Green building is riddled with contradictions. Take, for example, the following questions:
- Should you choose the bamboo that was sustainably harvested, but came from 3,000 miles away? Or should you opt for the wood from trees that weren’t sustainably harvested but were grown locally?
- Should you keep your existing inefficient appliances? Or should you purchase new, Energy Star–rated appliances?
- Does a recycled content material work? Or should you buy something recyclable?
- Are you better off selecting the durable vinyl trim? Or is painted wood trim better?
There is no such thing as a perfect material, so these questions (and the myriad others like them) don’t have any direct answers.
You need to evaluate each question on a project-by-project basis. For example, if you plan on remodeling again in just a few years, using the bamboo would not be the most environmentally correct choice. But if this floor will be around for the next foreseeable decade or so, bamboo may be a wise decision.
Here’s my recommended list of priorities, in order of importance, when it comes to choosing products for your green building or remodeling project.
- Natural, nontoxic: These products are healthy, nonsynthetic, and grown (not mixed).
- Low embodied energy: These products are easy to gather and nonpolluting.
- Sustainably harvested: These products are gathered without completely destroying the source.
- Recyclable/biodegradable: These products can be reused or fed back into the earth.
- Recycled content: These products contain a high percentage of materials that used to be something else.
- Locally harvested: These products didn’t travel more than 500 miles to reach you.
- Durable: These products are built to last and don’t require ongoing maintenance.
Feel free to rearrange these priorities to fit your own values. The key is to set these priorities before you find yourself standing in your home-improvement store or talking about products with your contractor. That way, you’ll be prepared for all the decisions you need to make.
Today, you have the option of dozens of green, healthy, and more responsible new materials. For every traditional, unhealthy finish you normally find in a building, a green substitute exists. In most cases, you can play this substitution game on a one-for-one basis. Below are a few examples,
| Instead of . . . | Try . . . |
| Latex wall paints | Zero-VOC paints |
| Vinyl floor tile | Natural linoleum |
| Oil-based floor sealers | Water-based sealers or natural linseed oil |
| Drywall wall panels | 100% recycled gypsum panels |
| Vinyl wallpaper | Natural fabrics, such as hemp, jute, sawgrass, or bamboo |
| Melamine plastic cabinets (white) | Formaldehyde-free medium density fiberboard (MDF) |
| Carpet with vinyl backing | Carpet with natural fiber backing |
| Plastic carpet padding | Natural jute carpet padding |
| Plastic tiles and countertops | Recycled glass tiles, recycled quarry tiles, or recycled paper resin panels |
Instead of seeing the lack of simple, straightforward answers about materials as a problem, try to look at them as opportunities. At each stage of the life cycle, you have the opportunity to improve on the impact and save money. HEre are a few such opportunities:
| Stage of the Life Cycle | Opportunities |
| Raw-material source | Choose sustainably harvested wood. Use products made of reclaimed materials. Choose finishes with a high recycled content. ....read more
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