Here are some of the attributes we looked for when selecting eco friend kitchen cabinets earlier this year:

1. FSC certified Wood or wood from a responsibly farm source.  I actually spoke to the wood mill to understand where our wood was coming from.  Lyptus and Bamboo are rapidly making in roads.
2. Water based finish to minimize VOC emissions.  There were issues on finish durability in the past, but quality seems to have improved.
3. Water based glues to minimize VOC emissions.
4. Marine grade plywood or non MDF Medium Density Fiberboard particle board cabinet box. Also to prevent off-gassing emissions from formaldehyde, etc. Interlam and Topan make MDF without formaldehyde.
5. As local as possible a supplier to minimize transport costs and fuel use.

We also relocated many of our old cabinets to our kitchen and donated everything else for use in a local church.

Some cabinets including mines are KCMA certified, but frankly their rules are not very aggressive in the area of eco friendliness. (Emissions etc)  It is more of a cabinet industry association.

When we began our search in early 2007, we were educating stores on what green cabinetry was.  The main sources used to be boutique local small craftsmen shops. Today, we see firms advertising ‘Green’ cabinets. HGTV has a video on this are.

Also considered cabinet refacing. You replace the doors and a veneer is placed over your existing cabinets. This is much cheaper than replacing the cabinets. New drawer pulls and handles will also update your kitchen’s look. You will reuse the ‘guts’ of your cabinets, so they need to be in good shape for this option. Some companies have options to also replace drawers.

Eco Friendly, Green Coconut Palm Wood

Coconut Palm wood is an eco friendly and green flooring alternative to bamboo. It is a by product of coconut production and has even received FSC certification.

Smith and Fong makes palmwood flooring and palmwood plywood. We have flooring from this company and find it top rate.

When installing flooring, try to avoid gluing it down if possible. If you need to use glue, use a low or no VOC glue.

Growing Bamboo

Wouldn’t it be interesting to have bamboo in your backyard? It is environmentally friendly, grows fast, and can make for a nice property line wall. You can also use it for other projects. I did some research that made me realize that it is more than most people can handle.

The problem is that bamboo spreads relentlessly, is almost indestructible, and its roots are like steel. People have to setup physical barriers like metal flashing to prevent its spread. I think I’ll stick to bamboo flooring..

Fireclay Tile – Recycled materials and Sustainable manufacturing

Fireclay Tile is a tile company that utilizes Recycled materials and Sustainable manufacturing to produce high-quality ceramic and glass tile. They are based in based in San Jose, CA and make most products in the USA.

They recycle everything from glass bottles to porcelain toilets, vanities, and bathtubs are recycled into beautiful ceramic tile. They use a lead-free glaze and proved that recycled does not mean you have to compromise on aesthetics.

Granite counter tops are desirable upgrades for many remodeling their kitchen.  We investigated green, eco friendly alternatives like Icestone, Vetrazzo, Richlite, Paperstone but did not find any finishes to our liking.  Also the price for the granite we liked was less that all these. We could buy granite and donate the extra money to charity or carbon offsets.  We tried to buy granite that was from more responsible countries, so we excluded China, India, Iran. We tried to buy ‘local’ American but only a salt and pepper color was available.

We are installing granite countertops and I needed to find an alternative to the epoxy that they use to glue the granite to the plywood put on top of our kitchen cabinets.  We were looking for Zero VOC or no VOC or low VOCs in adhesives and finishes.

I found Greenchoice Titebond Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive with a low 6.6g/L of VOC’s or volatile organic compounds. No oils to discolor items. At $3.19, it was not too costly. Alternates I found had up 47 g/L or more VOC’s.  My installer wanted to use epoxy, which is a commonly used adhesive.

Another possible adhesive Liquid Nails for marble and granite has even more VOCs at 115 g/L!

Pro Spec B150 is the epoxy adhesive alternative.  It does not have VOCs but does have BPA as an ingredient. So the trade off in using it is not clear cut.  Accept some VOCs or go for no VOCs with some ingredients not being too healthy.  At least the epoxy stays underneath and is not exposed.

Well we tried epoxy on a large section and after wards, the smell was so bad we had to leave the house for 6 hours.  Be warned that that the fumes are overwhelming. Once past this initial phase, air quality is fine. Someday a water or soy based adhesive will be available.

Indoor air quality is an important part of being Green as it affects you directly.

Some possible alternatives to epoxy:

Geocel 3500 Tile Adhesive Sealant at 0.09 g/l VOC (May need to clamp it after installation for a couple days)

Make sure you seal your granite counter tops with a water based sealer like low voc Aqua Mix Sealer’s Choice Gold. (4% voc)

Alternative to granite countertops, Concrete countertops

American builders have recently welcomed making concrete countertops at their home sites, reducing costs, and creating a new green building technology. An average 50 square feet granite countertop costs around  $2000, with a comparable concrete countertop costing around $1100.

Be sure to check out our post on Radioactive countertops

Also consider a recycled tile backsplash to add some color to your kitchen or bathroom. You can install this directly on the wall when mounted on a removable board.

We selected Yolo Colorhouse paint when we did our remodeling. It is Green Seal Certified. They produce zero VOC paint and primer in a variety of beautiful colors.  As Yolo puts it – “VOC’s are the solvents in paint which evaporate easily at room temperature the stinky stuff, bad for people and the environment. VOCs are thought to be contributors to the depletion of the ozone layer, as well as contributors to poor indoor air quality.”

This part of green affects people directly as you inhale any chemicals coming from the paint in your home.  The cost premium was only a couple dollars a gallon. Yolo also has poster sized color swatches with actual paint on them. No need to buy wasteful small sample cans.  You can also reuse the swatch as gift wrap. Quality of the paint was decent and there was no need for many coats.

Most paint lines including Benjamin Moore and Kelly Moore now include zero or low VOC paints, so look for them when shopping.  Large chains such as Lowes even carry zero VOC paints.

VOC limits are set for 250 grams per liter (g/l) for flat paints, 380 g/l for others by the US Government.  California limits it to 100 g/l and 150 g/l.  Los Angeles limits it to 50 g/l.

Keep in mind that a base paint color might be zero VOC but any color tints added to a base color usually will add VOCs.

Green Seal approved paints have VOC levels of 50 g/l or lower for flat paints, 100 g/l otherwise.

Quality make be inferior and more coats may be needed with these paints when compared to ‘regular’ paint, but is it worth inhaling chemicals to have a longer lasting finish?