What is Eco-Paint anyway?

This is a question we get asked all the time - what makes a paint an eco-paint 'eco'? So I've tried to write an answer which is easy to understand, although it's not an easy subject!

Any paint generally consists of 3 things:

- Pigment (gives colour to the surface)

- Binder (sticks the pigment to the wall)

- Solvent (the liquid in which everything is dissolved)

An eco-paint should be one where none of the ingredients can harm you or the environment AND the Carbon footprint of the product is much lower than an ordinary paint.

Let's look at Solvents first: In an ordinary paint from any of the mainstream manufacturers, many of the ingredients are derived from petrochemicals. Even if the paint is water based (you can wash your brushes out in water), there will be many ingredients which would not normally dissolve in water, so they add various chemical solvents to make them dissolve - a bit like adding washing up liquid to water to dissolve the fat off a frying pan. It is these solvents and other un-named ingredients which are harmful to our health. When we paint them on the wall, they evaporate into the air and pollute the air in our homes for years after being applied.

Eco-paints are generally 'solvent free', which means that the ingredients dissolve in water without the help of chemical solvents. Many chemical solvents are also VOCs (volatile organic compounds). The man-made variety of VOC is generally harmful to health - even in tiny quantities, the effects can be chronic (allergies, asthma, even carcinogenic effects). Any man-made VOC quantity in a paint is harmful. Look for an ingredients list - if it's not there, ask yourself why?

So - on to Binders - the things which stick the colour to the wall. Another question which we get asked is 'are eco-paints as durable as ordinary paints'. Durability generally depends on the binder - i.e. how well is the pigment stuck to the wall? With many eco-paints, because the binder is water soluble, you can rub the paint off the wall if you apply water and a lot of elbow grease. GreenSteps got round this problem by using a binder which is liquid stone (silicate). This works with a water based paint without the aid of chemical solvents and, once it has dried on the wall (cured), it can't turn back to liquid again, so you can't scrub it off the wall. Clever eh?

Finally, on to the Carbon footprint. Eco-paints should use naturally derived ingredients, which inherently have far less embodied energy than the petrochemicals in ordinary paints. The production process of an eco-paint is therefore much less energy intensive - so the paint has a lower Carbon footprint. Hooray!

Always look for an ingredients list on your paint tin (it's not a legal requirement). If it's not there, why not? What is there to hide in the paint?

GreenSteps Natural Eco-paint is free of solvents, free of VOCs and made from natural ingredients. See www.greensteps.co.uk/paint for an interactive map of where to buy it.

Keep asking those questions - we love hearing from you!

GreenSteps at Ecobuild 2010

What a great week we had at the Ecobuild 2010 exhibition. I think this is the building event of the year now and I hope the change of venue from Earls Court to Excel next year doesn't change the atmosphere adversely. Thanks to everyone who visited our stand - we met so many people with sensible views on the environment and the benefits of building to a much higher standard.

Here at GreenSteps, we're trying to bring ultra-high performance products into the mainstream by making them more affordable. We exhibited our new range of triple glazed windows and doors, which ranges from very high performance products right up to a Passivhaus Institut certified window and door solution. It seems that many more people are now talking about building either to Passivhaus standards or to Code (for Sustainable Homes) levels 5 and 6. This is a fantastic development and in order to make these dreams a reality, architects and specifiers need really to concentrate on getting the fabric of the building up to as high a standard as possible. This means not just specifying the right products in the first place, but thinking carefully about how they will work together and really importantly, how to ensure they are actually fitted together properly on site. What's the use in having a Passivhaus certified window if it's not mounted properly? More and more, we are being asked to help with detailing around windows and doors. We have the capability to incorporate our products into detail CAD drawings and we're happy to provide this service at no cost to our customers.

Most importantly, our products are fantastic value. In many cases, our customers have told us that our quotes are cheaper than quotes for much lower specification products. We'll keep striving to lower our prices and make ultra-high performance a really affordable option!

50W equivalent LED spotlight is here!

I'm delighted that we're now able to offer a real LED alternative to a halogen GU10 50W spotlight. A real warm colour, really bright light, 40 degree beam angle and only 4W energy consumption - it's the real deal. See http://www.greensteps.co.uk/sp/low-energy-light-bulbs/led-bulbs/glo-4w-led-gu10-spotlight-warm-white/497

Watch out for the newsletter for a great special offer on these.