How to Go Green

18. FORGET PAPER. THINK GLASS. IceStone counters, made from recycled glass and concrete, are so hard — harder than marble, in fact — that the Brooklyn-based manufacturer warns you to use a cutting board while chopping up those onions — to save your knife (icestone.biz). IceStone looks a lot like granite, comes in a rainbow of colors, and can also be turned into bath tiles, tabletops and floors. Find it at Souli Tile & Stone in Chestnut Hill (8113 Germantown Avenue, 215-753-1904; souli.net) or Michael Addesso Marble & Granite World in Norristown (252 East Main Street, 610-272-3372; addessomarbleandgraniteworld.com).

19. SIT PRETTY. Buy a Knoll “Life” chair for your home office from the legendary area furniture maker — famous for the 1969 Eero Saarinen Tulip chair, not to mention the Barcelona chair. The environmental-award-winning $850-and-up Life chair is modern, cool, ergonomically precise — and it’s made from recycled and recyclable materials, has no-VOC finishes, and is manufactured in factories that are noted for their environmental standards (Knoll, 2300 Chestnut Street, suite 410, 215-988-1788; knoll.com).

20. PAINT FUME-FREE. Most paints are so toxic, they’re considered “hazardous waste.” But you can find paints with no VOCs that are just as durable and high-quality as the ones you’re used to, though in far fewer colors. Delaware County-based M.A.B. has an Enviro-Pure line that’s zero-VOC (check mabpaints.com for locations); so is the entire collection of paints from San Diego-based AFM Safecoat (safecoatpaint.com), available at the Environmental Home Store. For a bigger selection that’s slightly less green, New Jersey-based Benjamin Moore’s new, almost VOC-free Aura line is available in 3,300 colors by special order. Get it at Old City Paint and Decorating (210 West Girard Avenue; 215-625-8300) or Conroy’s Corner in Westmont (126 Haddon Avenue; 856-854-1980).

21. DON’T PAINT AT ALL. Instead, create wall art with 3D wallpaper tiles, made from bamboo pulp by Indianapolis-based Inhabit (inhabitliving.com), or recycled paper by Philly’s eco-design firm MIO (340 North 12th Street, 215-925-9359; mioculture.com). Inhabit’s off-white tiles come in a variety of textures and patterns that can be painted in vibrant shades and applied, with adhesive strips, in whatever combination you choose. Find them at Open House, or at AIA Bookstore (117 South 17th Street, 215-569-3188; aiabookstore.com). MIO’s patterned tiles come already tinted — the vibrant orange is pop-fabulous — and can be applied either just for a while with double-sided tape or permanently with wallpaper paste. Find a recipe for organic paste at care2.com.

22. LIGHT BRIGHT. The recycled powder-coated-steel $165 Bendant Lamp from MIO arrives at your doorstep in a flat box — it’s up to you to bend and pull the leaf-like shades into whatever shape you want. If you’re brave, order it in chartreuse; it also comes in white and silver. Or find a use for your all-but-obsolete, earth-unfriendly CD cases by commissioning a hanging lamp from Philly designer Josh Owen. A cylindrical hub with slots for you to install your CD cases, the shimmery lamp has been featured in a couple different design shows for sustainable works (joshowen.com).

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