What Are The Differences Between An Eco-Friendly Paint And A Normal Paint?

All paints are made up of three main components: pigment, which gives the paint its colour, a binder, which holds the paints intact, and a carrier, which spreads the binder. Because these paints are constructed using ingredients that are made up of dangerous chemicals, many freshly manufactured paints can have an impact on the ecosystem and human safety.

Not all paints are green, even though they come in a spectrum of colours. In most cases, distinguishing an eco-friendly paint from a traditional paint is as simple as popping up the lid and taking a sniff. Many greenhouse gases and other ecologically hazardous compounds are released into the atmosphere while traditional paint is applied, giving it a distinctive new paint chemical smell.

Eco-friendly paints, on the other hand, emit very little or no ecologically harmful chemicals into the air. Natural paint is produced with all-natural, non-toxic materials that are both clean and safe to use. While the paint is drying, they only produce trace amounts of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).

VOCs And Traditional Paints

When you open a bucket of regular paint, you'll notice a creamy mixture of plasticizers, binders, hardeners, pigments, biotoxins, drying accelerators, solvents, and other ingredients. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are the solvents used in traditional paints.

When the paint is fluid, VOCs assist keep the components together, but when the paint is applied, they evaporate into the air. Smog is formed when VOCs mix with other airborne contaminants. VOCs and plasticizers lead to poor indoor air, and prolonged exposure to such hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) can cause respiration and metabolic disorders, migraines, and a variety of other ailments.

For more than a year after application, conventional paints may continue to release trace amounts of VOCs, biotoxins, and micro-plastic. Pigments contain cadmium, lead, and chromium, whereas binders and carriers contain petrochemicals, solvents, benzene, formaldehyde, as well as various volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Stabilizers, emulsifiers, preservatives, and driers in newer versions of paints, are also detrimental to the ecosystem.

Paints With Low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Indoor water-based household paints, for example, are allowed to contain up to 250 g of VOCs per litre of paint under EPA standards. House paints with 50 g/L VOCs are available from some manufacturers, and VOC-free paints are becoming more prevalent.

Paint manufacturers frequently promote these paints as ecologically benign, but the truth is a little more nuanced. HAPs may still be present in these formulations and adding colourants to low-VOC paints can raise the VOC level, but it is still not as high as conventional paints.

Comparison Of Natural vs. Conventional Paint

Paints That Claim To Be Environmentally Friendly But Aren't

The market is filled with traditional paint alternatives, many of which claim to have "green" features, making it difficult for someone wanting to select the most environmentally friendly and healthy paint decision.

Many mainstream paint manufacturers now offer "eco" lines that promise to be "non-toxic," "child-safe," or "low/zero VOC." While their VOC emissions may be under legal levels, their synthetic components, including plastics, make them far from ecologically safe.

Final Thoughts

When you look at the percentage of painted surfaces in your house — walls, ceilings, and even furniture and cabinetry – choosing the correct paint is essential. Painted areas make up a large part of the interior environment you are exposed to daily, and so have a significant influence on the quality of the air you breathe.

If you're repainting your house, we recommend avoiding conventional paint and instead opting for natural paint, which is genuinely safe, non-toxic, and long-lasting.

Livos products are natural, non-toxic paints for interior and outdoor use and maintenance, have been successfully used throughout Australia. Livos Natural Paint is a healthy choice for your home, family, and environment.