By Jenny Jedeikin
When it comes to paint, rethink your brand. The EPA has recently come out with an alarming statistic: in a typical American home, indoor air is 3 to 4 times more polluted than what is outside. Fortunately there are ways to make improvements on your indoor air quality: purchase eco-safe paint. "What people don’t realize, when they buy a bucket of traditional paint, is that they are buying a bucket of petro-chemicals," says Greg Snowden owner of
Green Fusion Design Center, a state of the art showroom and website that offers the best in eco-friendly home goods, materials and design. "The VOC’s (volatile organic chemicals) in paint will off-gas for the lifetime that the paint is on the wall," Snowden explains.
Today, there are increasing numbers of high-quality paint manufacturers who are coming out with non-VOC paints in a gorgeous variety of colors. Joaquin recommends, "Yolo Paint, started by two designers with a gorgeous visual sense." But Green Planet paint, AFM Safecoat and even Benjamin Moore also offer safe paint lines.
"Read the label and look for an industry certification called Greenseal or SCS (Scientific Certification Seal)" advises Snowden, who sells several eco-paints on his website, which is a great resource of information.
Anna Sova, a green product designer with a website and catalog (
annasova.com), goes the full distance by offering alternative paint that is made from food grade preservatives. ""Painting with traditional latex is basically like stretching a sheet of plastic across the room," says the designer. "My paint smells like vanilla, and it’s so non-toxic you can even eat it." Although she doesn’t advise making a meal of it.
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