Oleander + Ecochick = Giveaway!

For my first ever giveaway I'm going to send you the fantastic eco-friendly shopping blog that my friend ecochick writes. In her own words "ecochick is a consumer who's tired of "environmentally friendly" really meaning "expensive, inconvenient and ugly". It's time to make living green mainstream, fun, fresh and cool. Here you will find the latest in trendy, stylish fashion, beauty, home and more - all with the lovely aura of green." All that and she is awesome with the giveaways too! So when Caldrea sent me a bucket of Ginger Pomelo goodness I knew who to call to help me give it away.

Head over to www.ecochick.ca for all the details!

Edited to add: Today (April 9 2010) is the last day to sign up to be eligible for the giveaway. Do it! You could win!

Caldrea

So I've been looking for a good laundry detergent for ages. One that is gentle on my fabulous bedding fabrics but still works, one that smells good and cleans well, did I mention that I wanted one that works? Well, I found it. Last January at the New York trade show, I happened upon the Caldrea booth. It was a line of home care products that I had heard of but wasn't very familiar with. The girl I spoke with at the show gave me all sorts of product info and a couple of samples, and I walked away with out placing an order.

I tried the laundry detergent when I got home and holy cow did I sleep like a baby that night. My sheets felt so fresh and smelled so wonderful, I could hardly believe it. It still took me a couple of months to place an order, but eventually I got around to it and I am really glad I did.

So I now have a fairly comprehensive collection of home and laundry products. I brought in two of Caldreas 8 fragrances, Ginger Pomelo and Lavender Pine in the previously mentioned laundry detergent, linen spray, liquid hand soap and hand lotion. Additionally I have the Ginger Pomelo in all purpose cleanser, counter top cleanser, stainless steel cleaner and liquid dish soap. I've tried it all, they all work very well, they make my home and my hands smell great, I love it all. And did I mention it is eco-friendly?

Caldreas philosophy boils down to this: we all have to clean, so why not make the task as pleasant as possible? Their fragrances are soft and fresh, there are no strong chemical or medicinal odours. So they use essential oils instead of chemical perfumes. They believe that overly harsh cleansing agents aren't good for your skin, your homes or your planet, so they make responsible raw material choices, instead of ammonia, chlorine, phosphates and petroleum distillates they use borax, plant derived surfactants, soap bark extracts and essential oils. All of their products are biodegradable and none of them are tested on animals. All of their packaging is recyclable and there are refill sizes for a few of the most popular lines.

So come in and try them out!

More Organics!

I can hardly believe it, two posts in two days? I really couldn't let this one go by with out mention.

I'm very happy to announce that Oleander is now stocking organic cotton towels. Made from 100% Skal, certified combed organic cotton, this luxurious towel is eco-friendly, plush and thirsty. The organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides, thus, making this towel the perfect Eco-friendly textile for a pure and healthy bathing experience. I'm currently carrying them in white, natural and the stone colours, but any of the others are available for custom order.

These towels are a little lighter in weight than some of my other collections, but they are buttery soft and feel a little spongy. They are also comparable in price to both my 100% cotton and bamboo/cotton blend towels. I'll be buying a set for myself today and I'll check back in a few days to let you know how absorbent they are and how they wash.

One of the big things that I look for when I buy "green" or organic products for the store is third party certification. As mentioned above the cotton of these towels is certified by Skal, a independent inspection company based in the Netherlands.

Happy eco-friendly towels!

Organic Duvet Covers!

So I've got a back log of new products to announce, but it's been very busy in the store so I'll introduce just one today and try to get back with more shortly.

I now have two patterns by Amenity in stock, Bloom and Willow both in Cream + Cocoa on organic cotton. From their website "Amenity is a Los Angeles based design studio founded by Nicole Chiala and Kristina de Corpo. Our goal is to create beautiful, yet useful, everyday objects of high quality that reflect the warmth and beauty of nature" The duvet covers I am currently carrying are from the organic line featuring oversized silhouettes individually printed with non-toxic, eco-friendly, water based dyes on certified organically grown and processed cotton. The patterns have a clean modern look while maintaining a softness that will work in many settings. Which is the slightly fancy way of saying "it's gorgeous and I love it!"

So the question now is why buy organic? There are two equally good reasons for considering organic products when choosing bedding. This might get a little heavy, are you ready?

Cotton production is one of the really big environmental offenders when it comes to large scale pollution. Mass production of cotton for any of its many applications uses a lot of pesticides. Pesticides while it is growing and then a whole lot of chemicals in the processing and finishing. Not all of them are bad but some of them certainly are. Organic cotton is grown without all of the chemicals and a reduction of chemicals, even in a small way is a good thing.

The second important bit involved regards chemical sensitivities. Many people are becoming increasingly sensitive to the chemicals that are involved with manufacturing. If I can offer people a product that will help them sleep better I will. Organic bedding definitely fits the bill. And did I tell that this line feels really good? 'Cause it feels really good.

The little details regarding Amenity bedding are: the products are printed and sewn in Los Angeles, they do fabulous printed linen pillows, bags and large scale prints suitable for hanging or leaning on your walls. I can order in anything you see on their web site and orders usually take 3 weeks or so.

It's been a beautiful weekend here in Ottawa. I hope it's just as nice where ever you are!