The Eco Home Depots: Where to Shop Sustainably

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FORGET SPARKLY GRAY GRANITE counter tops or chemical-loaded shag carpet in chocolate brown — the most fashionable shade in home decor and rehab these days is green. These eco-minded stores sell stuff to decrease your carbon blueprint, er, footprint.

» Amicus Green Building Center
Flooring made of reclaimed barn wood. Clay paints that'd give any room a mottled, "Are-we-in-ancient Rome?" vibe. Almost anything that goes on walls or floors, or in kitchens stars at this green shop in Kensington, Md.'s warehouse district. Owner Jason Holstine consulted for clients like the EPA before opening Amicus two and a half years ago because he was tired of telling folks about "cool products you had to go to Seattle to get." Now his customers might start with a $37 spring-cleaning kit or go "deep green" with rain-catching barrels or Bean-ee-doo, a soy-based goo remover. Cabinets in FSC-certified wood, bamboo or wheatboard can also be ordered, and Amicus works with contractors who know how to install this stuff. "Greening up can be confusing," says Holstine. "We help people learn." (4080A Howard Ave., 301-571-8590; Amicusgreen.com)

» Eco-Green Living
On a recent afternoon at this Logan Circle temple to the green life, owner Keith Ware used a blowtorch to demonstrate how the sprayable insulation he sells works. Applying a flame to a piece of metal treated with the stuff, he then handed it off to a customer, and, sure enough, it was cool. "Ninety percent of people who walk in here want one thing, like a tankless hot water heater," says the chatty eco-warrior. "Then they'll realize all the other things they can do." The shop sells loads of good-for-the-globe stuff, from Anna Sova silk sheets to solar tube lights that get their glow from the sky, even on cloudy days. "What surprises people is that going green isn't more expensive," says Ware. (1469 Church St. NW, 202-234-7110; Eco-greenliving.com)

» Greater Goods
Mini green roofs top the bay windows outside U Street's five-month-old enviro depot. In a space bedecked with pastel-hued shelves of oriented strand board (made of recycled scraps), owner Daniel Velez aims to "help condo dwellers and even renters find simple things that'll help them live greener." Customers can do that by buying a grocery-toting Envirosax or a balcony-sized worm composter ($85) to fill with scraps for crawlies to devour. Cards explain merchandise from butterfly trash cans (with bins for both garbage and recyclables) to tankless hot-water heaters. The spot comes across as both PC and fun, with copies of Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" sitting near a Kill A Watt power-use monitor. (1626 U St. NW, 202-449-6070; Greatergoods.com)

Photo by Lawrence Luk for Express