GreenSteps Natural Eco-Paint at Tesco

This morning saw an exciting leap forward in GreenSteps' history. Our first delivery of our own brand Natural Eco-Paint has been made to one of Tesco's warehouses. Here is some of it on a pallet before it was wrapped up for delivery. Anyone who has ever had anything to do with a big retailer will know that their delivery standards are very exacting, so my heart was in my mouth as I phoned at 7am to make sure everything had gone smoothly. Yes, it arrived on time and in order. So, all being well, it will be on the shelves during the week beginning 26th October at 60 Tesco Extra and Tesco HomePlus stores. You can see where these are on an interactive map that we've created by clicking here.

So, why is natural paint important? Nowadays, particularly at this time of year, we spend over 90% of our time indoors. We also tend to think of the air outside as the stuff which gets polluted - by cars, planes, power stations and so on. However, this is actually a misconception, the air inside our houses is riddled with pollutants - and they are far more concentrated as they can't escape. From cleaning chemicals, to furniture, carpets and even the very materials from which the house is made, the sources of the invisible chemicals polluting the air of our homes are everywhere. However, whenever we paint our homes with ordinary paints, which are made from petroleum derived chemicals, we actively invite a toxic soup of chemical pollutants to evaporate into the air of our homes. The types of chemicals include solvents (yes, even in water based paints there are solvents), volatile organic compounds or VOC's (which are greenhouse gases in themselves and generally not very pleasant) and preservatives, amongst others. Have you ever asked yourself why a tin of ordinary paint has no list of ingredients? It's far from a case of 'what you don't know can't harm you', quite the opposite. Not only do we fill our homes with chemicals when we paint them, but we effectively cover our walls in a plastic coating, which prevents them from breathing and becomes charged with static electricity, attracting dust.

GreenSteps Natural Eco-Paint, on the other hand, is made from naturally derived minerals, not petrochemicals. During its manufacture, no pollution is produced and its ingredients have far lower embodied energy than those of an ordinary paint. Each of the ingredients is listed clearly on the tin. It contains no VOC's at all, not one little bit. No solvents (other than water). Essentially, it it a totally inert product and emits no fumes into the room at all. In fact, as the binder is liquid stone, it actually absorbs Carbon Dioxide from the air as it cures. However, this is not enough by itself, paint has to perform a function - if it doesn't work, then it's a waste of time. That's why we have been very careful to ensure that GreenSteps paint is just as easy to apply as ordinary paint and gives the same coverage level. It's also highly breathable, meaning the plaster on your walls has a chance to breathe, which will help prevent condensation at times when the air inside is particularly humid - like when you're cooking or running a bath. Because the binder turns to stone on the wall, the paint is very durable and can be wiped and scrubbed to your heart's content without coming off the wall.

All fantastic I hear you say, but surely it must come at a price? Well, we're delighted to say that it's going to be sold for a sensible price. Natural paints have traditionally hovered around the £10 a litre mark. That makes them expensive for most people. GreenSteps Natural Eco-Paint is going to be sold for £16.99 for 2.5 litres - which works out as £6.80 per litre. It's about the same price as an ordinary tin of emulsion and it's certainly amazing value for a natural paint. Now natural paint is a realistic and accessible choice for people.

In the meantime, we're working on obtaining the 'Natureplus' logo for the paint, which is an outstanding environmental standard, reserved for only the most eco-conscious paint manufacturers. It's the same standard as the 'Norweigian Swan' logo. We should have this by the end of the year. The paint will be on the Tesco shelves by 26th October, so keep your eyes peeled. Click here to find your nearest stocking store.