Raksha Bella Organic in the Haystack Needle

q + a: carrie of raksha bella organic bedding

Carrie Peters is a super sweet gal I met at the Gift Show, who designs a gorgeous line of organic fair-trade bedding called Raksha Bella Organic Textiles. She fell into the business by organically combining what made sense to her. Carrie was a decorative painter for many years and she started to explore eco-paints after getting allergic reactions to standard paint. She started working with non-toxic, no-VOC paints. Then she went back to school for interior design and architecture. Yet she always knew she wanted to work with organic cotton.  A trip to India sealed the deal. Here's more on how Carrie's going green in her everyday:

1. three simple ways you've gone greener in your life
grow my own food, solar panels on my house, biodiesel (maybe these aren’t so simple!)

2. last green purchase
organic cotton bedding (smile)

3. one green initiative you'd like to see enacted in your communityIts Berkeley, CA, so that’s a tough one, hmmm.

4. best green gift you've given, received, or covetedfresh chard from my garden

 Merci Haystack Needle! 

Earth Day Every Day!

Our family at Raksha Bella believes that every day is Earth Day! This is one of the reasons that we pledge certified organic, environmentally low-impact production of our textiles. We would like to help shrink the global footprint that we have all created in order for future sons and daughters to live happy, healthy lives in a world more beautiful than we left it. In the meantime, we try to live what we believe while helping others live it too.

Check out bedding for our newest additions to the earth! Pictured is one of Raksha Bella’s Organic baby blankets in Elephant in Milky Blue with Camel in Tangerine on the reverse (with Sweet Clover in Dried Tobacco piping). It's so sweet & we're loving the blue chair!

Design Sponge

Thanks Design Sponge for sharing our pictures from our Kaleidescope Collection!
For those of you who missed this blog post, we've copy & pasted it here.
 RAKSHA BELLA ORGANIC TEXTILES
AND LOUNGEWARERAKSHAOUNGEWARE

If you’ve fallen in love with the eco-bedding movement (go to an eco-home store, lay on an organic cotton/natural-latex mattress, and you will), you might be familiar with Raksha Bella Organic Textiles—those beautifully soft handmade quilts and linens with prints reminiscent of India, but with a modern spin.

This summer (June-ish), owner Carrie Peters and designer Erica Tanov will introduce their collaboration: new bedding patterns, and loungeware.

Carrie (and photographer Erica Shires) were sweet enough to give us a preview of the line, shown here.

What’s your favorite? (And who else wants to move their bedroom to a rural grassy field?)

I’m a huge fan of organic, sustainable products. They’re the right choice for the planet, and they’re often the best choice for your health. And Raksha Bella takes that feel-good purchase one step further: Raksha Bella Organic Textiles are made by women who are self employed through the Grameen banking system. This Nobel Peace Prize winning system of micro-loans offers these women an opportunity to live above the poverty line and recover from abuse and ostracism as well as having a practical means for earning a living in something they enjoy. Raksha Bella is committed to, not only
providing a product that is made through fair labor practices and support of organic products, but striving to set an example of a truly humanitarian
philosophy. More info here.

Green values with a gold heart. I love it.

Check out Raksha Bella’s website for their current collection, and check back for the new goods soon. Sleep well

Photography by Erica Shires