Being a responsible consumer when it comes to paint can be hard. Unlike organic greens, there really isn't an "organic"
paint. Green Seal certification doesn't necessarily tell you what is in your paint. Regulatory agencies don't require paint companies
to divulge all of their ingredients. So how can you as a consumer make careful choices when you don't know what's in the can?
In the USA, zero VOC is gaining attention. What this means is that per federal regulation, there is a reduction in the amount of material
coming out of your paint as it dries. This is a good thing for the environment, as it is well known that these substances react with nitrous
oxides in the air to form ozone.
The EPA determined that the off-gassing from architectural coatings is estimated to account for about 9% of the VOC emissions from
all consumer and commercial products. It is important to understand that using the EPA's test method for VOC's, any paint with VOC's
less than 5 g/l or less can be called zero VOC. Further, the colorant that is typically added to these paints has VOC's, meaning
that the paint you take home may not be zero-VOC, even if the base is.
The lesson is that it is insufficient to consider only VOC's when making paint purchasing decisions. The environmental footprint of a
zero VOC paint can include all kinds of synthetic materials to control flow, skinning, settling, etc., that ultimately don't support a
vision of sustainability and "goodness" for the environment. It is because of this that we decided to produce a simpler paint with
ingredients that have been carefully selected to minimize environmental impact.
