Before commercially prepared paint was available, paint was made at home based on formulas handed down from generation to generation. The majority are now made with highly smelly and toxic material. Learn how to avoid these and pick safer paint.

Avoid Conventional Paints

The paint industry only recently started to talk about VOCs when concerned consumers knew about the issues chemical pollution cause. The paint chemicals give people headaches, nausea, and worse.

They contain:

❌ APEs: or Alkylphenol Ethoxylates, is a toxic chemical, not biodegradable additive used as surfactants in acrylic paint to create tension between the liquid and solid form when it dries. It is hormone production disruptors that cause reproductive harm and birth defects.

❌ Antimicrobials: a toxic additive that prevents bacteria and prolongs the shelf life of the paint. It also minimizes the paint staining during application. Antimicrobials are hormone-production disruptors, impact the reproductive system and child development, harmful to our aquatic organisms and animals!

❌ Colorant VOCs: you will find more VOCs in the paint in deeper pigmented paint. The lighter shade has lower VOCs. The best paint has no colorant VOCs added to it.  To know how much the VOC content is in paint, look at the product data-sheet. VOCs is linked to liver kidney and central nervous system damage and are rated as possibly carcinogenic. (EPA Information).  

❌ Base VOCs: paint base has a rating of what the VOC content is.  

❌Formaldehyde is present in many products because it is very inexpensive and it works extremely well as a preservative.

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Avoid Greenwashing Paints

Made "green" by tweaking a conventional product by diluting or substituting harmful ingredients to get an ambiguous environmental certification. 

To know the real VOC content: Google for the paint type followed by “technical data sheet”, to know what is in. This will often bring up a webpage or a PDF that has a lot of very technical information. Then use your search function (ctrl + F) and search for VOC.  It will show you the VOC content. (search for the specific color)

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Certified Eco-friendly Paints

🌿Unique formulations created from scratch to be the most eco-friendly on the market that covers better than conventional products! Low VOC is still better but Zero-VOC is the best:

• LOW VOC paint is typically 50 grams per liter or less

• NO VOC is usually 5 grams per liter or less

 

✅ GreenGuard certification: a third-party certification rates low emissions products, the manufacturing, and ingredients in paint, keeping in mind people with chemicals sensitivity, the elderly, pregnant, and children. The certification ensures that the product is free of more than 10,000 chemicals that are harmful to the indoor air. Greenguard certifications specifically focus on products that are used inside the home.

These products are tested every year to make sure that the product still meets their strict standards.  

 

✅CPSC (US Consumer Product Safety Commission): ISO-accredited US CPSC-accepted lab for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s requirements for ASTM F963-17 – Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety Soluble Heavy Metals in Paints, Surface Coatings or Substrates & Total Lead Content in Paint and Surface Coatings.

 

✅ Designed without the harsh chemicals found in conventional paints. Non-toxic, zero-VOC* paint is perfect for the entire home. Using sustainable ingredients they deliver appearance and enhanced durability, resilient enough to use to paint floors and even lane markings in parking garages

• Non-toxic: Conforms to ASTM-D4236, concerning oral toxicity, skin irritation, and respiratory effects

• Zero-VOC: Conforms to CDPH 01350 (VOC emissions test taken at 11, 12, & 14 days for classroom and office use). The product data sheet will tell you the VOC content.

• SCAQMD Rule 1113: states that colorants MUST be low VOC.

• Water-Based: the main ingredient in every paint product.

• No Base VOCs

• No Polyurethane Odor: Conforms to ASTM E544 & ASTM MNL13. Polyurethane can cause headaches, nausea, and respiratory issues. 

• Ingredients Transparency: ingredient lists are shared for all the paints.

• GreenGuard Gold label

• Mildewcides free

 

🌿On this page, you will find cleaner paint options made by responsible brands that make products for people with chemical sensitivities could use, and for anyone who wants to protect their families and friends from paint toxicity in their house. Individuals and families who take care of themselves and their environment.

• Engendered to be still able to perform. 

• Easy to apply

• Extremely durable 

 

🌿For additional green building home products, green home restoration and  for homebuilders check this website: Green Design Center