The Paint Exchange

MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY

 HOW “GREEN” IS OUR PAINT…?

       …YOU SHOULD KNOW!

 I have been thinking about paint (go figure… I own a paint store) and what makes some paints “greener” or more environmentally-friendly than others.

 Well it seems paints that claim to be green are environmentally-friendly for a number of reasons. First, a paint might be considered green because it is made from recycled materials, like our paint is. Secondly, a paint might have specific properties that make its impact on the environment low. For example –and you’ve probably heard this term thrown around in some of the bigger paint stores in town –a paint might have a zero or low VOC (volatile organic compound) content. What is VOC? – It’s the bad stuff you don’t want to go pouring down your sink if you can help it.

 Confused? Let me explain …

Because the paint we use to make our paint has already been exposed to air and/or has been sitting around for a while, chances are it has already given off or lost some of its VOCss. Make sense? Although we can’t make any specific claims with respect to our paint until we have it properly tested, our paint should in theory have a very low voc content based on the mere fact that it is recycled paint.

 Furthermore, because we don’t add anything to our paint (this is what makes it 100% recycled) like a colorant/tint or the likes, which contain and contribute to, the VOC content of a paint, our paint likely has an even lower VOC content than tinted paints.

 Which makes us green a couple of times over.

 To find out more about VOC content in paint go to http://www.eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_paints.htm

 Turns out our paint is even greener than we thought!!! Go figure that one Mary!

People always think of painting a room as a major project, but it doesn’t have to be.  In the middle of a recession, you probably can’t swing an overhaul of your bathroom, but you can paint it a soothing spa color.  New appliances and cabinets might be out for your kitchen, but a fresh color could make a huge difference.  Come by the shop and we can show you step-by-step how to undertake a simple, cost-efficient painting project.  We’ll even help you out with color choices.

Seventy five million gallons, or 10% of all of the paint sold in the US goes unused EVERY year.  This paint is filling people’s garages, basements and closets.  It is the half gallon left over after painting the living room, it is the three test quarts bought before finding the right color for the kitchen, it is the full gallon that was bought because somebody over estimated the amount necessary to paint the bedroom. 

What happens to this paint?  Sometimes it is dried out with cat litter or paint hardener and thrown away.     Sometimes it just tossed, still liquid, into the trash where it seeps into the groundwater.  Most often it just sits, taking up space and collecting dust.  Why should this valuable raw material go to waste?  It shouldn’t and legally (unless it is dried) it can’t. 

Paint recycling is a new idea, but it is a vital idea.  It brings us back to the idea of wasting nothing, of making use of what we have and protecting our environment. 

What do I do for a living?  — I help people fill their houses with color, while making the Earth better and saving money.  Awesome.