Description

http://www.AsktheDecorator.com host Meghan Carter visits epOxy Green in Venice California to discover how to find truly green products. Get the expert tips for sorting the gimmicks from the truly green products for your home.

Transcript

Meghan: Shopping for green products is like finding a comfortable high heel. It takes a lot of research. You know a lot of people are asking me how I can stand wearing high heels shoes all day, and you know the answer is I could not until I did a lot of research to find some really great inserts and unfortunately from what I found, in order to find really good products, you have to do a lot of research and that is the way it is with green products right here which is why I am here today at this really great small store called epOxyGreen and I mean look around us, their products are so beautiful I do not think I am ever going to leave. In Venice Beach, California, you can find an old car shop that in 2004 was reinvented to one of the hottest places to go for green products in your home. Sure it may seem a bit ironic for an old car shop to be a green building product cup but its co-owner Deborah Guyer Greene found out, being parked in the car shop in California is not so bad. On nice days, which is pretty much everyday, she can open the huge garage doors and let in that California sunshine and hopefully intrigue passers by alerted by the gorgeous green treasures found within. Deborah: It is like some of these products you just want to roll around in because they are so beautiful. Meghan: And she is not saying that just because she owns the place. While you may think green products are ugly, quite the opposite is true. There are so many beautiful options even I was overwhelmed. I have to tell you, I love that. I do not even know why. I should not love that. Deborah: It is gorgeous, is it not that pretty? Meghan: That is very cool and you said this is palm? Deborah: Yes palm. Meghan: Oh my God that is so neat. I love this though, how it is cut like that. Deborah: Yes, do you think? Meghan: It was like being in a candy store found only in your dreams. One where everything looks just as good as it is for you and the best part was it was real. Every product found in epOxyGreen is not only good for the environment but for your health and those who are making it. Deborah: We have researched pretty thoroughly and we not only do want to research what the product is made of and how it is made but how the company goes about making it so it is not just are they using toxins in the putting the material together but what are they doing with their work crews, what is the backbone of the company. There are companies that we know that literally will turn around and for every X they sell, the little plants and their trees. Things like that really let you know like this is a company who is not just in it for the green moment but it is like a lot. Meghan: Well like you said, finding those products takes some research. If I am a consumer going out and looking are there any types of regulations or are there any—not regulations, organizations or things on the label to look for on green products? Deborah: Yes, you know I look for formaldehyde free with a lot of materials, FSC certification means that it is wood that is being harvested in a sustainable way and they are not clear cutting, non-VOC, something you want to look for in paint. You will be hearing carpets about materials that do not off-gas. Meghan: Off-gas? I have never even heard of that. So Deborah took me to look at some products and explain exactly what off-gassing was and why you and I should be worried about it. What does it mean when you say off-gassing? Deborah: What it means is that when you put it down or when it is made, there are chemicals in it and so you know there are some place where there is a new carpet you can smell it or paint has off-gassing and what that is that is chemicals going into the air. So what they are trying to do is create products where you are not going to have that sensation and you are not going to deal with the toxins that are coming at you. Meghan: Oh I get it. Yikes! I definitely do not want to breathe in chemicals but if you are like me, you have heard about how some of the green products do not work as well as they claim and the f