Green Is A Popular Paint

Illawarra Mercury

Wednesday November 5, 2008

KILMENY ADIE

Thanks to some new products, there's an environmentally friendly approach to painting the house, writes KILMENY ADIE.

Being environmentally aware is about more than recycling your tin cans or being waterwise.

It is about how you design your family home, use its living quarters and, increasingly, what paint you use on your walls.

Environmentally friendly paints are being released by companies like Porters, Dulux and Haymes and customers are enthusiastic about this new direction.

Warilla's 3D Paint and Colour store manager Alison Hillsley has been selling Porters' environmentally friendly paint for three years and has seen Dulux also expand its range in this direction in recent years.

"It is becoming more important to customers," Hillsley says."It is pretty much across the board (for age groups interested). People are becoming more aware of the paints."

Essentially, the paints considered environmentally friendly are those which have reduced their level of volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

VOCs are gases emitted from solids or liquids, which can have unpleasant odours. VOCs can also be found in inks, glues, dry-cleaning solvents and fuels.

VOCs are a concern when painting the home or workplace because the fumes might bring about breathing problems or, for an asthmatic, an asthma attack.

VOCs also contribute to greenhouse gasses - particularly in traditional oil-based paints - and it is also suggested they can be linked to sick-building syndrome.

This level of interest in greenhouse-friendly products is a welcome relief for members of industry body Master Painters Australia (MPA), according to general manager Lachlan Beard.

Beard says the products are not a new concept with various "healthier" painting options around for generations. What is new, is the level of interest.

"We are seeing a consumer-driven demand," he says.

"The customer wants the paint to have environmentally friendly measures. It's a commercial demand too. Basically, most people don't want to have VOCs within their environment."

The MPA is working in conjunction with paint manufacturers, the Department of Climate Change and the NSW Department of Education and Training to develop a program for their members, which will be part of the NSW Green Skills Strategy.

"It's something we think needs to be done. We want to be pro-active in this area," Beard says.

"It's definitely beneficial for the painting contractors to work with lower VOC and water-based paints for their long term health.

"We can't deny that."

This program will further the work done by organisations, such as the Department of Climate Change, in awarding certified products a Greenhouse Friendly label.

Through this program, Dulux's Aquanamel and EnvirO2 were both awarded certification.

Beard says as more people become aware of paints with a reduced VOC level, interest in these products will only increase.

"Manufacturers are not going to continue to develop high-VOC products," he says.

"There is no need for high-VOC products."

The various manufacturers selling lower-VOC products offer paints for all jobs the average homeowner will want to carry out around the home, Beard says.

According to Hillsley, the cost of low-VOC paint is similar to other varieties and customers are surprised by the lack of fumes the environmentally friendly products release.

She says it certainly makes working in the shop a much more pleasant experience.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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