EPIC Discoveries: 5 Stylish and Sustainable Picks for a Greener Home

Credit: Flickr / D’Arcy Norman

Go green at home with these great sustainable living products

Didn’t make it to EPIC? Here’s our roundup of the best green products for your home from this year’s sustainable living expo

This year I attended EPIC: The Sustainable Living Expo in Vancouver. I sipped fair trade coffee, tried out eco-friendly cosmetics and browsed the inspiring selection of stylish green products for smart home owners.

Nancy Wright, chief executive of EPIC, said: “If every visitor discovered even one new local company creating innovative products and services that are healthier for their body and for the environment, I think we’ve been successful.” So I thought I’d share my top five EPIC discoveries for a greener home.

1. Rosetta Stone Soapstone Cookware

Image: Rosetta Stone – Soapstone Kitchenware

Rosetta Stone: Soapstone Kitcheware had a gorgeous selection of saucepans, roasting dishes, and pizza pans. Carved from individual blocks of natural soapstone mined from the ‘soapstone mountains’ in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, these products are all about form and function.

Used for centuries in Brazil, these pieces are perfect for braising, stewing, baking, and roasting. Thick soapstone not only looks gorgeous, it holds heat twice as long as metal, making it an incredibly sustainable cooking solution.

2. Shoo-foo Eco Bamboo Bed and Bath Linens

Image: Shoo-foo

Shoo-foo’s Bath & Bed Linens Collection includes blankets, sheets, duvets, pillowcases and towels, all made from luxurious eco-friendly bamboo fabric.

Shoo-foo only works with organic certified growers of bamboo, so you can sleep easy knowing they are completely free of pesticides and insecticides. In neutral brown and white tones, these linens will add eco-style to your home.

3. Wine Time: Tradeworks Custom Products

Image: Tradeworks Custom Products

Tradeworks Custom Products are quality wood products are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) cedar, reclaimed pine beetle wood and bamboo. Tradeworks is committed to using environmentally friendly glues and finishes.

 I loved their wine boxes made from sustainable pine beetle wood and these gorgeous hand-turned wine stoppers made from wood salvaged from furniture off-cuts.

4. Pretty Packets: Abeego Designs

Image: Abeego Designs

Abeego designs produces adorable little packets, perfect for snacks, sandwiches and odds and ends.

Hand crafted from all-natural ingredients including beeswax and plant extracts, these great alternatives to plastic can be washed in cold soapy water and re-used again and again. Nice!

5. Aspenware: Compostable Cutlery

Image: Aspenware

Picnic and barbeque season usually means lots of plastic knives and forks that are used once and then spend an eternity in a landfill. Never fear, compostable cutlery is here! Aspenware is a perfect alternative to plastic.

The cutlery comes from renewable forests which are fast growing and are harvested just before they die off naturally. These smooth, natural birch and aspen knives, forks and spoons will add style to your alfresco dining that just can’t be achieved with plastic.

Lydia Millett hails from New Zealand and has recently moved to Vancouver. She has an English literature degree and a diploma in creative writing.