I learned about GoodWeave after seeing an ad in Lonny Magazine. This is an impressive and crucial organization.

GoodWeave is working to eliminate child labor one rug at a time. {One of the things I’m enjoying most about writing this blog is learning about people doing good things, I mean, REALLY good things, like at GoodWeave.}

CHILD LABOR = BAD

We know it exists but did you know it’s rampant in the Rug industry?

When I think about the beautiful area rug we have in our living room, the rug my son plays on every day, the rug we inherited from my in-laws and think of the possibility a small child could have made this rug? I can’t bear it. These children are sold and trafficked to work 12-18 hour days as early as 4 years of age; or they are unable to access education and are sent to the factories to work in countries such as Afghanistan, India and Nepal.

This got me excited. I’m a renter. And we move often. I don’t like it but that’s just the facts. I have a deep longing to REALLY decorate, the way you would in a place you intend to stay for many years. Adding wallpaper has just been a faraway fantasy… until now.

Removable wallpaper tiles from Hygge & West – brilliant. With designs by Joy Cho of Oh Joy blog. Oh YES! I covet her designs that I see adorning her walls on Instagram with her super-cute kid. Now I can put them up… and take them down. They can move with me. Oh joy, oh happy Hygge joy.

There isn’t really an eco component to this product… except that it’s re-usable, durable, made in the USA… and will bring happiness.

However, if you choose to get the traditional wallpaper, you can purchase the eco-friendly wallpaper paste for adhesive.

“Umbrellas on the market today are theoretically made of recyclable materials such as metal, plastic and wood. However, they can’t be recycled as they are. They’d need to be disassembled to be properly disposed of, which means that most of them just end up going to landfill…a big waste of resources. The polyester canopy, as an example, takes up to 100 years to biodegrade.”

“Ginkgo is made entirely in a single material. All the parts, from the canopy’s fabric to the seams’ thread, from the pole to the closing button, are made from polypropylene. All the fastening elements, such as screws, pivots and especially glue, have been replaced by integrated snap-fit elements. Thanks to these solutions, when Ginkgo finally reaches the end of its useful life you can just toss it in the recycle bin. No need to disassemble the components.”