My guest today is interior designer Sarah Valiant, Founder of Valiant Design Company. We’ll be talking about toxic chemicals in home furnishing and decorating products, the toxic-free products she uses for her clients, and how we can help encourage change in the interior design field. Over the last few years, Sarah noticed a substantial shift with her clients’ wishes for toxic-free options for the decor in their homes. As Sarah herself believes in a toxic-free environment for her own family, she eagerly embraced this change. So much of what we decorate our homes with is replete with formaldehyde, phthalates, VOC’s, flame retardants and toxic glues. With all of these chemicals being severely detrimental to our health, Sarah believes it is imperative that we work to bring to market, options that are safe for us and the health of our families. Sarah was very hard pressed to find healthy, yet attractive design items for her clients due to a severe lack of options on the market and so she decided to develop her own solution. Her company, Valiant Design Co., developed a product line called Healthy Home. Currently it designs and manufactures a line of organic and toxic-free cushions, but Sarah intends to expand that to include furniture, fabric, and bedding in the near future. Sarah acquired a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from Queen’s University and began her career in event design. She later attended the KLC London School of Design in the UK. After graduating with Honors, she worked for two leading design firms in London and Paris before returning home to Canada to start up her dream company. Her passion to create beauty through functional and toxic-free design drives her from project to project. www.valiantdesignco.com
TOXIC FREE TALK RADIO
Overcoming the Challenges of Finding Toxic Free Home Furnishings
Host: Debra Lynn Dadd
Guest: Sarah Valiant
Date of Broadcast: April 01, 2014
DEBRA: Hi, I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. And this is Toxic Free Talk Radio where we talk about how to thrive in a toxic world and how to live toxic-free.
We did that because there are so many toxic chemicals all over the place that we need to know how to recognize them, watch out for them, eliminate them from our homes and workplaces and our bodies. And when we do that, we increase our quality of life because it improves our bodies, minds, and even our spiritual awareness.
So, what I do here is I talk to people who are doing the things that are making our world less toxic.
Today is Tuesday, April 1st 2014. And though it’s April Fool’s Day, we are not fooling around here. We are actually coming up with solutions that make our lives less toxic.
Today, we’re going to talk about the interior spaces of our homes with interior designer, Sarah Valiant. She’s the founder of Valiant Design Company. And I can tell you, her big vision is to create a whole line of everything that you would put in your house.
She started with one product. But she’s so passionate and has so much information about the chemicals that are in products and her ideals about how to change things that I wanted to have her on the show.
Hi Sarah.
SARAH VALIANT: Hi Debra! How are you?
DEBRA: Oh, good. How are you?
SARAH VALIANT: I am well. Thank you so much for having me on today.
DEBRA: It’s my pleasure.
Now, I always like to ask people this question because everybody kind of starts out being a normal American consumer buying toxic products, and then something happens or changes… and then, your life changes. I’d like everybody to go through that transition. So how did that happen for you?
SARAH VALIANT: Well, it happened a few years ago in a number of different ways. I really started noticing that a number of my friends and family members were battling cancer. They had a huge influx of infertility problems. And we’re also dealing with chronic health issues.
And also, my husband and I was starting talking about starting a family.
And then, in the past few years, I had articles that popped up on my newsfeeds about chemicals in our food and in our homes and cleaning products and what-not. And it would register with me for a few minutes, but I wasn’t paying enough attention to it.
And so, when all of these things were happening with my friends and family, and we started talking about a family, I just scouring all these past articles for every possible detail because I really realized how difficult it is to make sure that we live within a toxic-free home.
DEBRA: Yes, it is. And then, what happened?
SARAH VALIANT: I guess with starting to talk about starting a family, I had a number of clients also that were wanting to focus more on having toxic-free homes and how to eliminate them. Sorry, I’m just getting a bit distracted here.
Can we talk more about the furniture in our home?
DEBRA: Well… yes, we can do that. Is there more to your story that you’d like to tell us?
SARAH VALIANT: Yeah, I guess…
DEBRA: Okay, so let me ask you a question. How did you go from reading all these things in the newspaper to making a decision in your life to do things differently? What happened in that decision-making process?
SARAH VALIANT: Well, guess with all of the information that I was taking in, I really started figuring out that all of these toxic chemicals are really in everything we have. They’re in our cleaning products. They’re in our furniture.
And doing more research in what’s the regulations that we all think that are in place to protect us from all of these things, they’re really not doing what we think.
When you look on an ingredient list for a product, for a cleaning product or your face wash, for example, you’d think, “Okay! Well, all of these chemicals that are in these bottles, I guess they must be okay for me.” Most consumers are thinking that. You’re just assuming that all of these regulations are in place to protect you.
And unfortunately, all of these chemicals are horrific for you. They cause so many different problems—cancer, infertility problems, breathing problems. And it’s really up to us to make the best choices for us and for our families.
DEBRA: So, as an interior designer, as you kind of looked around in your field, what did you find?
SARAH VALIANT: So, in so many different things like our furnishing, there are so many different types of chemicals. And I feel like that the main chemicals that we need to watch out for are formaldehyde, phthalates, VOC’s (which are volatile organic compounds) and flame retardants.
They’re in everything from kitchen cabinets, foam cushions, mattresses, wallpapers and paints. You just need to be very careful about what you’re purchasing because the majority of what is out there and what we bring into our home contains all of these chemicals. We really need to start looking for the manufacturers that are making these products without all of these chemicals because they really are unnecessary.
DEBRA: They really are unnecessary, I know. I’ve been doing this for more than thirty years. And so I’ve been doing exactly—and my process was pretty much like your process (and I think it is for most people), you find out that there are toxic chemicals, that there’s some kind of illness in your own personal life or in people around you, and then the light bulb goes off, and you go, “Oh, my God! The chemicals are causing these.”
SARAH VALIANT: Exactly!
DEBRA: and know in my own life that when I started identifying where those toxic chemicals were in the products and swapping them out for other products that didn’t have the toxic chemicals, my symptoms went away. I felt better and I could think more clearly.
But but when I started doing this thirty years ago, there weren’t so many products available as there are now. And it was much more difficult.
But even now, even now, even though—I live (and I think you do too, and a lot of my guests too)— we live in a world of our own creation where I decided I’m only going to let things that are toxic-free into my home (and most of my friends are people who share that same idea, so it seems like common place), but really, what’s happening is that we’re only one, little tiny percentage, and the whole rest of the world is still toxic.
All of that needs to change as well because it’s not just about each of us living in our own houses; it’s about we walk out the door, and it’s still toxic. And when we go to try to find something, a sofa for our house or something like that, you can’t just go down to the sofa store and buy a toxic-free sofa.
DEBRA: Yeah, that’s the problem.
SARAH VALIANT: That’s the problem right now.
So, tell us more about some of the problems that you’ve run into as a designer, the things that you’re finding and things that are difficult for you to find.
SARAH VALIANT: Exactly! As I’ve mentioned earlier, I do have a number of clients that are really looking towards improving the toxicity of their homes. And as a designer, finding those options, it is difficult.
It is getting better. I do have a number of suppliers that I do go to. But the majority of what is out there that is toxic-free tends to, I guess, cater to a style that may be a hippie style or as a very uber-contemporary style. You don’t have that middle ground, that transitional style. I call it “transitional,” a mix between contemporary and traditional.
And that, to me, most of my clients are of that type of […] And we don’t have an option that can give us that look.
And I really find that, in our mindset, we’re not willing to sacrifice style for toxic-free (or the majority of people are not). And I think if we are going to make this change…
DEBRA: That is a very good point. I want to talk about exactly that point when we come back from the break.
You’re listening to Toxic Free Talk Radio. I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. And my guests today interior designer, Sarah Valiant, of Valiant Design Company. That’s at ValiantDesignCo.com. And we’ll be right back to talk more about interior design and toxic chemicals.
DEBRA: You’re listening to Toxic Free Talk Radio. I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. And my guest today is interior designer, Sarah Valiant. She’s the founder of Valiant Design Cmpany. She’s moving in the direction of making more and more toxic-free furnishings, everything that you would use in your home, available.
So, Sarah, before the break, you’ve made the comment that people don’t want to sacrifice design for things being toxic-free. Tell me more about that. I have my own ideas on that point, but you go first.
SARAH VALIANT: Well, I just feel that if someone is looking for, let’s say, a chair and they’re walking down the street. If they pass a small store, and it has the perfect chair they’re looking for, it’s at the right price, they’re not really going to go and look for a toxic-free counterpart or the toxic-free option of that chair.
And I think that if we want to really affect change, we’re going to have to provide more options for these people to have a go-to place to go to to have the toxic-free option.
At the moment, it’s difficult to find. You have to do a lot of research. And the places that do have toxic-free options, they’re usually one-off stores. It’s not like a large chain like, say, Pottery Barn or Ikea. You don’t usually have the wonderful websites that you can go to to have shipping and all of that. It’s just too difficult to find the toxic-free options.
DEBRA: I agree with you 100%. I’m a very visual, aesthetic person. And I like things really nice and look beautiful in my house.
SARAH VALIANT: Exactly!
DEBRA: And that’s been one of the challenges for me.
I do have beautiful things in my house. When people walk into my house, they say, “Oh, how beautiful! What a lovely, aesthetic place.” And yet, most of what I have in my house in terms of furnishing, I’ve had to you either have custom-made for myself or make it myself.
Right now, I’m sitting on a chair at my desk that is not very comfortable. I’ll be honest. I would rather have one of those nice, cushy desk chairs with padding and wheels. But I can’t find one that’s made from materials that I would want to sit on.
And so, in order for me to have that, I’m going to have to have it custom-made. And I just can’t even imagine how much that would cost, $1000 or $2000.
SARAH VALIANT: Yeah, sure. And that’s for every item in your home. So, that’s not usually doable.
DEBRA: And so, what I’m sitting on now is a solid wood dining table chair, just kind of a mission style arts and crafts. It’s kind of plain. It doesn’t even have any finish on it. I just bought it at the unfinished furniture store. I would […] on it.
And it’s good. Everything’s all natural about it. It’s natural wood. I have a wool pillow with a cotton cover. It’s all perfectly fine in terms of being toxic-free. But it’s not as comfortable as I would like. And it doesn’t have the visual appeal that I would like.
But that doesn’t mean that something can’t be beautiful. I have a gorgeous sofa. I have a gorgeous sofa that I had custom-made. I got an old sofa frame, and I had it re-upholstered in linen. And it’s absolutely beautiful.
And I had my wing chair from my great aunt upholstered in a cotton tapestry. And in my office, my desk that I use is an old oak library table from Stanford University that I got at a salvage place. And the edges were all ragged.
And so my husband cut all the edges off around this whole table and put a new edge all the way around it in purple heartwood.
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, my God!
DEBRA: And so I have a purple edge all the way around.
First of all, you would never find this. It’s the most beautiful desk you’ve ever seen. He made these little purple handles for it too. And you would never find it in a store, number one; and number two, if you did, I just can’t even imagine how much it would cost.
It cost us $50 to buy the old ratty table which was in pieces. It wasn’t even a table. He found the pieces at the salvage yard; and maybe another $50 in wood to fix that. And then, we put on a non-toxic finish. But it was a lot of labor for him and a lot of design stuff.
But I have all these beautiful things because there handmade. You can’t go into a store and buy this.
SARAH VALIANT: No. And if we’re going to really make change, we have to make toxic-free options really reachable for the masses. We’re not going to be able to make that change without that.
DEBRA: Many years ago—I was just looking at this the other day, it was like 25 years ago. Wow! I can’t even imagine doing something 25 years ago. That’s such a big number. But 25 years ago, I co-founded a corporation that what we wanted to do was make green products available to the masses—green products, not non-toxic specifically, but products that had environmental benefits.
And what we found in doing the R&D for that was that people wanted products with environmental benefits, but they weren’t willing to give up function and what they wanted out of the product in the first place.
SARAH VALIANT: Mm-hmmm… absolutely!
DEBRA: And remember, these aren’t products that are affecting their health, these are products that are affecting the environment. That’s another question because what happens to the environment happens to us.
But anyway, what we found was that if there were two products on the shelf, if they were comparatively priced and if one of them had environmental benefits and the other didn’t, but they were otherwise similar, that people were willing to buy the one with the environmental benefit.
And I think that that’s where we need to go with products being toxic-free as well. There needs to be more products available that it just is a no-brainer to choose them.
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, absolutely! As you’ve mentioned, everything, if you go into a big box store with furniture, it is going to be filled with formaldehyde, with flame retardants that are just slowly killing us really.
DEBRA: You just go into any of those stores, and you just see product after product after product. All the household products all have toxic chemicals in them. It’s really hard to find anything that doesn’t.
We’ve got to go to another break. But when we come back, we’ll talk more with my guest, Sarah Valiant, about toxic-free interior design. I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. And you’re listening to Toxic Free Talk Radio.
DEBRA: You’re listening to Toxic Free Talk Radio. I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. And my guest today is interior designer, Sarah Valiant. I keep tripping over your name, Sarah Valiant. Her website is ValiantDesignCo.com. And we’re talking about toxic-free interior design and some of the challenges that need to be overcome in order for everybody to have a toxic-free home.
One thing I want to say about this whole issue of people having to choose between style and toxic-free is that what I found is that toxic-free materials that are available that can be fashioned in any designed. But what you say is true. You can’t, at this point in time, just go into a store and say, “Oh, here’s 10 different design styles all in toxic-free furniture that we can just take home with us right now.”
And that’s the problem. That’s where we are in this transition. And that’s what you’re wanting to address.
I know that you lived in Europe for a while. So tell us how different is there. I haven’t lived in Europe, but I’ve been to Europe. I was struck, greatly struck, about how different it is there.
SARAH VALIANT: Yeah, I lived there for three years. And they really just have a completely different mindset towards chemicals and toxins in our everyday products.
I mean, the E.U. has banned 1100 chemicals that are considered unsafe for our health, while over here, the FDA has only banned I think five and the EPA has banned 11.
So, we’re really not on the same level as they are in terms of just making the changes that are absolutely necessary. They have a number of regulations in place that are more restrictive on the chemical companies that we think we have over here, but I find, more often, they’re really trying to protect them more rather than protecting us. And I think that’s one of the major, major issues we have.
We also have so many lobbyists that are really up there protecting these chemical companies. And all we can do is make our voice heard as loud as possible.
And the other way, obviously, that we can make change is to start making proper choices when we’re making changes to our homes. It’s all of our purchases from this point forward. We’re making choices that are toxic-free rather than their toxic counterparts. That will also help affect change.
DEBRA: Well, Sarah, tell us about what you’re doing to get started with moving in the right direction.
SARAH VALIANT: Well, I recently started a toxic-free product line. We’re starting with cushions at the moment.
They have organic cotton, organic muslin, architect-standard linen and silk and also what they call cotton batting. I feel that you really need these options for décor in your home.
It’s the small changes. If we can make these small changes (even just accessories like cushions, blankets, whatever), it will help us really improve our home.
I think we maybe should talk about also the chemicals that we mentioned briefly earlier, the chemicals that you need to watch out for, what they’re in. And then, maybe we can talk about that there are definitely some companies that you can go to to get these toxic-free options.
DEBRA: Okay, good. Let’s do that. Tell us about some of the chemicals and where you find them.
SARAH VALIANT: So, the four ones that I really feel are very important (and that I’m always mentioning to my clients) are formaldehyde, phthalates, VOC’s (which are volatile organic compounds) and flame retardants.
So, formaldehyde is found in particle boards. So, if you think of the sheath wood products that you can get from the big box stores, foam cushions, mattresses and carpeting, and thinking that formaldehyde causes horrific problems like cancer and respiratory issues, developmental disorders—I could go on.
Phthalates are found in vinyl wallpapers, paints, carpeting again.
And VOC’s, I think people are hearing more about VOC’s now than the others. They’re in paint and also building materials and carpeting as well.
And flame retardants are found in fabric and mattresses and, again, in carpeting.
DEBRA: Carpeting sounds pretty bad. I think there’s something like 250 chemicals in carpeting. I would have to go look that up.
SARAH VALIANT: I think that’s exactly right. I never, ever advise clients to do carpeting in their home. I really believe it’s one of the most toxic things you can bring into your house.
DEBRA: I agree, I agree. One of the things that I do is consulting where I go to people’s houses and I help them identify the toxic chemicals, and then make suggestions about what they can do to be less toxic.
And I remember, one day, I went into a client’s house and I said, “I’m sorry to tell you this, but really, the biggest toxic problem you have in your house is your carpet.” I was so proud of her. She said, “Well, let’s just take it right out.”
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, wow!
DEBRA: And she and I got down on our hands and knees and ripped her carpet apart.
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, my gosh! We like that type of reaction.
DEBRA: Yes, we do!
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, my God!
DEBRA: I learned to wear work clothes when I go to consultations.
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, my gosh!
DEBRA: But I would just like to see everybody rip their carpet out really.
SARAH VALIANT: Well, I really feel that people are shocked. They are absolutely unaware that all of these things have all of these chemicals in them, and that they’re so toxic to our health. They just don’t know. And so, I really feel that we need to spread the word about all of these because people are just shocked. And when you tell them what’s in it, 100%, they’re going to want to make the change. We just need to make them aware.
DEBRA: I agree. I see, if you just go walk around just out in the world and look at people just passing by on the street, and seeing how they look and that they’re sniffling or coughing or whatever’s going on with them or they can’t walk or whatever, every single one of those things is related to toxic chemical exposure or what their eating—and/or what they’re eating.
I’m at this point now where I can look at somebody and I can tell you what they eat. I can tell you what chemicals they’re being exposed to. If everybody change what they eat, change the toxic chemicals, we would be such a healthy nation—we would, we absolutely would.
SARAH VALIANT: We would. Exactly true.
DEBRA: Actually, we’re coming up to the break very soon. When we come back from the break, what we’ll do is you can tell us about some of the great products that you’ve found that are toxic free that are out there. We talk about them on the show all the time. I’ve interviewed some of them, but you probably know more than I do.
And also, I’ll just mention that it’s great to know an interior designer like Sarah (or a local interior designer that you know) because they have access to many more things that are not in retail stores. An interior designer friend of mine once took me shopping in the design showrooms. And I was delighted to see what’s available that’s not in the store.
So, we’ll come back. You’re listening to Toxic Free Talk Radio. I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. My guest is interior designer, Sarah Valiant. She’s at ValiantDesignCo.com. We’ll come back and tell you some toxic-free products that you can use in your home.
DEBRA: You’re listening to Toxic Free Talk Radio. My guest today is interior designer, Sarah Valiant. I don’t know why I keep saying that.
SARAH VALIANT: Sarah is a fairly common name.
DEBRA: I know! Sarah Valiant. It has to do with the way the vowels are I think. I don’t know!
Anyway, I’m Debra Lynn Dadd—I can say my name. Sarah Valiant is my guest. And she’s at ValiantDesignCo.com.
Did you ever used to watch Mary Tyler Moore, that show? I’m old enough for that show. You know the Mary Tyler Moore Show?
SARAH VALIANT: Yes!
DEBRA: and they had Ted Baxter, the news guy. And he was always mispronouncing people’s names. Anyway, I’m not like that.
Now, tell us about some products that are toxic-free that you can use in your home.
SARAH VALIANT: Right! We have been talking about that they are difficult to find. It’s not as easy as going to the nearest big box store. But they are out there, 100%. And as an interior designer, I found companies all over North American that, really, they do actually have a number of options that are very effective—more of the transitional, more common type styles.
One of the first ones is White Lotus Home. And they’re I believe located at…
DEBRA: I love White Lotus Home. I’ve been to their store.
SARAH VALIANT: They’re amazing! I actually use their cotton for our cushions. It’s amazing! They have everything from mattresses to beddings to cushion support to whatever. But it’s all organic. And I mean, there are lower price points. I think they just got a recycled option which I guess may not have had pesticide used. But they have a lot of options.
Another one that I found recently is called EcoSelect Furniture. And they’re located—have you heard of them before?
DEBRA: No, I haven’t.
SARAH VALIANT: I think they’re in South California. And they are fantastic! They have a huge line of traditional style—it’s not just an uber contemporary thing that we seem to get stuck with when it comes to eco and toxic-free.
It’s perfect for any type of style.
There’s also Green Slade. And they’re at GreenSlade.com. They’re great for accessories and décor, all toxic-free, lead-free, you name it. They have a great variety of all that type of smaller accessories.
And then, of course, my cushion line is at Valiant Design Co. Healthy Home. And as I’ve mentioned, it’s all organic, toxic-free options. And it’s more of a transitional style (so again, moving away from the uber contemporary that most of my clients don’t seem to gravitate towards anyways).
If we’re talking about paint, what I love to use is actually a Benjamin Moore line. It’s called Natura Paint. And the great thing with having a VOC-free option with Benjamin Moore is that you have the entire library of colors that they have. And obviously, Benjamin Moore is one of the biggest paint companies in North America.
DEBRA: And also, you can get it anywhere you live.
SARAH VALIANT: Exactly!
DEBRA: You can just go down to the Benjamin Moore store and get it.
SARAH VALIANT: Exactly! I think it’s even carried in some hardware stores. I wouldn’t be surprised.
And it’s all VOC-free. And that’s really what you want to go for when you’re painting anything in your house. The non-VOC counterparts are just filled with stuff that’s really bad for you, and it off-gasses for years. So, you want to stay away from that.
There are also a few smaller companies that I’ve called Mythic Paint and YOLO paint. And also, there’s the old fashion milk paint. And they have a bit smalle of a color library, but they’re just gorgeous colors—and again, completely VOC-free (which is what we’re going for).
DEBRA: I just want to mention that I I’ve not used all those paints. But all of them are listed on Debra’s List and I’m familiar with all those paints. But I have used the old-fashioned milk paint. And I just want to say how wonderful, wonderful, wonderful it is.
SARAH VALIANT: It is wonderful. It’s fantastic!
DEBRA: You buy it as a little powder like powdered milk. You mix it up and it smells like a warm glass of milk.
SARAH VALIANT: It’s true! I mean, who wants to walk into a room that’s newly painted and it’s hard to breathe?
DEBRA: But you have to be willing to be creative because you can’t just go down to the paint store and say, “Here’s my swatch, make it this color.” You have to order the powder pigments from the old-fashioned paint company and mix it up yourself and make sure that you mix enough so that the color doesn’t change in the middle of the wall.
SARAH VALIANT: That one, you definitely need a little formula.
DEBRA: It’s a process. It really is a process—but it’s a creative process. I’ve done it, and I just love it! Out of all the rooms in my house—I paint each room with different paint because I was trying out different types of paint. But the room that I love the most is the one with the milk paint. And if I were moving into a new house, I would just paint every wall with milk paint.
SARAH VALIANT: Yup, absolutely. I think we really need to focus on VOC-free paint. It’s definitely pretty detrimental to your health when you’re using just the regular paint.
That’s another thing I wanted to mention. When you’re finishing hardwood floors, the traditional polyurethane coat is just horrible for you.
DEBRA: It’s horrible.
SARAH VALIANT: There’s also a bunch of different finishes that you can use. There’s one I’ve used a number of times, it’s called tung oil. And there’s also a finish called Polywhey. They hardly smell at all, so you’re not worrying about the off-gassing that goes on for years and years and years.
It’s just something we really need to focus on when we’re redoing our homes, absolutely.
DEBRA: Polywhey from Natural Coatings?
SARAH VALIANT: Yeah, exactly.
DEBRA: Yeah! I have used that. And that’s actually my favorite wood finish at the moment.
SARAH VALIANT: Ah, amazing!
DEBRA: I had a rental house, and we had to redo the floors after our renter moved out. I just painted that stuff all over the place, and it hardly smelled at all. And it’s so beautiful! It leaves such a beautiful finish.
And so, one of the points I wanted to make is that, a lot of times, for me, I found that the toxic-free thing is so much more aesthetically pleasing than the toxic thing. It just is more beautiful. It has a nicer texture that I’d rather put my hand on a natural fiber than a synthetic fiber. And just all the way down the line, I think the colors are more beautiful. It gives a better feel, better texture, everything. It’s just like having nature.
And so, once you just start exploring this world of things that are not toxic, then a whole different world opens up really, don’t you think?
SARAH VALIANT: It really does. It’s amazing! And I think if more and more people can do a little bit of research that it requires (because not everyone is going to do it at this point), as more and more people can, that’s really going to change the market. That’s what we want to do. We want to make all of these items more available to everyone.
DEBRA: Now, anybody who’s listening can go to my website, and there’s a section—like if you just go to ToxicFreeTalkRadiol.com, just go up to the navigation bar at the top, and it says ‘Shop.’ If you click on ‘Shop’, it will take you to Debra’s List where I have 700 websites…
SARAH VALIANT: Amazing!
DEBRA: A lot of them are for things like furniture and paint and all these things that you use in your home, cabinets. All these things, whenever I find out about something, I put it on Debra’s List. And some of them, I’ve been recommending for 25 to 30 years.
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, amazing!
DEBRA: So, there really is so much available that you really can create a toxic-free home, 100%.
I think what Sarah and I are talking about today in terms of things not being available is that it’s not widely available. It’s not available every place you look. It’s not available in an affordable way. When I wanted to get a sofa 20 years ago, I had to go have it custom-made. I think it was $2000 or $3000 at the time. I couldn’t just walk into a store and bring my sofa home at the back of my car for $600 or whatever.
And so, that might sound like a lot of money, but it’s an investment in my health, in my happiness and in my life. I still have that sofa. I’ll still have it for the rest of my life. It’s not going to wear out. If I had children, I could hand it down to them.
And I don’t pay that money in medical bills, I put it on my sofa.
SARAH VALIANT: That’s the thing. And all of these chemicals, they really do cause a lot of these problems that you’re mentioning.
DEBRA: They really do.
SARAH VALIANT: They really, really do. I mean, I feel with the majority of my clients, and even friends or family, even minor issues that you may be having like rashes or mild asthma or what-not, when we switched all of our cleaning products, all of our furnitures, and what-not, et cetera, over to toxic-free options, these minor problems, they just go away. It’s incredible!
DEBRA: Well, good. Everybody should try it.
SARAH VALIANT: It’s incredible! They just go away. It’s amazing.
DEBRA: So Sarah, we have about 39 seconds left before the music is going to come out and cut us off, so I just want to thank you for being on the show today.
SARAH VALIANT: Thank you so much for having me.
DEBRA: It’s been a delight. I wish you just the best with adding more and more things to your of line. I can just see you having a whole complete line where you could just go into the Valiant store…
SARAH VALIANT: Oh, thank you! That’s the goal.
DEBRA: …and walk out with whatever you want to make your house look beautiful.
So, I’m Debra Lynn Dadd. This is Toxic Free Talk Radio. You can find out more and listen to this show again (or past shows) at ToxicFreeTalkRadio.com.
