What You Should Know About Eco-Friendly Paints

There isn’t a straightforward definition for what an eco-friendly paint is, according to Jonsara Ruth, cofounder and design director of the Health Materials Lab at Parsons School of Design, where she’s also an interior design professor. But there are chemicals you should steer away from, as well as other manufacturing details to consider, if you’re looking for a greener paint can. Here’s what you need to know. AD article May 2023

Why you should Ec-Friendly Paints

Petrochemicals—like polymers and vinyls—make up the basis of acrylic paints, a common category of interior paint. That essentially means they’re derived from fossil fuels, which contribute greatly to the climate crisis. But Ruth says the greenhouse gas impact of such paints is just one of several environmental and health-related “red flags.” 

If improperly disposed of, tiny pieces of the paint can end up in the water stream and have the potential to end up in our own bodies. “If there’s toxic stuff in the water, [it’s] absorbed into these little particles,” she says. “Then the fish eat them, and then we eat the fish.” She encourages shoppers to opt for mineral paints over acrylic paints, which she says tend to avoid hazardous materials and chemicals.

.What should I seek or avoid in an eco-friendly paint?

Concerning chemicals, like VOCs and APEs

Different groups of chemicals used to bind, blend, or add pigments to paints—like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and alkylphenol ethoxylates, or APEs—have been linked to or suspected to cause human and environmental health problems, according to the Health Materials Lab, which has a list of paints their researchers say are easy to use but not as harmful as others on the market. Although Ruth explains that some VOCs are naturally occurring, the US Environmental Protection Agency notes that health risks from these chemicals include headaches, nausea, and damage to some internal organs. APEs, meanwhile, are suspected endocrine disrupters, according to the Healthy Building Network. “Darker colors, if they’re synthetic…tend to have higher VOCs because of their chemistry,” Ruth adds.

While modern mineral paints, which include limewash paints, have some additives to prevent them from washing or brushing off the walls, Ruth explains they’re still her preferred choice because there are “few extra ingredients.”

“It’s so much healthier for the environment and better for people,” she says. “Is it perfect? Not exactly, but it’s as good as it gets.”

If you can’t afford or don’t have access to paint that is manufactured without hazardous chemicals, Ruth says to look for companies that are voluntarily disclosing which chemicals are in their formulations.

“That gives them a plus, because they’re being transparent,” she explains. “I would say, ‘This is a company that I trust because they’re telling me what’s in their stuff.’” However, not all certifications or disclosures are thorough or stringent; the Healthy Materials Lab recommends looking for paints with a Green Seal-11 (GS-11) standard from 2010 or later.

Recyclable packaging

Any paint cans you buy “should be one material, either metal or plastic—not both,” says Scott Cassell, the founder and chief executive officer of the Product Stewardship Institute. He notes that cans manufactured with mixed materials, like plastic cans with metal handles, are more difficult and costly for a recycler to process.

Properly dispose of paint

Different states, towns, and counties have their own regulations, so how, where, and in what condition you can recycle or dispose of your paint will vary. However, any local hazardous waste disposal agency will be able to tell you exactly what to do if you give them a call and explain what sort of paint you have and what condition it’s in.

Buy only what you need

Minimize the amount of paint you need to dispose of by calculating how much you’ll need for the project. While the amount will vary with the project, a gallon of paint should cover around 400 square feet, although some experts say a second coat provides optimal coverage and brings out the nuance within a paint color.

“It’s tough, and people are encouraged and feel good about overbuying so they have extra for touch-ups or the next project or whatever,” says Brett Rodgers, communications director of PaintCare, which operates paint recycling programs for manufacturers in states that regulate paint stewardship. “We know there is a lot left over that historically does go to waste.”