Happy June!

With the onset of the hot weather, I thought it was a solid time to talk about something near and dear to all of our hearts – mold.

Oh how I hate the red and black goo – especially when it shows up on my shower curtain and I can think of a million ways to come into contact with it while in the bathtub (so gross).

I also have become a serious plastic hater. All I can think about with the old plastic shower curtain that used to hang in our bathroom was how bad it smelled (the off-gassing from those things is intense) and what that means for our health (nothing good).

So, I went on the hunt for a non-plastic alternative and was totally floored at how few options were out there.

I admit going from big box to big box trying to save some cash – only to realize that the fabric curtains all required a plastic liner and were still made from materials that I totally didn’t want in my bathroom.

Then, I was over at The Green Room in downtown Courtenay and Rebecca plugged me in to hemp curtains from Vancouver-based Dream Designs Co.

Love at first sight.

Hemp has a few things going for it that make me feel really good about spending $89 on a shower curtain (ouch, you say. But, I totally think my one-time purchase is a bargain).

- It’s naturally bacteria and fungi resistant. So, OK, it had me at “no mold.”

- Hemp is a sustainable resource grown in Canada. Double bonus, Mother Earth-friendly and supporting the Canadian economy. Wohoo!

- You can machine wash and dry it. Easy maintenance is a requirement of my life.

- No leaking because of the tight weave. Seriously, it’s amazing.

I did seriously gasp at the price tag. Then, I got it home and hung it up in the bathroom. The plastic smell disappeared and the room took on a whole new glow (I’m a dork, but it did, and I love it).

If you are looking to ditch the plastic curtain, think hemp. You won’t be sorry.

You can check out all kinds of hemp products at The Green Room in Courtenay and Organic Family Natural Home in Cumberland.