New wall-to-wall carpet, like so many other interior furnishings, off-gasses noxious fumes. First of all, most of today’s carpets are made from synthetic—which is to say petrochemical-based—chemicals, spun into fibers. Second, they’re often coated with stain resisters. Kind of a double whammy in the chemical department.

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Buy Green Goes With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner Planet by Sloan Barnett. Published by Atria Books.