Healthy Living

By: Leslie Harris, Interior Designer, Leslie Harris Interior Design and LuxEco Advocate I believe that every home should be a sanctuary and that upon entering it one should immediately feel physically and emotionally protected. What I first noticed upon entering Jim and Nancy Chudas Green Home to select a room to design for an upcoming feature in Los Angeles Magazine was that it had all of those qualities even in the construction phase.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant In 1978, the FDA proposed to ban over-the-counter ingredients triclosan and triclocarban, found predominantly in antimicrobial soaps. According to the National Resources Defense Council, these two common chemicals can cause damage to reproductive organs and production of thyroid and sex hormones. However, it has been more than 30 years and the FDA has done nothing beyond testing. One unnamed environmental nonprofit has had enough, and is suing the FDA for its alleged negligence.

By Florence “Flip” Ross, LuxEco Advocate One day at work, I happened to mention that I found these hills so pleasant to look at every time I passed them, and I wondered how they had developed there in the midst of all the flatness, which looked like God had ironed the land. Everyone laughed and said: “Don’t you know what those hills are?

By Rachel Sarnoff, Writer and Founder of EcoStiletto.com and MommyGreenest.com and LuxEco Advocate via www.ecostiletto.com Want to keep chemicals out of your home? Start with your furniture. Carcinogenic formaldehyde is...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Have you ever wondered how your shampoo fulfills its magnificent claims to give you “shinier,” “sleeker,” “frizz freer,” “blonder,” “brunetter,” (…the list goes on) hair? Annie Leonard, author of The Story of Stuff and The Story of Bottled Water, wondered this of her personal favorite, Pantene Pro-V. She looked at the ingredients on the bottle post-lather and thought, “Sodium laureth sulfate? Tetrasodium EDTA? Methylisothiazolinone? What is this stuff?” After doing some research, she found the truth behind her shampoo was disheartening, to say the least. In her most recent short film installment, The Story of Cosmetics, Annie Leonard tells us how it’s not just shampoo, but many personal care products that contain toxic ingredients. From sunscreen to lipstick, there are disease-causing chemicals in our daily product regimen responsible for cancer, learning disabilities, and much more.

by Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Green is in and it is here to stay.  Eco-friendly products have blossomed on the fashion scene and are...

By Lisa Adams, Designer and CEO of LA Closet Design and LuxEco Advocate Maximizing a closet is the number one issue for most people, and...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” In the 1970s, several senators began to recognize a literal truth behind this Chinese proverb. They realized the importance of teaching the man how to provide his own food source. When the government grasped the self-sufficiency and power of being able to fish, or in this case garden, they began granting $100,000 per year to gardening programs. This evolved to $100,000 to each of 20 metro areas around the United States, one of them being Los Angeles.

by Jessica Borges, LuxEco Editorial Assistant As you’re staring blankly into your “so last year” closet full of drab clothing that you just can’t bear to...

By Molly Cimikoski, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Here at LuxEco Living there are lots of things we like to indulge in (I write this moments after...

By: Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, www.EcoStiletto.com and LuxEco Advocate Can nail polish be “natural?” Let’s get real: No matter how many eco-friendly labels get slapped on...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant The Sex and the City ladies each seem to have a sixth sense: fashion. As the world continues to grow eco-conscious,...

By Christopher Gavigan, CEO and Executive Director of Healthy Child Healthy World and LuxEco Advocate Interview Conducted By Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEco Living and...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Imagine if the very thing you used and depended on to protect you from skin cancer was capable of exacerbating the growth of epidermal lesions and tumors. Well that’s what the Environmental Working Group claims may be the case. A recent study shows that retinyl palmitate, a synthetic form of vitamin A, is carcinogenic on skin exposed to the sun.

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant The hot sand between your toes, the refreshing cool water splashing against your legs, the high sun warm on your face. Summer is approaching fast and the beaches beckon us in all their golden glory. But before you rush off in your swimsuit, take the necessary precautions to make sure you have a safe celebration of this season.

By Nancy Chuda, Founder of LuxEcoLiving.com Tonight, Jim and I were guests on "Toxic Childood" a CNN special report hosted by Sanja Gupta MD. For the...

By: Linsley Oaks, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant I have a friend who knits. A lot. She is better than any machine. She gets...

The trend towards low-cost "throw away" fashion has resulted in a stratospheric increase in sales.  However,  according to Ecouterre the results have not been...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Editorial Assistant Yoga mat. Check. Pony-tail. Check. Comfy and easily removed flip-flops. Check. Bhakti Ware…Check? “Wait, what is Bhakti Ware?” You...

Green interiors are now innovative, elegant and easily available in every pricing category.  epOxyGreen, a 5,000-square foot showroom featuring sustainable flooring, carpeting, recycled decorative...

By: Emily Lynne Ion via Heathy Child Healthy World on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Today, the Healthy Child family is mourning the loss of an...

By Alanna Brown, LuxEco Living Editorial Assistant The largest organ in, or should I say on, our bodies…the epidermis.  It is defined by the Online...

By Rachel Sarnoff, Writer and Founder of EcoStiletto.com and MommyGreenest.com and LuxEco Advocate I’m a journalist by trade and I’d been writing about fashion and...

By Nancy Chuda, Co-Founder of LuxEcoLiving.com and Healthy Child Healthy World. This Earth Day, April 22, 2010, marks the 19th anniversary of the passing of...

By Lewis Perkins reposted from “Semantic of Sustainability” - FastCompany.com So I think we can all admit by now that “green washing” is a thing...

The meditation suite, powder room and terrace of the Green Home, was designed to reflect James and Nancy Chuda's love for Buddhism, Zen philosophy...