Paint, Coating, and Primer

Join the Movement!

Founded in 1970, the Ecology Center serves one purpose: protecting healthy people and a healthy planet. We believe that the central question of our time is how human beings are going to thrive in the world without destroying the earth's ability to sustain us. This can only be achieved with your support.

Proposed procurement goals:

100% of paints, coatings and primers purchased by the municipality or used by contractors meet the HomeFree Green or Light Green level including for VOC content and APE content
Require suppliers to disclose the presence of PFAS and prefer paints, coatings and primers purchased by the municipality or used by contractors that do not contain any PFAS
100% of paints meet at least one of these standards: Green Seal, EcoLogo, CRGI GreenWise Gold, MPI Green Performance X-Green, GREENGUARD Gold, SCS Indoor Advantage Gold, or Berkeley Analytical ClearChem
Require vendors to provide quarterly usage reports and recycling services for unused paints, including drop-off and take-back options
Preference given to products with publicly available information to encourage the use of building products that are working to minimize their environmental and health impacts
- Material ingredients documentation demonstrating the chemical inventory of the product to at least 0.1% (1,000 ppm) with all content characterized and screened

Case studies and resources:

HomeFree paint hazard and rating system
HomeFree Paint Specifications
RPN: Green Purchasing Best Practices: Architectural Paints and Coatings
Portland, OR requires its vendors to provide quarterly usage reports and recycling services for unused paints, including drop-off and take-back options. RPN
Massachusetts' Multifamily New Construction Design Requirements and Guidelines requires all “paint, stains and varnishes should be limited to low (50 g/L) or no VOC, except as noted.”
Enterprise Green Communities: Criteria & Certification section on Ingredient Transparency for Material Health