Go-to place for green household products
A brother-sister duo is making going green eco-friendly and economical.
BY EILEEN SOLER
Special to The Miami Herald
Derek Shambora was certainly a good son when he painted his father’s home about 18 months ago. But a few hours later, his father became sick from the paint fumes. Shambora switched to a toxin-free product and launched a new career.
“A month after I had to repaint I took all my savings and opened a store for nontoxic paint,” said Shambora, 26, of Hollywood.
The store, Eco Simplista, which he now owns with his sister Dana Shambora, 30, of Dania Beach, is all about being green.
The Oakland Park store, with attention-grabbing fluorescent lime green on the outside, is stocked with Mythic eco-friendly paint and paint products, flooring supplies, countertop and backsplash materials, cleaning agents and tools made by other vendors. All products are made without volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, Dana Shambora said.
VOCs are a broad class of gas-like vapors that come from paint, solvents, varnish and adhesives. Airborne particles from the compounds lower indoor air quality, and can be especially dangerous to the very young or elderly and people with allergies or skin or lung problems.
“Our paint is one of the few 100 percent nontoxic paints that do not require government warning labels,” Dana Shambora said. Paint prices average $45 per gallon. Interior drywall primer costs $36 a gallon. The average gallon of Mythic covers about 400 square feet compared to conventional paint coverage of 300 to 350 square feet, Derek Shambora said. Conventional paint prices per gallon range from $12 to $35, according to quality and type.
Dana Shambora, a former event planner and marketing relations executive, said her brother opened the place as a paint store about 18 months ago but took cues from customers to become much more. He expanded to earth-friendly products over the summer. First, environmentally safe wood stain and sealers were added to the mix. Then, paint supplies like rollers ($2.25-$10), trays ($1.60-$4) and brushes ($4-$15) were added.
Eventually, the store began selling 12 lines of flooring from companies that recycle discarded materials, reuse what is found or give back more than they take.
EcoTimber, a formaldehyde-free hardwood company, plants two trees for every one used for flooring. Goodwin Flooring recovers wood from waterways, old warehouses and barns. Flor, a carpeting company, uses all recycled materials and, when the customer wants a change, will collect, recycle and resell old carpet. At-home consultations and installation services are available.
“We want all of our products to improve the indoor air quality for everyone and we want to make it easy and affordable,” Dana Shambora said.
Energy and water conservation also are made easy. Mini spiral compact fluorescent lights ($4-$5) last up to 10 times longer than incandescent light. Megaman LED reflectors, replacements for halogen, sell for $116.75.
Customers can start saving money on water with a dual-action Flush Choice toilet flusher ($58) or harvest their own water from nature with a 51-gallon Rainwater Hog Tank ($350).
Housekeeping supplies are also green at Eco Simplista.
Shelves are stocked with cleaning items such as bathroom cleaner ($5.99), laundry soap nuts ($9.99-$18.99), dish soap ($9) and hand sanitizer ($4.99) made of hypoallergenic, natural ingredients.
The Shambora siblings do their research before adding a product to the store.
“Some companies are proud to be green but we test the items to make sure they actually work,” Derek Shambora said. “The thing about us is that we are green and our game is selling quality products.”
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