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Jun 13, 2008 4:46 pm US/Eastern
Green Scene: Home Improvements
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
We all have some summer home improvement projects. CBS 3 anchor Liz Keptner shows us some new stores ready to help the eco-conscious spend their green dollar.
At stores like Greenable in Center City, you can see your recycling come back to life!
Lynne Templeton said, "We actually have a product here that's 100 percent laundry detergent bottles."
Greenable also has recycled carpet, resin, cardboard, even dollar bills. One countertop is "actually recycled money -- out-of-circulation money. They call this countertop Counterfit," said Templeton.
But thinking "earth" doesn't mean only earth tones. Colorful linoleum has always been made with linseed oil, not petroleum. Maybe Grandma had the right idea.
"Most of the products are more durable," said Templeton."That's the biggest thing in sustainability is that you want to make sure it's not ending up in a landfill in five years because it's falling apart."
Todd Ballantyne, who used to work at CBS 3, runs the Environmental Home Store in Mt. Airy, where they carry everything from all-natural plaster to sustainable wood flooring.
"Everything carried in the store is either sustainably harvested, solvent-free, non-toxic, organic," said Ballantyne. Got a room to paint? Ballantyne says, choose low levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs -- and ask about other paint chemicals, too.
"There are things like ammonia, acetone, formaldehyde, that could go into paints. The paints that we carry contain none of those toxic ingredients, so it's truly a green paint," said Ballantyne.
The store even has natural mattresses. "They're made from simply rubber, latex, organic wool, organic cotton. It's as simple as that," said Ballantyne -- perfect to relax after your project is finally done!
RELATED LINKS:
Greenable
Environmental Home Store
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