Green Is The New Black

When I was a kid, ‘being green’ was considered highly uncool. You were a ‘tree hugger’, you were ‘granola’, you were most likely to be found in the park kicking a hacky- sack or twirling sticks, smelling like a potpourri of patchouli and weed, listening to the Grateful Dead or Phish. One thing you were not, was stylish – you were not high end and you were not luxury (not that there’s anything wrong with that)…. Well, can I tell you Tree Hugger, you have really come a long way. You have cut off your dread locks and put on some shoes, and strutted right into the spotlight.

These days you are hard pressed to find a home wares shop or even a hardware store that doesn’t offer some sort of green product range. Gone are the days of bottle cap wind chimes; recycled – green – earth friendly – sustainable products are now not only main stream, but are often luxury products.

Jardan, the Melbourne based uber cool furniture company, proudly boasts the origin of the materials they use and their tiny ‘footprint’ – and so they should. They went up a peg or two when I discovered that. They not only use sustainable timber, but they go as far as to use 100% recycled foam in their upholstered pieces that is triple washed with 100% recycled water. Even their plastic glides are 100% recycled – impressive!!

Speaking of timber, Eco Timber in Richmond re-purpose timber from old bridges, factories. Not only is recycled timber as green as it gets, but it’s packed full of history and character. Back in May, the friendly guys at Eco Timber generously gave me a big offcut to use for my Inside Out magazine cover as a skirting board. I schlepped that thing all the way to Sydney and back because it was so beautiful. It came from a decommissioned bridge in Sydney (that’s one well travelled piece of wood), and had a deep patina, worm holes and even bits of old nails still embedded in it. Oh if it could talk, it would have some stories to tell I am sure.

Bamboo is another really cool material that has many varied purposes. It grows really fast (up to 91cm in a day believe it or not) and is really sturdy – it is even used as scaffolding in Asia that goes up more stories than I would like to imagine. Bamboo is used as flooring, plywood (or ‘plyboo’ as it is called), and it can even be made into fabric. You may have noticed bamboo sheets and bed linen popping up here and there. Not only are they softer than you would imagine, they breathe and even have antibacterial properties.

One of my favourite American imports is West Elm. They have a great range of furniture and home wares, including some earth friendly items like organic cotton bedding and recycled wine bottles that have been turned into candle holders and glassware called ‘Rewined’. I really like the simplicity of repurposing wine bottles and I think they look and feel great. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I have palmed a wine bottle or two in my day, but I find their simplicity elegant and practical. 

I can, of course, go on and on because the number of really fabulous green and earth friendly products available these days is truly limitless, but you get the idea. The moral of the story is that green is good – green is great – green is not just for the barefoot any longer – it is stylish and high end and luxurious, and it goes with everything. Green is the new black.