WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE PAINT?

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important to businesses and individuals. Our customers tell us they are now considering whether the materials and coatings they buy are sustainable, more than ever before.

So, what really counts when it comes to choosing a Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Paint? Some paint companies make much of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), but this is not the whole story and can give a misleading picture of a paints true sustainability.

 

VOCs 

 

VOCs are found in a number of products including commercial and domestic paint. The primary VOC in our products is also found in personal care products (shampoos, shower gels etc), as a food additive and in high quantities in vaping liquids.

Overall, it is therefore not a health issue unlike some of the early glycol ether VOCs which did have toxicity issues. This is why you’ll hear claims that VOCs emit gases that are harmful to both people and the environment. This is true in very high concentrations which is why the EU bought in legislation in 2007to reduce the very high levels that had been present in many solvent and oil based paints to that point. To put this into context, it was not uncommon for an oil paint to have 300 to 500g/l VOC. These high VOC paints would commonly cause dizziness, headaches and asthma flare-ups, which is why they are now regulated to a high degree and why, in 2010, legislation was tightened further.

 

 

 

The main purpose of VOCs in paint

1. Providing a good ‘open time’ or ‘wet edge’ to prevent the paint film drying too quickly resulting in poor flow and marking where it is overlapped during application.
2. Improving freeze/thaw stability of paints in very cold conditions.

 

The challenge of maintaining good open time and flow rate of a paint increases for high durability paints. As the gloss level and binder solid levels increase, so, generally the VOC level of an acrylic gloss will be higher that a matt.

VOC’s are important to the application properties of paint.  You cannot just remove them and then expect the product to apply or perform in exactly the same way.

Today, most paint manufacturers offer low or even zero VOC paints. Generally, these products are matt finishes. Where paints with higher sheen levels claim exceptionally low VOC’s the application properties are often inferior as they don’t have the required flow and wet edge.  It is also true to say that where appearance and ease of application can be adversely affected, so too can durability.

Hanford + Green’s paint has some of the lowest VOCs in the industry, but its performance beats all for durability.

 

DURABILITY

Durability is an important factor if you are choosing a paint based on its sustainability.  There is no point in choosing a paint that has lower VOCs if you end up needing to re-decorate more often – it’s bad for the environment and your bottom line.

Choose a paint that offers the best of both worlds. Our customers tell us they need to decorate less often when using Hanford+Green, so use less paint over time.

Marks and scuffs can easily be cleaned. All our finishes are Class 1, so scrubbable.

Matt and Low Sheen can be touched up with zero flashing.

 

COVERAGE

With Hanford + Green you need a third less paint to achieve the same coverage as most competitors. This means you use less paint for any decorating project. Over time this can make a huge difference to the amount of resources and raw material used.

 

CONCLUSION

Business and public spaces need repainting regularly. The more you need to re-paint the more resources you use, the less sustainable and environmentally friendly you are being, and the more it costs you.

Choose Hanford + Green, low in VOCs, and you use less of the world’s resources, while also investing in a high quality, durable product.

 

If you would like more information on Hanford + Greens products, please get in touch on 01794  514 949 or [email protected]