Here's a nontoxic but effective way to clean your tub: Add one teaspoon of liquid soap and several drops of an antibacterial essential oil (such as tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary, or peppermint) to one cup of baking soda. Add just enough water to form a paste, and use it with a sponge or brush to scour bathtub surfaces.

Already prevalant in many foreign countries, a dual-flush toilet drastically cuts down on water use. Whereas conventional models consume 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per flush, these more efficient versions use either 0.8 to 0.9 gallons (plenty for fluids) or 1.25 to 1.6 gallons (for solid waste).

Typical towels use conventional cotton, a crop that accounts for about 25 percent of the world's insecticide use, including some of the planet's most hazardous chemicals. What's more, manufacturers often use dyes derived from petroleum in a high polluting process that leaves chemicals gushing into waterways, ravaging aquatic habitats, and clinging to the towels you bury your face in. Look for eco-friendly organic cotton and bamboo towels made with plant-based or low-impact dyes.

Most shower curtains are made from polyvinyl-chloride or PVC, a plastic that can release hormone-disrupting phthalates into the air. Look for non-vinyl curtains instead.

If every family in the United States replaced one roll of conventional toilet paper with a roll of 100 percent recycled material, we'd save 423,900 trees in a year.

Combine 30 to 40 drops total of up to three different oils (we like a lemon-lavender combination) with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. Shake well to mix the oils and spritz as needed.

Running the bathroom tap for just two minutes while brushing your teeth wastes more than 2 gallons of water. If your family does that morning and night (and longer when shaving), wasted water adds up. Keep a reminder near the sink until you're all in the habit of turning water off.

Instead of a store-bought, packaged beauty mask, make your own natural version at home.

Vinyl imitations have come to be known as linoleum, but only true linoleum has been made from the same abundant plant-based materials (mainly linseed oil, pine resin, and powdered cork) since the 1800s. Ideal for bathrooms, linoleum requires minimal processing and lasts two to three times longer than vinyl -- up to 40 years. Available in sheets or tiles, its natural stain resistance allows for easy cleanup, while its antimicrobial quality obviates the need for toxic preservatives

Instead of tossing that spaghetti sauce or jam jar into the recycling bin, give it a new life. Keep your bathroom counter clutter-free by popping cotton swabs and balls, combs, toothbrushes, bath salts, and makeup brushes into different sized jars.

A 2007 study released by the Environmental Working Group found triclosan, phthalates, and bisphenol A in treated wastewater in San Francisco Bay. These potentially harmful chemicals are in some personal-care products and their packaging. Limit your exposure by using USDA-certified organic products.

So how do you choose a cleanser that's good for both you and the planet? With the help of our experts, we get to the bottom of the most common declarations and sort truth from empty promises.

Skip the department store or pharmacy and head to the kitchen for some organic beauty treatments.

You may think the eco-friendliest way to clean a shower is with a basic liquid castile soap. But if you have hard water, you could cause a chemical reaction that leads to a difficult-to-remove dull film. (To check for hard water, pick up a simple test at your local hardware store.) Detergents, on the other hand, avoid this soap scum by their very formulation. Rather than go with conventional ones that contain nonrenewable petroleum-based surfactants and air-polluting synthetic perfumes, look for a plant-based all-purpose detergent such as Ecover's All Purpose Cleaner.

Bamboo fiber is one of our favorite bathroom-decor options. Bamboo flooring and furniture get high eco-marks because bamboo is a sustainability star -- it's the fastest-growing woody plant on earth. But bamboo fabric? Sounds scratchy. This relative newcomer to the fiber scene, though, is actually silky-soft. It's also highly absorbent, quick to dry, and has natural antibacterial qualities.