AREA: Green Paint
Taking a break from poison paints.
By Caroline Cummins December 31, 1969
This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Seattle magazine.
Category: Green Living
Summertime is painting time, both indoors and out. Lead paint may be a thing of the 1970s past, but that doesn’t mean that today’s paint isn’t poisonous. Open up a can of standard paint and VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, come fuming out; inhaled, VOCs can really do a number on your central nervous system. Instead, pick a VOC-free paint; look for the Green Seal certifying no or low VOCs in the paint. As well as many more high-quality national brand options, such as Benjamin Moore, Dutch Boy, Olympic and Sherwin-Williams, there are a number of great Northwest-based green lines. Oregon-based Rodda (roddapaint.com) has its own brand of low-VOC paint, Horizon, and makes the Yolo Colorhouse’s (877.493.8275; yolocolorhouse.com) premium zero-VOC paint. Miller Paint (millerpaint.com), with stores throughout Washington and Oregon, makes the VOC-free Acro Pure and produces the Devine (devinecolor.com) color lines. Yolo and Devine’s products, search their Web sites for local retailers, as well as Authentic Home’s (4151 California Ave SW, Seattle; 206.937.3070; authentic-home.com) fabulous zero-VOC paint, also offer a wide range of rich earth tones. Finally, here’s your chance to paint the town not just red, but green.