conserve water! many homes have ways to reclaim water and reuse it to water their gardens. you can even have someone help you landscape your yard for maximum rain water collection
Emburr
zeropumpkin
menzocollection
Great picks - I so love the peace fork! Very inventive use of such a common object.
SewnNatural
great picks, and beautiful to boot. and when you want to get away from your eco friendly home for a few days... how about my new crush - a VW-like stylish, solar-powered eco camper from Verdier http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/11/17/e...
BabbidgePatch
fabulous finds ~ the felted toy box is a wonderful item and love the kitty perch!
JesseMosher
spacejam
VixVintage
tinycharm
ReactionSB1
Wow, what a wonderful concept! Check out my page if you have a sec, just uploaded tons of new illustrations!
curiousmess
awesome finds! i just started a new line of upcycled embroidered bottles that definitely fit this theme. it feels good not wasting them. plus the shape of the bottle is too pretty to throw away! :)
retrothreadz
UglyBaby
My cat would totally go to town on that cat perch. I think she might be able to hunt me from up there!
LabyrinthLeather
Everyone should aspire to add at least a little of this in their lives.
aBreathofFrenchair
Great finds! I've seen most of these items on the FP and in the gift guides. I love the votive candles!
PixelPanic
Ah, I love this concept! The recycled glass bowl by branscomeglass and the beautiful candleholder by secretlives are ace!
Tina669
eclecticbysari
PawPawsWorkshop
asundrynotion
Always a fabulous feature! We've lived as sustainably as possible for most of our adult lives. Easier the pocketbook, too, if nothing else. Why limit the Wooli Northern Forest Toy Box for toddlers' use? I'd store my vintage fabrics, quilts & linens in this container in a heartbeat! So much better than a wooden chest; raw wood is acidic & harmful textiles over time.
Gotta laugh at the $129,000 VW-type camper! Had a 2nd hand original way back when. Bought for $500.00 of less and modified it on the cheap. Surprised no one's refurbishing old school buses as dwellings. Most zoning probably won't allow it now. Great for simple summer living out in the country, parked under a big ole' shade tree.
2 last things: just saw a PBS History Detectives story about folks repurposing old train cars, diners into housing on the cheap during/after the 30s Depression. And American prairie pioneers built their famed sod houses into hillside embankments for quick/eco optimizing shelter. The concept's been around for a long time. Circa 1970 shelter books & Stuart Brand's original Whole Earth Catalog are a treasure trove of valuable diy info, if you can find these oop publications.
Now back to cooking up a batch of my homemade laundry soap!
MySassyLassy
My whole shop is vintage so take a peek and upcycle something!
beachhouseblues
thebestvintage
Vintage is a fabulous choice when it comes to helping prevent waste!
girltuesdayjewelry
beautiful selections! The fork repurposed as a hook is great!
ChloesRuffleButt
1AEON
pretty picks!! it's always nice to surround yourself with things that keep you in the right place..
UnderTheDoodleTree
If you like repurposing things, check this out:
www.betterbonesandgardensfilm.com
secretlives
Great! Thank you for including oak on the edge. Sustainable living is important to us, we use only salvaged wood.
BeadsBySam
Radness
madebysam
SpacejamOrigami
GreetingsthatGrow
This is great! I really love the wooden pic frames and toy box!
classicc11
This is a great post. Good job to all the shops who do their part for the environment! I especially like the Bucks county frame.
moonovermaize
steinschmuckdesign
sandali
WOW ~~ great article with AWESOME featured items !! Trigger Happy Days ;)
blueberryshoes
this article really refreshed me. and now i'm desperate for camping on the lake!
paramountvintage
BululuStudio
Yay! Thanks so much Christine :D for including me...lovely picks.
jenniferladd
Lily1010
So many ideas, so much to chose from. All great on their own! I feel privileged to be a member here!
Lily1010
Asundrynotion talks about repurposing old buses, old train cars. I have a friend who restores those old Shasta like campers and everything has another purpose. A game table with squares turns into a dining table. The door to the head (bathroom) serves as a message board or a to do list. Painted metal clips serve as attachments to hang the curtain fabric on strung wire. Colours abound. Totally amazing.
RSSDesignsInFiber
I don't want to be too picky, but for wood items to fit under the category of "sustainable" - the wood used must come from sources where the trees are not logged for the wood. As we only have approximately 4% of the forest that was originally on our planet per environmental scientist analysis (there are articles about it on the internet), our planet cannot sustain the constant removal of trees - and wood items for decor, I believe, should only come from the following sources:
-- if new, only from forests managed per the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council -- or chips or left-over pieces left on the forest floor (picking up pieces from forests can also help to clean up the forest floors and reduce the risk of damaging fires in our forests)
-- recycled wood from old buildings, old furniture etc.
-- salvaged wood from fires or storms or other natural occurrences
The concept of planting trees for trees removed is good, but there is something people should know. With the current climate and soil conditions on the planet, newly planted trees will not grow like the pristine Old Growth you see in some forests that still have it. Clearcut areas never grow trees like the original growth on the clearcut lands -- clearcutting negatively impacts the biotic province of the soil and the ability of the soil to grow. One environmental scientist who has written about it, that I have read the books and essays of, is Aldo Leopold, who in his life as a Forester studied these very issues.
To qualify as something under "sustainable green buildings" with the environmentalists that I follow, the wood must come from certain sources.
Here are some shops on Etsy that I know of that make wood products with wood in a sustainable manner:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=...
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=...
http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_... .
This is a huge issue for me in my life. I have spent years studying ecological issues about forests and their ecological significance for planet health -- and I have been in forests that are considered "ideal forests". Personally, I almost never buy new wood furniture -- there is plenty of used around for my needs -- or they are made from left over pieces and chips.
rntn
GimCarry
Very great article ^^
Thank you for excellent homes story,
I very interesting in green house
and very want to build my house for green too.
Toa
VintageZen
ModishVintage
PomLove
those baby hammocks are genius... thanks christine, for putting together another thoughtful & eye pleasing article....
luniquejewellery
Glass straws from strawsbycarli
I ordered one and am very pleased to not have to buy plastic straws for smoothies anymore!
GarageInc
lucky0girl0racer
baconsquarefarm
GlassGlam
Great idea for an article! I make custom stained glass art out of 100% recycled glass to match any sustainable home!
TheJoyofColor
great items loved them all
sustainability is great the problem is its not
very easy for us spoiled people to live by it
but i do try to do my best and think about it more
EDCCollective
I love the focus on the sustainable home. I have a couple of wood home decor items that fit the definition:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?...
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?...
and some pen blanks for crafters made from the same source:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?...
MyJunkyTrunk
Wow! Some really amazing "earth friendly" items here! Great article!
nativevermont
beautifulbridget
BabiesBreath
junkyjunk
makye77
Wow! I like the fact that this article has brought out a little bit the activism in people. People should not go blindly into buying things if they are trying to be responsible. You must do your research even if it is just a little. RSSDesignsinfiber is right we cannot destroy what trees we have left for what? For me it is a matter of spiritual responsability. I love trees plain and simple, it is how make my living. Having said that I will not cut a tree down just because I think there might be some wonderful and interesting wood inside.
I can tell you where every piece I have made came from, where I got the wood and how, circumstances about how the tree came down. Let me repeat I love wood and trees. If a tree has come down in a storm or someone is removing a tree do to disease, I would rather use that wood to make things that will replace all the petroleum based plastics we buy, all the cheap items can be replaced with reclaimed sustainable wood products. I would rather someone make something that has use than go to the landfill to clog it up even more. I will not use exotic woods and be a rainforest killer. I have to use what is literally around me.
Here in Michigan as well as other states we are dealing with the Emerald Ash Borer beetle that has decimated the ash trees in our state. Brought in to this country in one crate from Asia by the way. It has killed millions upon millions of ash trees. That wood is being used for fire wood now. I try to find as much as I can and use it so the ash trees legacy will live on. I try to do things that will not disrespect my ancestors way of life and my children and their children's way of life. We can all do it!
Other than that it is a great article!, and I thank etsy everyday for the opportunity to be able to do this!
riorita
I think that the Modern Perch and Post Cat Tower is a great idea, but I also like the Peace Fork Hook.
SeaFindDesigns
I think this is the first time I've loved EVERY single item....... Awesome picks!!! Thanks a bunch for including my bud vase!
PrimaryRedux
Thank you iheartmoustaches for opening the conversation. And double thank you to makye77, RSSDesignsInFiber, asundrynotion, and vintagebyalexkeller for expanding on it.
When i began my first shop on Etsy, redyellowandblueink, I struggled with becoming part of consumer culture, so I did it by using the best ecofriendly and upcycled items I could get. On top of that, part of each one of my sales goes to one of three conservation groups. My new shop, PrimaryRedux, is all about vintage upcycle decor and remake, with just a touch of new make. And it goes with out saying, it's not just what you buy, it's also about how you live.
analoukopoulos
patspottery
In one of my pottery mags, there is a home made of clay and then fired from the inside, to a rock hard shell that will withstand rain, cold and fire!
midnightcoiler
These choices are fantastic. Really great to create awareness of the eco-friendly things we can use in our everyday lives.
GabriellaFiabane
KatsaraYarns
Some lovely and green-oriented products here. My only complaint with this article is that there needs to be diligent qualification for some of the claims of sustainability. Some of these products certainly help to conserve energy and support a green philosophy, while others purport to be made from sustainable components but authentification is missing from the listings.
Having been directly involved in hands-on textile making since 1984, I am keenly aware of the increasing marketability of such terms as "green" and "sustainable." These are excellent key words to draw conscientious people in, but the crafter needs to provide better documentation to convince me and others who are aware of the nuances that their products are correctly labeled as sustainable. Merely using the term "sustainable" without backing up the claim proves nothing other than savvy marketing.
For example: "Hemp" sounds super cool, but is not inherently a green product any more than is "linen" or "bamboo" or "wool." Hemp is simply a cellulosic component of the fabrics used in many textiles that are deemed "sustainable" by a merchant. Is anything "renewable" therefore "sustainable" in the green sense of the word? No! Unless the methods & process used to convert the hemp into fiber suitable for textiles is known to be sustainable throughout the entire process, from harvesting through distribution, there is nothing supportable about a claim of sustainability.
Another term that is loosely thrown about is "recycled" and "upcycled." Again, good, green ethic by avoiding creating additional waste, but not necessarily equated with "sustainable"
This may seem harsh but it is a sincerely sensitive issue with me since I've devoted my career to eco-conscious manufacturing of textiles for the home furnishings industry. As much as I try every day in my company and my personal studio to adhere to a sustainable ethic, very few creations/products truly meet the rigorous test because of certain unknowables ('un-provables') about the origin of components.
KatsaraYarns
Some lovely and green-oriented products here. I would suggest, however, that where sustainability is claimed in the case of how things are produced, there needs to be diligent qualification and support for the origin of all the components that went into the process of creating the goods. Some of these products certainly help to conserve energy, avoid waste, and thus undeniably support a green philosophy, while others purport to be made from sustainable components but authentification is missing from the listings.
Having been directly involved in hands-on textile making since 1984, I am keenly aware of the increasing marketability of such terms as "green" and "sustainable." Merely using the term "sustainable" without backing up the claim proves nothing other than savvy marketing.
For example: "Hemp" sounds super cool, but is not inherently a green product any more than is "linen" or "bamboo" or "wool." All of these are renewable resources, but that doesn't automatically confer the "green" lable on them. Hemp is simply a cellulosic component of the fabrics used in many textiles that are deemed "sustainable" by a merchant. Unless the methods & process used to convert the hemp fiber into finished textiles is known to be sustainable throughout the entire process, from harvesting through distribution, there is nothing supportable about a claim of sustainability.
BululuStudio
The organizers that I make are made of scraps of wood. Reusing right?
SurrenderDorothy
Lily1010
Yes, this article brought out the experts in a lot of fields. Thanks to you who shared your knowledge. You certainly sound like you know what you are talking about.
KatsaraYarns
eeeeeek -- sorry for my double posting. I was trying to edit myself and clicked the wrong button.... :(
worksofwhimsy
Lilsprout
thankyou so much for including my candles:) ooooooh iam so excited
asundrynotion
Lots of interesting/informative comments that warrants further discussion and learning. No expert or activist here, just a regular jane naturally identifies with Yankee frugality & being 'eco'nomically conservative in the literal sense of abhorring wastefulness & needless destruction/degradation of our environment natural resources, both immediate & at large. Etsy did a feature story Walden by Henry David Thoreau earlier this year and it's ever so timely to read or re-read Walden (sometimes daily) for a balancing perspective from a very 'modern' 19th century thinker.
PrimaryRedux says it succinctly: "And it goes with out saying, it's not just what you buy, it's also about how you live."
maijutzeler
DarkHorseStore
Excellent topic! Always trying to be eco-friendly can be challenging and it's great to have so many beautiful choices all in one place. Love it!
Greencycledesigns
excellent finds!! please mosey on over to my eco-friendly/sustainable shop as well!!
norakaren
JoannePatterson
Thank you for including my eco cushion! Great Collection..gorgeous ideas here...
tinyspace
oldyarns
Thank you Christine for including my petit pois pillowslips; this is a lovely thought provoking selection. Thanks again, K.
buttercupsroad
The way of Green
You can save vintage paper, books and magazines, from a terrible destiny in landfill! Purchase, read, give, collect, sell, and decorate and craft, with vintage paper, books and magazines! And digital imagery!
E.P.A. Standard Factors for Reduction of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): Books, hardback, loose: 1 cubic yard = 529.29 lb MSW; Books, paperback, loose: 1 cubic yard = 427.5 lb MSW
ShaneLilyRain
WOW - I stood on the top of that very house 9 years ago!!! My cousin has and earthship and lives in that very community in Taos!!! Thank you for including my vintage wooden soda crate in this wonderful article :)
evihan
Chaiwat15
It's very beautiful!! Please visit "www.chaiwat15.etsy.com" that have some beautiful crystal products for everyone! Thank you.
lilworkerb
amber84
Love this article and all of the greenery in it...
AND I want that hammock!
SimpleTraditions
lovelygifts
TreeHuggerStudio
I love this article and have been alittle obessed with bottles houses I would love to build a sustainable home someday. But,for now I love the one I have.
RockPaperSilver
Great post...and a great reminder that the little things that we can do everyday can make for a greener earth (including supporting hand-made ;).
prettypanda
brun
bellecamicie
babook
love it all green pick with the nice talk of the environmental It`s important we should to care ; )
Perceptions
Awesome article! Thank you so much for featuring our 'Mushroom Mandala 3' print!
We live close to the Earthships in Taos, and they are amazing, truly inspiring!
voleurdebijoux
pinkparchmentsoaps
LoveAppleBoutique
Iammie
ericawalker
elisasherejewelry
thanks so much for continuing to promote green design. I love these picks and the photo of the Earthship is awesome.
violarostrata
theferngate
kittybblove
I like the diversity of items chosen. Great finds- thanks etsy :)
LastChantsStudio
I just went to the post using 16 inches of space directly above me, to write a little convo and SURPRISE! That user no longer exists. Well, yay and thanks admin.
As to this fantastic article, it's finally hip and even mainstream to become more educated about "green" or sustainability...remember that 100th monkey thing? 35 yrs ago we were barely formulating our wishs and what-ifs and now we can actually buy goodies online that are handmade and better yet, "greener" than yesteryear. Just keeps getting more exciting each day as consciousness evolves.
LastChantsStudio
And now also, the "taking up 16 inchs post" has been removed. Sweet! This ongoing infiltration by "fake shops" is certainly frustrating and I thank Admin again for dealing with these occurences.
MeghanT
Being at one with your environment, and living in harmony with nature just feels so good. I think it's especially important for children. They need to forge a connection with nature at a young age if they're going to respect and nurture the environment when they're older.
I think those Zaza hammocks are just amazing! Those would lure me outdoors for sure. Do they come in adult sizes? Hehehe. They look like a perfect place to hide away when you're feeling overwhelmed, or to snuggle up for a cat nap in the cool breeze when tired.
JazzGreen
great article.... some beautiful items - and i love the recycled fork hook look!
AnnaLela
CelinaMancurti
Hi Iheartmoustaches, I just realized that you heart my shop! That mask is impossible to forget. The article is great and the picks wonderful. Please remember that my whole shop is eco-friendly/sustainable so, take a peek and up cycle something!
obellanaturals
I love this article! The items featured are lovely, I especially love the vintage door coffee table and hammock! My husband and I are in the early planning stages of building a cob [http://www.daycreek.com/DC/html/DC_cob.htm] house. I hope to fill it with items as beautiful, reused, and useful as these! Great job!
kyoung02
studiotempera
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