Tips sheet

Tips for a Healthy, Ethical & Clean Home

This tip sheet was created by the team at Cruelty Free Casa // DiMare Design. It will guide you on what to look for and avoid when creating safe, ethical spaces that will elevate your health, happiness & strength. We suggest you first watch this video filled with lots of tips and takeaways:

Tips for Spaces Free From Tragedy & Toxins

Take a good look at your spaces and choose either one room, one type of animal based material to replace or 5 pieces of furniture or décor to replace. Start small or you might get overwhelmed and go in circles.

Learn how to take your first steps here

“Once you decide on your direction, write it down and give it a date. A goal without a date is just a dream.”

— A quote from my mom and mothers know best ALWAYS!

Use cleaning products that recycle their bottles!

One of our favorite brands is Public Goods! Use code HEALTHYPGA for 10% off your order.

check 'em out here

Go clean, simple and natural with your cleaning products

Here is our other favorite safe, 100% non toxic and cruelty free brand of cleaning products - what you clean your environment with is just as important as the furniture: DR. BRONNER’S CLEAN & SAFE SOAP

Become familiar with non animal-based & less toxic materials

Hemp, cotton, bamboo, linen, cork, rubber (kapok) and buckwheat are a few of our favorites! Learn about each of those materials HERE!

Don’t buy anything with AZO dyes

This dye is banned in Europe but still allowed in the US - learn more with this video:

Seek paints, glues, solvents, adhesives etc. that contain low or no VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds)

VOC’s contaminate indoor air quality, make all beings, human and non, ill. Here are the ones we personally use & recommend:

shop safe paints here

Educated yourself on what goes into making paints

Vegan paints do not contain animal products such as casein, which is the primary protein in milk, shellac, which is a resin secreted from the female lac bug and ox gall, which comes from cows. Most vegan paints do not contain heavy metals or VOC’s.

how to pick paint that's safe for the whole family

Decorative pillowcase covers

There are endless covers available at all major retailers. Buy covers that are made from hemp, organic cotton and those that are free from toxins.

shop one our fave covers here

Pillow Inserts

Foam is not ok! it’s toxic. Kapok or rubber and cotton fill are great.

shop one of our fave inserts here

Rugs

We’re fans of cotton, hemp, jute and sisal. They are affordable and there are endless styles and patterns.

check out one of our favorites here

Decorative Throws

Select organic cotton or hemp. We wrap ourselves in throws and our bodies absorbs these chemicals. Learn more about how & what our skins absorb with this video:

Sofas

Ensure that when a sofa is touted as “vegan” it doesn’t refer to the fabric of the sofa only. Many sofas are manufactured with down wrapping underneath the fabric in order to make the sofa more comfortable. Confirm there is no down within the sofa. Remember all animal based materials are highly toxic.

10 shocking facts about leather & how it makes us ill

Tables

Keep your eye out for tables wrapped or lined in leather, crocodile and sting ray. Confirm the fabrics are faux. Make sure to check the table handles as well. They could be wrapped in leather. Here’s a few ideas:

shop our fave tables here

Mattresses

Over 50% of Westerners have an illness. Our mattresses and bedding are key to our health since we spend 1/3 of our life in bed Wool is a common material used in mattresses. Make sure the mattress Is not only vegan but also non toxic. Many vegan mattresses are made with poisonous materials. Confirm that they are allergy-friendly made without harmful chemicals: no latex, soy, GMOs, vinyl/PVC, phthalates, formaldehyde, flame retardants, or perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).

beds, mattresses, disease & sleep

Bed Pillows

Many pillows are filled with Down. Down is filled with bacteria and creates illnesses such as feather duvet lung. It takes about 12 geese live plucked to fill one standard bed pillow. Buckwheat and kapok are two of my favorite bed pillows. They stay cool, are comfy, ethical and non-toxic.

Bedsheets

Stay away from wrinkle free and silk. Silkworms are inhumanely boiled for their silk & wrinkle free sheets contain Formaldehyde. Buy organic cotton, hemp or linen. Linen is great but takes a few washings to get very soft. Here’s one of our personal favorites:

Buy Only G.O.T.S. Certified or OEKO-TEX Certified Printed Sheets

Printed sheets contain dye that is highly toxic. Here is one of our favorite safe printed sheet sets:

check out the set here

Blankets

Stay away from wool blankets. They hold moisture and stain easily. They are also scratchy and smell “gamey.” Poor choice for anyone with health and/or sensory issues such as those in the spectrum of Autism. Seek organic cotton, bamboo and faux furs.

shop one of our faves here

Wallpaper & Wall Decals

Seek those that have one or more of the following; low VOC’s GreenGuard certified and FSC certified.

Check out this safe wall decor

certifications:

Look for GOTS certification (Global Organic Textile Exchange)

It certifies that the materials are completely organic and have no or very few chemicals. Organic materials have less impact on living creatures. GOTS is the best certification to look for.

Look for the OEKO-TEX Standard

It’s second best. It’s a certification that shows the materials are products are less toxic than most. Remember, products made without chemicals are more ethical and keep you happy, healthy & strong.

Look for GREENGUARD Certification

It helps buyers identify that the products and materials have low chemical emissions, improving the quality of the air in which the products are used. You will see this certification on many materials including flooring, furniture and fabrics.

Look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certification

This certification ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. Again, saving living species.