by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Most people spend up to 3,000 hours per year in bed. This certainly warrants some serious “Greening” for your health as well as your planet. Sheets, blankets and PJ’s - spend a lot of time next to your skin - going organic is wildly worth the investment. And your conventional mattress? It contains a nightmare of petrochemicals, pesticides, flame retardants, dyes and any other number of toxins. If you want to know more, go here.

I have hung my bedroom hat with Lifekind - they offer me everything sleepworthy and then some, including organic GreenGuard certified mattresses. All stages of production are done at the only North American Eco-Factory and they support American organic farmers as well as other local producers. I’ve been longing for a mattress like this for years. One day soon I will solve my dilemma of how to switch up my mattress without adding my old conventional one to the landfill…any ideas out there?

Pillows are personal. I’ve had my feather pillows about 15 years now and am rather attached. But, when I’m ready to move on, I met some sheep-loving women at the Mpls Farmers Market this Summer who make pillows out of home-grown and sheared wool (Azariah Acres Farm 320-355-2980). They felt wonderful and I’ve been, uh, lusting after one since.

Are you sleeping with the enemy? The cotton industry accounts for 25 percent of pesticides used on crops. Those really old t-shirts and thrift store flannels will do for now, but when you are ready for new stuff, skip Victoria’s Secret (negligees are highly over-rated) and check out The Green Guide’s guide to a natural sleep here. You can find sustainable comfort in organic cotton, hemp, extra-soft bamboo and even humane silk.

Like a little mood lighting before retiring? No, I’m not referring to the glow from your television set. Cfls can now meet bedroom standards with the new shapes and softer glow. The ultimate mood enhancer comes from candle light, of course. Use them responsibly by choosing petroleum- and lead-free beeswax.

Now you can get a REALLY good night’s sleep.

Tags: culture, health, home

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 9:54 am and is filed under Green Misc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.