Eco-Paints

You may think that choosing a paint is only as complicated as picking out a color, but you'd be wrong. Choosing a paint has become a lot more complicated, thanks to new information that has found that traditional paints "off-gas," creating toxic fumes that have been found to harm and create health problems in the environment, humans and animals. To prevent these problems, choose an eco-paint.

An eco-paint is non-petroleum based paint. These paints often come with an eco-conscious label, unlike a standard latex-based paint. Eco paints don't have the unpleasant odor or the possible health hazards of chemical or biological pollutants found in paints. Eco-paints are labeled with a non-voc label. (VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compound).

While eco-paints were once hard to find and only available from select manufactures, primarily online, many bigger brands and companies have gone green, making finding an eco-paint as easy as going to your local paint supplier or hardware store. Some of the more accessible eco-paint brands include Benjamin Moore's Green Promise line of eco paints, Natura Paint, which are produced with industry standards and no VOC's.

Hardware store giant, Home Depot, now carries Eco Options, including a range of non-VOC paints. FreshAire paints and primers are designed to make the air inside easier to breathe.

There are also many smaller eco paint brands include BioShield, Yolo Colorhouse, The Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company's Safepaint and others.