Eco-Friendly Paints: A Sustainable Options for Commercial Buildings

Eco-Friendly Paints: Sustainable Options for Commercial Buildings Did you know that less than 50% of the VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, in latex paint are emitted during the first year of painting? Yes, you read that right. It's that same VOC that harms your health. That isn't good news if you own a commercial property where you have recently used commercial paints. A better alternative would have been eco-friendly paints. These types of paints come with natural raw materials and have low levels of volatile organic compounds, meaning less harm to your health. Continue reading to explore why eco-friendly paints are the future of commercial painting.

Why do Eco-Friendly Paints Matter for Commercial Buildings?

These types of paints are made with natural raw materials and produce far less VOCs. Besides, it helps in reducing landfills due to manufacturing wastage.

Environmental Impact

In commercial areas, VOCs can create a hazardous environment and impact overall sustainability. Nitrogen oxides, which are emitted from vehicles, industrial activities and others, react with VOCs under sunlight to form ozone and different small particles. Ozone, fine particles, and other gases mix to create smog. So, if you don't use eco-friendly paint, VOCs in other commercial paints can create a hazardous environment. Breathing and living healthily in such a smoggy environment is simply impossible.

Health Benefits for Occupants

Creating smog is not all, VOCs like benzene and formaldehyde, propylene glycol and glycol ethers (PG) are highly reactive with the epithelial lining in the respiratory tract and the mucus membrane. A long-term reaction with these molecules triggers an inflammatory response in the respiratory tract, also the leading cause of airway inflammation. On the other hand, using eco-friendly paint that is low on VOC benefits your workers and other visitors to the commercial building. So, we suggest choosing zero-VOC paint when you plan to paint your commercial building.

Types of Eco-Friendly Paints

Different types of environmentally friendly paints are available in the market, which you can use to paint your commercial buildings. Let's explore what these paints are.

Low-VOC and Zero-VOC Paints

You already know what VOCs are and how they affect your health. Eco-friendly paint options with low-level or zero VOCs are available in the market. You can use these types of paints for your commercial buildings. They will help minimise the impact on your employees' health. Natural Paints are another great option for painting your commercial building.

Natural paints

use clay and chalk as raw materials. Some advanced casein-based natural paints use casein as a binder. It works just fine for your commercial building

Recycled Paints

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK households store paints to such a degree that they can coat the Fourth Rail Bridge 212 times. The data is shocking enough to turn to odds recycling paint. Unused and leftover paint is treated to bring it back to its original state, which can be used as recycled paint. This reduces landfill waste and is sustainable as well.

Water-Based Paints

It is another green and eco-friendly commercial painting option for your commercial building anytime. Water-based paint is an excellent option because it is environment-friendly, odourless and easy to apply.

Best Eco-Friendly Paint Brands for Commercial Use

The following are some brands you can use for your commercial buildings. 

Lick - It is one of the widely known brands in the UK that is committed to maintaining sustainability in water bodies. It has partnered with 4ocean to ensure the cleanliness of rivers, seas and lakes.

Earthborn - The brand is known for its paints and almost zero VOCs. The brand holds a license called the Eco label, which the EU provides.

Little Greene—Besides providing excellent-quality paints, the brand is known for its CSR activities. It has partnered with the National Trust, a paint research company. Every tin of paint you purchase from Little Greene contributes a small portion of the price to the charity. 

Edward Bulmer—The brand is known to every household for its eco-friendly paint options and for using eco-friendly raw materials. 

Graphenstone - The remarkable future of the paints from the brand is that they use organic lime. This organism has carbon dioxide in the environment. Besides, its containers are made of 100% recycled materials.

Application Tips for Eco-Friendly Paints

Now that you have already learned the benefits of using environmentally friendly paints let's learn a few more tips about applying them to commercial buildings. You may not want to apply the paint yourself, but learning about the process will help.

Surface Preparation

Properly clean the surface where you want to apply the eco-friendly paints. It will help to bind the newly applied pain on the surface.

Proper Ventilation During Painting

Make sure there is proper airflow where you are applying the paint. If your interior is getting painted, use ventilation to clear VOCs and paint smells. Proper ventilation will also help dry the paint quickly.

Using Sustainable Painting

Tools: To prevent paint brushes, rulers, and other equipment from ending up in landfills, you can use biodegradable or recyclable materials.

Conclusion

Using eco-friendly paint for your commercial building will benefit you tremendously. These paints have less environmental impact and can protect your employees from possible health impacts due to VOCs. Contact Commercial Painters London today if you plan to paint your commercial building with eco-friendly paint.