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Is an Organic Home a Better Home?
Unless you have been living under a rock no doubt you know that there is a strong movement towards being green, eco-friendly and organic. All the talking heads are promoting and encouraging you and I to live a green lifestyle. I have nothing against this, but I do have something against some of the quality of the organic products I have bought.
While I am sure it is not always the case for everyone or every product, but in my experience many of the items marked as “Green” ended up making me feel like I was throwing my green away.
Take for instance my towels. I bought two lovely sets from West Elm’s organic line about a year ago (they may have changed their current product line by now). I also bought some very highly rated towels from Overstock.com that were not organic. The West Elm towels were OK, but the colors began to fade and felt scratchy after a few washes. While on the other hand the Overstock towels have lasted to even now; being just as soft and plush as the day I bought them. In the end I cut up the West Elm towels and used them as rags. Chris was not happy about this.
I need a rag to clean the floor. Do we have any big ones?
Um ….no. I don’t think we do. But you could cut up a towel.
We have old ones?
No, but we have those ugly organic ones.
The brown? I thought you just bought these for me.
About a year ago.
Shouldn’t it last for a few years?
Yeah, it should, but they already look terrible and feel even worse. I hate using them.
But we paid a lot of money!
I know.
Man…I guess I will use it for the rag then. Don’t ever buy these type of towels again…please.
Trust me…I won’t.
I have bought organic sheets and curtains – always with the same results. They would either fade or wouldn’t feel like the luxury quality I thought I had paid for.
The traditional items would always beat out the organic items in the quality category.
I have bought organic cleaning supplies as well and have felt their performance was sub-par to that of traditional cleaning supplies. So in a quest to be more eco-conscious I have been really let down.
I have not given up on building an eco-friendly home, but I don’t want to do it at the expense of quality.
My experience has left a bad taste in my mouth and at times I find that I will turn my nose up at when I read organic on a product label. As tempted as I wwould be to try it out, the memory of cutting up my $20 towels into rags has me run the other way. It shouldn’t be like this. I would like to continue to support the green movement, especially as I think about having children, but I really need manufacturers to get their products up to the level I am used to. Unfortunately for me and many other women, being green is not enough incentive to keep buying these products if the quality is not up to snuff and thus wastes money.
What has been your experience with Organic Household products and do you think the quality is worth the price?
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4 Responses
That organic crap is totally a rip off. Its just another way to milk more money out my and your already tight bottom line. I work in advertising and marketers have totally took this organic thing to the extreme and turned it into a craze! They even try to make you feel guilty for not buying the organics products. Don’t believe the hype.
I don’t fault people who buy organic products that are eaten i.e. Meats, Fruits, Dairy, etc. In an ideal world we should all be striving for the purest and most natural ingredients to nourishing our bodies. But let’s be realistic, i know that the people @ my job who are rushing to whole foods on their break are usually also coming back with 3000 calorie meals from McDonald’s, because they’ve wasted their whole break on those long lines in the grocery store!!!! how does that make sense?????
Ha! Thanks Rachel for the input…made me feel better about my sentiments. They really do make you feel guilty about not buying 100% organic. If they really want to be green try only buying used goods and recycled stuff…rarely do I hear them talk about that.
It’s probably obvious from my name, but I write about green living, and specifically greening the home, at my own blog. I think it’s a matter of perspective, personally. Green living is really important to me, so I might skip the West Elm organic towels (if the quality is really crappy) and get some higher end ones that would last longer, like from Gaiam or some other retailer with a good track record for making green products.
I also buy a lot of used products, particularly if I’m shopping for furniture, because it’s more affordable for me than buying new furniture that is TRULY green: Ie. made of hardwood and not fiberboard, etc. I’m not perfect in this area, but I try.
At the end of the day, as long as you’re doing it for the right reasons, it’s just great that you’re making the effort. And although you may never buy organic towels from West Elm again, don’t discount organic towels altogether. Just try a different retailer next time
As far as cleaning products, I prefer to use simply vinegar, peroxide, lemon juice and baking soda, but I have also found some great brands that I use all the time. Not trying to give you a sales pitch, so feel free to email me if you want to know more. This is my area of expertise, so forgive me for writing a book in your comments…lol
Thanks Jennae for your comment! I definitely haven’t givin up on green….in fact most of the food I buy is organic. If you have seen my other posts I have an obsession with homemade products. In fact I am slowly moving our household to that direction.
So I will continue to hunt happily for a really great organic brand