From the very beginning, humans painted caves with
natural materials. These materials, used to create
natural, eco-friendly paint, gradually evolved, becoming ever more synthetic, resistant, durable, stable, commercial… but at the same time more harmful in ways that matter greatly for the future of the environment and
people’s health.
Society is increasingly concerned about all the drawbacks of the
paint on the market. So in response to this demand, what we might call
eco-friendly paints have appeared, offering many benefits, which we will look at in this article.
Definition of eco-friendly paint
We can define
eco-friendly paint as paint made with
natural, biodegradable materials that are not harmful to people, unlike synthetic paints made with chemicals.
Biodegradable eco-friendly paints aim to offer the same beneficial performance as synthetic paints, provided the
manufacture of the eco-friendly paint is
sustainable and friendly to the
environment.
Another notable piece of
information about eco-friendly paints is that they come in various colours, including
white eco-friendly paints and
black eco-friendly paints.
Eco-friendly paints are
sustainable materials considered entirely essential for creating
eco-friendly, sustainable spaces and for
eco-design.
Eco-friendly paints, prices and types
Today we can find two types of eco-friendly paint, distinguished by their n
atural components.
- Natural paints: these can be of plant or animal origin (the best known are plant based) and fall within the category of eco-paints.
- Mineral paints: these can be eco-friendly clay, silicate or lime paints.
The
price of eco-friendly paints is usually higher than that of synthetic ones (more so for mineral than for natural paints); however,
eco-friendly paints can be cleaned and last longer, so over time they represent a saving.
For example, Ecopinttors has a tin of
eco-friendly paint made with sunflower oil, castor oil, potato starch and water. It can be used both outdoors and indoors, on ceilings, gypsum plaster, plasterboard, fibreglass, cement, plaster of Paris and tinted paper. It costs €84.60 for the 15 kg tin.
The Ecopinttors paint tin is white; if you want to add colour you need to buy the natural pigments for €5.58. Images by Ecopinttors.
Eco-friendly paints are sold in Spain and Latin America, though there is always the option to
buy eco-friendly paint online, where we can compare prices and find a
cheap eco-friendly paint.
The benefits of eco-friendly paint over synthetic paint
Eco-friendly paints are far better than synthetic ones, and their two main benefits stem precisely from their
eco-friendly, natural composition:
Eco-friendly paints (mineral and natural): They do not harm the environment because they are made from natural raw materials.
Synthetic paints: They use chemical substances and volatile organic compounds that harm the environment.
The synthetic paints we are used to using are made in a completely synthetic way, with heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium…) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetone. You only have to look at the label of these products to realise that they are not very friendly to the
environment and that they release a great deal of toxins.
Eco-friendly paints are not made with harmful materials, but with raw materials of plant or mineral origin (silicates, lime and clay) that leave no harmful waste.
Eco-friendly paints (mineral and natural): They do not seriously harm health.
Synthetic paints: They harm health: the respiratory tract, skin and eyes.
Synthetic paints are not only harmful to the
environment because of the amount of toxins they contain; they are also bad for people’s health: mainly the skin, the respiratory tract and the eyes. This is due to the large amount of solvent these paints contain, which means that when you use them, the solvent evaporates into the air and releases volatile chemical residues that are not at all healthy. This process can last for days, or for months if the room contains textile materials.
Eco-friendly paints do not affect health, and the only ones that release any scent are
plant-based eco-friendly paints and
mineral clay paints; their smells are not harmful and are not unpleasant but sweet, unlike what happens with synthetic paints.
Some people have very sensitive problems with allergies and cannot paint or stay in a place decorated with any type of paint, so if you have a business or are thinking of setting one up, you had better use
eco-friendly paints to avoid this kind of problem.
Eco-friendly paint during pregnancy and around children is extremely important, since synthetic paints carry the risk that children may develop respiratory or allergy problems in the future.
The benefits of eco-friendly paints come from their natural components. This image and the cover image belong to Pinturas Abril.
The efficiency of eco-friendly paints
Eco-friendly paints are not only good for health and the environment; they also perform well functionally, although not in the same way as synthetic ones.
Does the Ecolabel indicate which paints are eco-friendly?
The Ecolabel is a mark created by the European Union that helps identify products and services with reduced environmental impact.
This does not mean that these products are entirely
eco-friendly, but that they have reduced their toxins. This label can include synthetic paints that have reduced their pollution, such as water-based paints, which are synthetic paints that have replaced their large amounts of solvent with water.
For a paint to be called eco-friendly, it must be completely free of toxins and petroleum derivatives and must not pollute the environment at all, not just partially as this label suggests.
To finish this article, here is a video summary of all the
benefits of eco-friendly paints we have explained:
