Go Green!

Triangle residents love the great, green outdoors, and today’s building standards and materials are making it easier to care for the environment we enjoy. “Go Green!” is a regular department showcasing environmentally friendly products and services for your home. Read on and check back next issue for more ideas.

The Product: Sherwin-Williams’ Harmony® Interior Latex Low Odor Coatings and Duration Home™ Interior Latex

Why It’s Green: Both products have earned Sherwin-Williams’ GreenSure designation, meaning that they meet the company’s highest “green” coating standards. These interior paints have minimal impact on air quality while delivering maximum performance. 

Approximate Cost: Retail prices for Harmony® paints range from $35.49 to $39.99; for Duration Home™ paints, $41.99 to $43.99

Where to Find: Sherwin-Williams stores throughout the Triangle. Visit www.sherwinwilliams.com to learn about these and other products and to find your nearest Sherwin-Williams store.

About the Product: Sherwin-Williams’ Duration Home™ Interior Latex and its Harmony® Interior Latex Low Odor Coatings are notable in that they are zero-VOC and low-VOC paints, respectively. What does that mean? VOC stands for volatile organic compounds, which are chemicals emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, including many paints—even after they’ve dried—and other household products. There have been concerns about VOCs causing short- and long-term adverse health effects. Sherwin-Williams’ GreenSure designation rests on three criteria: maximum performance and long-term durability; the highest indoor air-quality ratings for low-VOC and low odor; and meeting or exceeding the Green Seal Standard (GS-11) criteria for coatings used in LEED-certified buildings (which refers to energy-efficient standards and indoor environmental quality). The Harmony paints also feature antimicrobial properties. The low-odor, silica-free coating is a water-based formula and is available as a primer and a topcoat in eggshell, flat and semi-gloss finishes. The Duration Home™ paints are lower-odor products as well. This water-based paint, available in matte or satin finishes, results in a finish that’s easily cleaned with water or mild soap and that resists burnish marks and mildew. Both paints are available in hundreds of colors, meaning you can breathe easy in terms of design as well as indoor air quality. Duration Home is environmentally preferable and carries the Sherwin-Williams Greensure designation. It has a low VOC formula, lower odor and antimicrobial properties to inhibit the growth of mold or mildew on the paint film.

The Product: Shaw Industries’ Anso® Nylon carpet

Why It’s Green: Shaw’s Anso® Nylon carpet is the epitome of the Shaw Green Edge initiative. Shaw is committed to the Cradle-to-Cradle philosophy, a production approach modeled after the organic life cycle found in the natural world—which is, of course, the ultimate in recycling. The goal is to waste nothing and to reduce the amount of raw material used.

Approximate Cost (with and without Installation): $14.00 to $40.00 per yard uninstalled; $28.00 to $80.00 per yard installed.

Where to Find: Preferred Flooring in Raleigh; www.preferredflooring.com

About the Product: Cradle to Cradle is a design philosophy developed by architect William McDonough and environmental chemist Michael Braungart. The idea is that instead of a take-make-waste model, production should be based on a birth-death-rebirth cycle. Basically, a product is created from raw materials only once, and after it’s made and used, it’s reclaimed and broken down to be remade. Anso® Nylon carpet is made of nylon 6, or N6, the only post-consumer carpet fiber that can be endlessly recycled back into carpet fiber again and again without any degradation in performance or limitations in color or styling. When N6 carpet is removed from a building, Shaw will actually take the used carpet material back to its Evergreen Nylon Recycling facility in Augusta, Georgia. There, it breaks the carpet down to its basic building block, a material called caprolactum, which is then processed into pellets that are used to make brand new N6 fiber. Anso® Nylon carpet is available in a wide range of colors. The Shaw Green Edge initiative encompasses a wide array of eco-efficient residential and commercial products, and the manufacturer has received numerous awards through the years for its eco-conscious enterprises.

New Anso® Nylon carpeting is recyclable and also contains post-consumer recycled carpet content.