A Cleaner Planet, One Mattress at a Time
Elliot Tigerlily and Talia Rose with baby daughter Grace and son Zack, at their new store, Organic Grace, in Garberville’s Sentry Center. The store, inspired by Grace’s birth, carries non-toxic beds and other products for the home.
Alarmed by Toxins in Baby Beds, Couple Offers Organic Alternatives in New Store
BY RIP KIRBY
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER
For Talia Rose and Elliot Tigerlily, having a new baby meant giving birth twice. Their alarm at the widespread use of toxic flame retardants in baby beds and other products fueled the inception of their new store: Organic Grace, Non-Toxic Options for Healthy Living.
The shop, located in Garbervile’s Sentry Center, features non-toxic beds, organic cotton clothes, bedding, and Safecoat non-toxic finishes — paints, stains, sealants, and caulking. This is Tigerlily’s first experience in retail business, but Rose previously owned and operated the nearby Kidz-N-More for seven years before selling it.
They named the business for their 1-year-old daughter, Grace, and their quest for a non-toxic environment for her. “I was shocked that they coat everything for babies in carcinogenic chemicals that are banned in other parts of the world,” Rose said. Tigerlily’s research found a study in New Zealand that linked the flame-retardant chemicals to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
The couple shopped online for an alternative mattress and found all-natural non-toxic beds which use organic cotton covers, organic cotton, wool or natural latex fillers, and a natural flame retardant, wool. But, like a lot of natural-fiber products, organic beds are very expensive. “They’re out of our budget and out of a lot of our friends’ budgets,” said Tigerlily. “So we decided to try to make them available cheaper. The most expensive organic mattresses we found on the internet were $2,700. We’re offering them at a substantial discount, so that people on a tight budget like us can afford them.”
Tigerlily and Rose stressed the importance of organic cotton. “[Conventionally grown cotton] is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the country,” said Tigerlily. The store carries organic cotton bathrobes, T-shirts and socks, and organic cotton blankets.Wool is another natural fiber the store features; in addition to being a natural flame retardant, the small amount of lanolin left in wool makes it antibacterial and resistant to dust mites. Organic Grace carries wool comforters, and is searching for woolen long underwear.
The couple is interested in adding a line of full-spectrum light bulbs, the closest thing to natural sunlight. These, Tigerlily explained, can help people who get “cabin fever” during the heavy rainy season. To avoid the toxicity of plastic water bottles, Organic Grace carries stainless steel water bottles.“We want to work with people to help find non-toxic solutions for people who don’t have a lot of money,” Rose said. “There are things you can do to make your house less toxic. ... We’re willing to get products we don’t have that they’d like to see available locally.”
Acknowledging that organic products often cost more than their “conventional” counterparts, Rose emphasized that buying organic is an investment in better health — not just the consumer’s, but that of the planet as a whole. “When you’re buying something organic, you’re not just getting something for yourself, you’re doing something for the planet. You’re reducing the number of pesticides and herbicides and making the environment safer for humans and animals.”
