Buy Green, Buy Local

Stores stocked with environmentally friendly home products are cropping up from coast to coast.

Natasha Winick
natasha@originateNBM.com

All over North America, people are snapping up healthy building and home décor items that reflect their environmental sensibilities—and green companies are blossoming. From just 12 outlets in 2001, there are now more than 70 independently owned eco-products stores in 27 U.S. states and Canada. We asked some of these retailers to share how to shop for green building products. Here’s what they told us.

1. Buy from a reputable supplier. “Work with professionals who share your values and have an expertise in green, including suppliers,” says Matt Freeman-Gleason of Environmental Home Center in Seattle. “Greenwashing is becoming a significant issue, so expertise, experience and ethics are important.”
2. Look beyond price. “A product could be cheaper due to unfair labor practices,” says Jim Holland of Eco-Wise in Austin, Texas. “Buy locally made materials, and think about ways to reuse and recycle.”
3. Test products if you’re chemically sensitive. “Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s nontoxic,” says Cindy Meehan-Patton of Shelter Ecology in Asheville, North Carolina. “Products labeled low- or no-VOC aren’t completely free of all synthetic chemicals, and not all chemicals are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Green Building Stores

ARIZONA

Flagstaff
Architectural & Environmental Associates
3955 Lake Mary Rd.
(928) 214-0005
www.AEApower.com

Scottsdale
a.k.a. Green
8100 E. Indian School Road #3W
(480) 946-9600
www.akaGreen.com

EcoClean
2828 N. 36th St.
(480) 947-5286
www.EcoClean-AZ.com

Tucson
Originate
(520) 792-4207
www.OriginateNBM.com

CALIFORNIA

Atascadero
Green Goods
6100 B El Camino Real
(805) 462-9900
www.SloGreenGoods.com

Berkeley
Ecohome Improvement
2619 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 644-3500
www.EcohomeImprovement.com

Culver City
Livingreen: Los Angeles
10000 Culver Blvd.
(310) 838-8442
www.Livingreen.com

Garberville
Organic Grace
906 Redwood Dr.
(707) 923-1296
www.OrganicGrace.com

Grass Valley
Sons Development
563 Idaho Maryland Rd.
(530) 273-7875
www.SonsDevelopment.com

Los Angeles
Green Building Products
3604 Holdredge Ave.
(310) 559-1474
www.GreenBuildingProducts.com

Sacramento
Green Sacramento
1837 Fulton Ave.
(916) 483-4332
www.GreenSacramento.com

San Anselmo
Green Fusion Design Center
14 Greenfield Ave.
(415) 454-0174
www.GreenFusionDesignCenter.com

San Carlos
Eco Design Resources
633 Quarry Rd., Suite A
(650) 591-1123
www.EcoDesignResources.com

Santa Barbara
Livingreen: Santa Barbara
218 Helena Ave.
(866) 966-1319
www.Livingreen.com

Santa Cruz
Eco Design Resources
1014 Cedar St.
(831) 421-0588
www.EDRSC.com

Green Space
1122 Soquel Ave.
(831) 423-7200
www.GreenSpaceCompany.com

Santa Rosa
Natural Home Design Center
461 Sebastopol Ave.
(707) 571-1229
www.NaturalHomeProducts.com

COLORADO

Boulder
Eco-Products
3665 Frontier St.
(303) 449-1876
www.EcoProducts.com

Planetary Solutions
2030 17th St.
(303) 442-6228
www.PlanetEarth.com

Breckenridge
Eco-Products
189 Continental Ct.
(970) 547-0147
www.Recyclops.com

Carbondale
Building for Health
102 Main St.
(970) 963-0437
www.BuildingForHealth.com

Durango
Eco Home Center
3101 Main Ave., Suite 2
(970) 259-8326
www.EcoHomeCenter.com

Eagle
L2 Innovations
210 Marmot Lane
(970) 328-8098
www.L2Innovations.com

Telluride
EcoSpaces
162A Society Dr.
(970) 728-1973
www.EcoSpaces.net

FLORIDA

Sarasota
Eco-Smart & Florida House Learning Center
4600 Beneva Rd.
(941) 377-9460
www.EcoSmartInc.com

IDAHO

Boise
Green Foundations Building Center
5242 W. Chinden Blvd.
(208) 921-9309
www.GreenFoundations.com

McCall
Terra Building Supply
325 Commerce St.
(208) 634-8384
www.TerraBuildingSupply.com

Moscow
The Natural Abode
517 S. Main St.
(208) 883-1040
www.TheNaturalAbode.com

ILLINOIS

Chicago
Greenmaker Supply
2500 N. Pulaski Rd.
(773) 384-7500
www.GreenmakerSupply.com

Evanston
Healthy Green Goods
702 Main St.
(847) 864-9098
www.HealthyGreenGoods.com

IOWA

Fairfield
Green Building Supply
508 North 2nd St.
(641) 469-5558
www.GreenBuildingSupply.com

MAINE

Portland
Maine Green Building Supply
111 Fox St.(207) 780-1500
www.MaineGreenBuilding.com

MARYLAND

Kensington
Amicus Green Building Center
4080A Howard Ave.(301) 571-8590
www.AmicusGreen.com

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston
Nexus Green Building 
38 Chauncy St., 7th Floor
(617) 374-3740
www.NexusBoston.com

Holliston
Pure Home Center
1576 Washington Street
(508) 429-5255
www.PureHomeCenter.com

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis
Natural Built Home
4020 Minnehaha Ave. (612) 605-7999
www.NaturalBuiltHome.com

MISSOURI

Kansas City
Straw, Sticks & Bricks
115 West 18th St.
(816) 421-7171
www.StrawSticksAndBricks.com

MONTANA

Bozeman
Refuge Sustainable Building Center
714 E. Mendenhall St.
(406) 585-9958
www.RefugeBuilding.com

Missoula
Burley’s Green Goods Mercantile
215 E. Main St.
(406) 541-6110

NEBRASKA

Lincoln
Straw, Sticks & Bricks720 O Street, Lot B
(402) 435-5176
www.StrawSticksAndBricks.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Concord
Your Home Your World
138 N. Main St.
(603) 223-9867
www.YourHomeYourWorld.com

NEW MEXICO

Silver City
Material Good
106 N. Bullard St.
(505) 313-4925
www.MaterialGood.com

NEW YORK

Brooklyn
Bettencourt Green Building Supply
70 North 6th St.
(718) 218-6737
www.BettenCourtWood.com

Green Depot
1 Ivy Hill Rd.
(718) 782-2991
www.GreenDepot.com

NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville
Shelter Ecology
43 Pine Ridge Rd.
(828) 225-2829
www.ShelterEcology.com

OREGON

Bend
Environmental Building Supplies
50 SW Bond St., Suite 4
(541) 317-0202
www.Ecohaus.com

Corvallis
Your Green Home
2811 NW Grant Ave.
(541) 754-7336
www.YourGreenHome.com

Phoenix
Phoenix Organics
4543 South Pacific Hwy.
(541) 535-1134
www.PhoenixOrganics.com

Portland
Environmental Building Supplies
819 SE Taylor St.
(503) 222-3881
www.Ecohaus.com

PENNSYLVANIA

Hellertown
The Organic Mattress Store Inc.
1075 Main St.
(484) 851-3636
www.TheOrganicMattressStore.com

Lansdale
Environmental Home Store
1684 Kriebel Road
(215) 368-2589
www.EnvironmentalHomeStore.com

Pittsburgh
Artemis Environmental Building Materials
3709 Butler St.
(412) 904-1775
www.ArtemisEnvironmental.com

Philadelphia
Greenable
ADDRESS TK
(609) 903-9933
www.Greenable.net

TEXAS

Austin
Eco-Wise
110 W. Elizabeth St.
(512) 326-4474
www.EcoWise.com

Dallas
Green Living
1904 Abrams Pkwy.
(214) 821-8444
www.Green-Living.com

UTAH

Salt Lake City
The Green Building Center
1952 East 2700 South
(801) 484-6278
www.GreenBuildingCenter.net

VERMONT

Rutland
Green Things
118 East St.
(802) 388-4445
www.GreenThings.com

Saint Johnsbury
Green Mountain Organics
156 Hooker Hill Rd.
(877) 327-3091
www.GreenMountainOrganics.com

VIRGINIA

Charlottesville
Nature Neutral
370C Greenbrier Dr.
(434) 975-2002
www.NatureNeutral.com

Copper Hill
Eco Solutions
8909 Dear Run Dr. Southeast
(540) 929-4499
www.EcoSolutionStore.com

Norfolk
Organic Comfort Zone
9647 First View St.
(757) 48-8500
www.OrganicComfortZone.com

Richmond
Eco Supply Center
403 Stockton St. #101
(804) 232-8416
www.EcoSupplyCenter.com

WASHINGTON

Seattle
Environmental Home Center
4121 1st Avenue South
(206) 682-7332
www.EnvironmentalHomeCenter.com

Spokane
Eco Depot
1326 E. Sprague Ave.
(509) 924-8803
www.EcoDepotInc.com

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Eco-Green Living
1469 Church St. NW
(202) 234-7110
www.Eco-GreenLiving.com

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee
Future Green
2532 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
(414) 294-4300
www.FutureGreen.net

Waukesha
Safe Building Solutions
W292 S4498 Hillside Rd.
(262) 968-5070
www.SafeBuildingSolutions.com

WYOMING

Jackson
Living Green
180 N. Center, #1
(307) 733-2152

CANADA

Vancouver, British Columbia
GreenWorks Building Supply
386 W. 8th Ave.
(604) 685-3611
www.GreenworksBuildingSupply.com

Ottowa, Ontario
The Healthiest Home
135 Holland Ave.
(613) 715-9014
www.TheHealthiestHome.com