 Anybody on your list dreaming of a green Christmas? Let’em sleep…on the organic mattresses, pillows and bed linens made by White Lotus Home (www.whitelotus.net) right in its New Brunswick workshop and retail showroom.
They also have pet beds for your pooch or kitty, computer pillows for keyboard comfort, massage mats, meditation cushions, “puddle pads” for cribs, and beautiful futon covers in fabrics of rich jewel hues and earth tones.
White Lotus makes its bedding with organically-grown cotton that remains organic after harvesting (no dyes, bleaches or fungicides), organic buckwheat hulls, virgin wool that acts as a natural dust mite repellent and moisture absorber, and kapok—a downy natural fiber for stuffing from the tropical tree also called kapok. Ultracel foam, used to soften mattresses, is manufactured without ozone-depleting chemicals.
“I like the whole hands-on ethic of the place,” says Ellie Glabau, White Lotus Home head seamstress and production manager. “We don’t get anything overseas. The White Lotus Home is like its own little family.”
White Lotus Home also carries hardwood beds, dressers, desks, tables and chairs crafted by Vermont Furniture Designs using maple, ash, poplar, walnut or cherry, with a hand-rubbed oil finish. The wood in these and other pieces is harvested in an environmentally responsible way.
Says Glabau, “You’re directly benefiting people in the area that work here as opposed to going to a big box store with items from places you’ve never heard of.”
White Lotus Home was founded 26 years ago in New Brunswick. The workshop and showroom at 191 Hamilton Street is in a building that dates back to the 1800’s and was transformed from an old car garage.
You can find White Lotus products in some 60 shops across the United States and Canada, including the Princeton University store (www.pustore.com). So whether or not we get a white Christmas this year, bed down in some green linens—and as the store slogan says, “Help save the earth while you sleep!”
By NJ My Way contributor Amanda Cafaro
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