The global market for natural health products now exceeds $300 billion, and parents are leading the charge — looking for gentler, plant-based alternatives to synthetic medicines for their kids. Some natural remedies have centuries of traditional use behind them. Others have meaningful clinical support. And a few carry real safety caveats that are easy to miss when you’re shopping for a more natural medicine cabinet.
Four ingredients cover a lot of ground: coconut oil, essential oils, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Here’s what the evidence says about each, including what to watch out for, especially with younger children.
| Note: A trained medical professional is always your best resource for treating serious ailments. This article provides general information, not medical advice. Never delay or ignore professional care based on something you read online. |
This article contains affiliate links that help fund our work.
1. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil earns its place in a natural medicine cabinet through sheer versatility. Applied topically, it works well as a balm for chapped cheeks, a diaper rash treatment for babies, a soothing after-bath moisturizer for dry skin, and as a carrier oil when diluting essential oils for topical use. It’s also a perfectly serviceable cooking oil — just keep separate containers to avoid cross-contamination between cosmetic and kitchen uses.
Look for unrefined, virgin coconut oil — it retains more of the naturally occurring medium-chain fatty acids (including lauric acid, which has demonstrated antimicrobial properties in lab studies) compared to refined versions. Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil is a consistently available option.
2. Essential Oils: Effective, But Use With Care
Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts potent enough to have real therapeutic effects, and potent enough to cause real harm if misused. For kids, the most useful are:
- Lavender oil soothes minor skin irritation, helps with relaxation, and has mild antiseptic properties. It’s one of the gentler oils for children. Plant Therapy Lavender Essential Oil is a reputable, widely available option.
- Tea tree oil (melaleuca) is a well-documented antiseptic useful for skin rashes and has shown effectiveness against head lice. NOW Tea Tree Oil is a reliable choice.
- Eucalyptus oil supports respiratory comfort when diffused and can be used in a natural chest rub for older children. Plant Therapy Eucalyptus Globulus is a good starting point. For children under 2, eucalyptus in any form should be avoided. For children ages 2–4, use only with extra caution and well-diluted.
Eucalyptus age limits: Eucalyptus age limits: The blanket warning “never use on children under 10” guidance circulating online is an overstatement. The European Medicines Agency concludes that eucalyptus used by inhalation, topically, or as a bath additive is appropriate from age 4, and that oral use is restricted to age 12 and up. Do not apply near the nose, mouth, or face of any young child. Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young’s Essential Oil Safety (2nd ed., 2014), the field’s standard reference, supports this more nuanced reading.
Lavender and tea tree and hormonal concerns with boys: Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a link between topical use of lavender and tea tree oils and hormonal disruption in prepubescent boys. Aromatherapy (diffusing) is the lower-risk alternative for this age group.
Always dilute essential oils. Undiluted oils should never be applied to a child’s skin. For children under 2, use a 0.5–1% dilution in a carrier oil (like coconut or almond oil). For ages 2–6, 1–2% is appropriate.
No peppermint for children under 30 months. Peppermint oil can increase seizure risk in very young children and should be avoided.
For a comprehensive reference, Johns Hopkins Medicine’s essential oil safety guide for children is a solid starting point. And check with your pediatrician before introducing new oils, especially for children with respiratory conditions.
3. Honey: Powerful Medicine — With A Critical Exception
Raw honey does considerably more than sweeten tea. Applied topically, it’s an effective treatment for acne, particularly raw honey, which retains more antimicrobial compounds. Manuka honey from bees that pollinate the New Zealand mānuka bush has demonstrated well-documented antibacterial properties and is worth keeping on hand for wound care and throat soothing.
For throat relief, a spoonful of honey dissolved in warm water with lemon is effective for children over 1 year old. Look for raw Manuka honey rather than processed honey in a plastic squeeze bottle, which has been heated and filtered to the point of losing most of its beneficial properties.
| Critical Safety Warning — Honey and Infants: The FDA, CDC, and American Academy of Pediatrics all recommend that honey never be given to children under 12 months of age — in any form, including baked goods, cereals, or foods that contain honey as an ingredient. Honey can harbor Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause infant botulism, a serious and potentially fatal illness. Infants’ digestive systems are not mature enough to neutralize the spores. This restriction applies to raw honey, pasteurized honey, and honey in cooked or processed foods. After age 1, honey is safe. |
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar’s acidic properties make it useful for a handful of topical applications. Two cups diluted in bathwater can help soothe eczema flares; diluted 50/50 with water, it’s effective for sunburn relief and itchy skin.
Its strong taste makes internal use a tough sell for kids, but they can still benefit from external applications. As with honey, quality matters: get an unfiltered, unpasteurized brand that retains “the mother” — the strand-like protein-enzyme matrix that forms during fermentation. Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is the go-to product and is widely available.
A note on internal use for older kids and adults: ACV is acidic enough to erode tooth enamel if taken undiluted or frequently. Always dilute in water and consult a healthcare provider before making it a regular supplement.
These four ingredients are a good starting point for your own natural healing remedies. Simple and straightforward, most will be readily available at your local health food store and are a cinch to apply or administer.
Building Your Natural Medicine Cabinet
These four ingredients give you solid coverage for common minor ailments — skin irritation, dryness, colds, scrapes, and more. Most are available at natural grocery stores; the essential oils are easy to find online from reputable brands like Plant Therapy, NOW, and Edens Garden, all of which publish third-party testing data.
Start simple, read the labels carefully (especially age guidance on essential oils), and keep products stored out of reach of young children. When in doubt, your pediatrician is the right call.
Editor’s Note: Originally written by Madeleine Summerville on April 8, 2015, this article was updated in March 2026 to reflect current pediatric safety guidance, including honey/infant botulism warnings and updated essential oil age recommendations.
The post Mother Nature’s Medicine: 4 Natural Remedies for Healthy Kids appeared first on Earth911.
https://earth911.com/living-well-being/mother-natures-medicine-4-natural-remedies-for-healthy-kids/
Just like fashion has been overrun by fast fashion, home goods and furniture have similarly seen a rapid decline in quality. Rugs are no exception.
And similar to fashion, these cheap goods come at a high cost — namely, to the planet and to people. In fact carpet and rug production is rampant with exploitation.
On the other hand, fair trade rugs present the best of what a rug can bring to your home: artistry, craftsmanship, and heritage.
The brands featured in this guide are partnering with (and fairly paying!) skilled artisans who are using generations-old — and sometimes even centuries-old — techniques. These artisans are sustaining long lines of crafts, preserving their cultural diversity, and celebrating the richness of their time-honored crafts.
There’s simply no replacement for a timeless, quality artisan-made rug — they’re like pieces of art you can lay out on your floor or hang on your walls.
So, enjoy browsing through this guide to sustainable rug brands listed out below and best of luck on your search for the right fair trade rug!
Where to Find Ethical and Fair Trade Rugs
Note that this guide includes affiliates and partners. As always, brands must meet high standards for ethics and sustainability to be featured and all opinions are my own.
1. Obakki
Best for: warm-hued handwoven wool rugs
Categories: Area Rugs, Runners, Accent Rugs
Obakki partners with artisan weavers primarily in Oaxaca, Mexico — including individual makers like José — who hand-dyes and weaves rugs on a traditional pedal loom using locally sourced sheep’s wool and natural dyes derived from native plants. The brand also works with Rrres Design Studio, a Latin American studio dedicated to preserving traditional Oaxacan weaving techniques, and sources handwoven textiles from artisan communities beyond Mexico as well, including Morocco.
Each rug is made from 100% wool with no synthetic dyes or backing. Most pieces are made-to-order with a 4-8 week production window, shipped directly from the artisan partners.
Price Range: $460 – $4,159
Conscious Qualities: Natural Fibers, Natural Dyes, Craft Preservation
2. Kiliim
Best for: modern wool kilim rugs
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs
If you’re well-versed in rug terminology, you may recognize that this brand’s name looks similar to the word kilim.
Kiliim’s rug are made using authentic kilim rug craftsmanship by artisans in Egypt coming from generations of kilim artisans. To ensure ethical production and to support the preservation of this heritage craft, Kiliim pays living wages to all artisans.
Price Range: $95 – $4,812
Conscious Qualities: Ethical Production, Heritage Craft Preservation, Natural Fibers
3. Urban Natural
Best for: browsing fair trade rugs in lots of styles and sizes
Categories: Outdoor, Area Rugs, and Accent Rugs
This natural home and lifestyle retailer has a beautifully curated selection of sustainably-made rugs crafted with materials like jute, sisal, wool, and cotton.
Several brands on Urban Natural are also ethically hand-loomed or hand-knotted, such as Loloi — a GoodWeave partner — and Jaipur Living — a brand that partners with thousands of local artisans to sustain heritage crafts.
Price Range: $259 – $9,755
Conscious Qualities: Eco-Conscious Materials
4. LOOMY
Best for: pet-friendly and performance rugs
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs, Runners, Outdoor Rugs
Founded by a weaver, LOOMY is dedicated to crafting beautiful artisan-made rugs that will last for decades to come.
LOOMY partners with highly-skilled artisan weavers who craft quality rugs made from eco-minded materials like banana silk, jute, and recycled cotton, plus performance options made from 100% recycled polyester built to withstand whatever life brings you.
Price Range: $298 – $8,298
Conscious Qualities: Natural Fibers, Craft Preservation, Vintage Options
5. West Elm
Best for: fair trade rugs in on-trend mainstream styles
Categories: Area Rugs, Accent Rugs
West Elm is bringing ethical rugs to a broader market with their collection of Fair Trade Certified
wool and cotton rugs. While I recommend browsing the smaller shops listed above first, West Elm is supporting the movement to responsibly-made, fair trade rugs.
Price Range: $$$
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade production, Majority Natural Materials
6. Jubi
Best for: Modern rugs in vibrant prints
Categories: Accent Rugs, Circle Rugs, Runners
Jubi is a Brooklyn studio founded by textile designer Cassie Dagostino. Every rug is handmade from New Zealand wool by fourth-generation weaving families in Bhadohi, India using traditional techniques. Each rug is made-to-order, meaning no excess stock. Since everything is made to order, expect between 3 and 7 weeks for your rug, depending on the technique used.
Conscious Qualities: Pays Above Market Rates, 100% Wool, Made-to-Order
Price Range: $228 – $668
Shipping: Free worldwide shipping
7. Rejuvenation
Best for: Classic rug styles made in Fair Trade factories
Categories: Accent Rugs, Runners, Area Rugs
Home retailer Rejuvenation has a selection of rugs made in Fair Trade Certified factories. Their collection includes undyed hand-loomed rugs to geometric flatwoven wool rugs. And while I’d typically avoid synthetics, it tends to be unavoidable for outdoor rugs — so Rejuvenation’s Fair Trade 100% recycled poly rug is a good option.
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade Certified, Mostly Natural Materials
Price Range: $79 – $1,649
Shipping: Contiguous U.S. shipping for 10% of product price (add $20 for HI, AK, and US. territorries)
Liked this guide to ethical rugs? You might also enjoy:
Ethical Home Decor Brands to Curate a Beautiful, Conscious Space
Eco-Friendly Furniture to Furnish Your Home Sustainably
Fair Trade and Eco-Friendly Blankets to Cozy Up With
The post 5 Best Ethical Fair Trade Rugs to Elevate Your Space appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
As a longtime book lover, I may be biased, but I think a full bookshelf is one of the most beautiful additions to a space. There’s nothing better than seeing a showcase of your favorite reads alongside a TBR list.
A bookcase, though, can of course be used for all sorts of purposes from placing your favorite photos of family and friends to showcasing treasured vintage finds.
Whatever the case, this guide will help you find the right sustainable bookshelf for your living room, office, or wherever you like to cozy up with a good read!
So what make a bookcase more sustainable? What makes a bookshelf non-toxic?
First of all: sustainable and non-toxic are two overlapping — but distinct — criteria. And both of those terms can come with a lot of opinions and varying definitions.
When it comes to sustainable bookcases, I look for:
- Responsibly Sourced Materials: most bookshelves are made primarily with wood. While natural, unsustainable wood sourcing can be a cause of deforestation, so we want to see that the wood was from responsibly managed forests or made from reclaimed or repurposed wood. Some bookshelves may feature metal, in which case recycled materials here are important.
- High Quality Construction: sustainability includes longevity — how long will you be able to use that furniture piece before it goes to the landfill and gets replaced? Look for transparency around craftsmanship and woodworking processes. Another sign of quality is the length of warranty a company has for its products.
- Ethically Made: this one is straightforward in theory — were the people making it paid fairly and working in safe conditions? — but is unfortunately not always easy to find information. In this category, I look for transparency in practices, what relationship the brand has with the manufacturer (some produce in-house which is the best case scenario for transparency!), where it was made, and how well the makers were paid.
Ideally a sustainable bookshelf would also be non-toxic — as toxic chemical fumes aren’t exactly sustainable! But this isn’t always the case. For example, if a company prioritizes upcycled materials, they don’t necessarily have control over what inputs were part of the original materials. And sometimes a company focuses more on ethical artisan partnerships and sustainable wood sourcing, more than, say, using non-toxic finishes.
But when it comes to non-toxic bookshelves, this is what I look for. (Note that non-toxic doesn’t necessarily mean safe for all chemical sensitivities. Nor does it mean zero potentially irritating chemicals.)
- Solid Wood (where possible): MDF or pressed wood contains glue to stick the various wood pieces together, which can contain added formaldehyde. I prefer solid wood, or if it is engineered wood, I’d make sure the company is transparent around the type of glue used and/or they at least have a product certification like GREENGUARD. (More on that in a second.)
- Low or Zero VOC Finishes: most wood furniture is completed with some sort of finish to provide a protection against scratches or moisture. Many of these finishes are synthetic, and some can contain high levels of toxic chemicals. Look for a natural finish like linseed oil or beeswax or a low VOC synthetic finish.
Relevant Certifications
You’ll see a few certifications referenced throughout this guide. Here’s what each one covers:
- FSC Certified = the wood sourcing was responsibly managed; this is not a finish, foam, or textile guarantee.
- GREENGUARD / GREENGUARD Gold Certified = the finished product was tested for low chemical emissions, including VOCs, with Gold representing the stricter tier.
- Fair Trade Certified
= verifies that a factory meets standards for fair wages, safe working conditions, and ethical labor practices. - Cradle to Cradle Certified (Gold) = evaluates a product or material across material health, circularity, clean air/climate, water/soil stewardship, and social fairness.
Where to Find Sustainable Bookcases and Shelving
I’m always a secondhand first proponent, and that goes for furniture, too. While your local thrift store might not have used bookshelves, check for dedicated furniture resale shops near you or estate sales. (I use EstateSales.net to find ones near me.) You can also find gently used pieces on online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp or AptDeco.
If you can’t find something you love secondhand, and you don’t want to DIY your own bookshelf, then the next best choice is to shop from one of the sustainable furniture companies below. (If you’re simply looking for a bookstand, I’d suggest browsing Etsy for a collection of solid wood, bamboo, and reclaimed wood book stands and cookbook stands!)
Note that this guide includes affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you purchase through these links which helps us continue to run this website and create resources like these. As always all brands meet strict sustainability criteria and are brands we love — and that we think you’ll love too!
1. Medley
Best for: low VOC wood bookcases
Medley’s bookshelves are elegant and elevated, perfect for a living room. Each piece is made with 100% solid FSC-certified hardwood for the tops and sides, though low-VOC CARB 2 compliant plywood is used for the shelves.
Every eco-friendly bookcase is handcrafted in the US (California or North Carolina) and completed with a low-VOC wood finish.
Price: $2,395 – $2,995
Materials: White Maple, American Walnut Wood
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-Order, US-Made, FSC-Certified Wood, Natural Finish
2. Thuma
Best for: non-toxic modular bookshelf
Thuma’s eco-friendly bookshelf is made from upcycled wood sourced from rubberwood trees no longer being used to source rubber. The brand’s bookshelf is also GREENGUARD Gold certified.
What makes Thuma’s bookshelf stand out to me, though, is its modularity — their Pillar Bookshelf can be set in 10 different configurations. And if you start with just a few shelves but later decide you want a larger bookshelf, you can simply buy an additional shelf or two to add on to it!
Price Range: $550 – $3,300
Materials: Upcylced Rubber Wood
Conscious Qualities: GREENGUARD Gold Certified, Repurposed Materials, Adaptable
3. West Elm GREENGUARD Certified
Best for: low-tox bookcases and bookracks for kids
This furniture retailer has plenty of adorable, but functional, bookshelves for a playroom or kids’ bedroom. From cubby bookcases to mid-century bookracks, you’ll find plenty of options that are not only GREENGUARD certified, but made in Fair Trade Certifiedfactories, and/or with FSC-certified wood. Note that the company’s bookshelves are made with engineered wood, though.
West Elm also has GREENGUARD certified bookcases large enough for the adults too!
Price: $399 – $2,897
Materials: Solid Wood, Reclaimed Wood
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade, FSC Certified, and GREENGUARD Certified Options
<