Choosing sustainable paint means a reduction in environmental impact, and an increase in the indoor air quality in your home.
You’ll see it described as eco friendly, natural, low VOC, breathable and even biodegradable. But what do these terms mean in the context of your own personal expectations for a true sustainable and eco friendly paint, and what credentials should you be looking for?
Sustainable paint is designed to reduce environmental impact while still giving you a durable, attractive and practical finish for your home.
There is no single UK legal definition of “sustainable paint”. Instead, sustainability is judged through a mix of formulation, VOC content, emissions testing, and environmental certifications.
Sustainable Paint Defined
Sustainable paint consists of natural, eco-friendly ingredients. Petrochemical binders, harsh solvents, and plastics are replaced by renewable, plant based or mineral ingredients.
Common sustainable paint ingredients include clay, lime, chalk, mineral pigments, silicates, plant oils and plant based resins. These can help create paints that are lower odour, lower emission and more compatible with healthy homes.
A key aspect of paint sustainability is it's durability. How often repainting is required plays an important role.
Read more: Can you compost natural paint? | What's paint sustainability?
Benefits of Sustainable Paint
Using a sustainable paint with solid eco creds doesn’t only benefit the planet - it can enhance your home and health too.
- Indoor air quality - Conventional paints release high levels of VOC laden paint fumes into your home. The chemical exposure can last for weeks as the paint dries, a process known as “off gassing”. Natural paints have near zero VOCs and some even actively clean the air inside your home. Many natural paints are highly breathable, which helps with moisture regulation and mould reduction.
- Highly durable - Switching petrochemicals for plants doesn’t mean you’ll compromise on quality. Many modern natural paints are formulated to be highly durable, with many offering class 1 scrubbability. Natural white gloss paints such as Auro 516-90 won’t yellow like their oil based counterparts.
- Ease of cleaning - You don’t need harsh solvents to clean your brushes. Natural paint usually only needs to be brushed out from the bristles and rinsed off with water. Even stubborn residues can be removed using plant based soap like Auro 411.
- Reduced environmental impact - Eco paint brands use more renewable, or lower impact raw materials, reducing dependence on fossil fuel based ingredients, and supporting better packaging or manufacturing choices.
- Breathability - Natural paint can help protect the fabric of homes, particularly older homes with solid walls. Using breathable paint helps moisture pass naturally through the walls and paint film, helping to avoid damp and damage.
Popular Types of Sustainable Paint
Our most popular sustainable paints fall into 3 core groups. All are sustainable, eco friendly, and breathable but offer different finishes and surface suitability.
Clay Paint
Clay paint is a breathable, matt wall paint made with clay and mineral ingredients. It is often chosen for bedrooms, living rooms, and is a popular choice for customers with older homes. Clay paint gives a soft, flat finish and can help walls remain vapour open.
Lime Paint
Lime paint is a mineral based paint suitable for lime plaster, masonry and traditional buildings. It is highly breathable and works well on surfaces that need moisture vapour to move through them. Lime based paints naturally discourage mould growth due to their naturally high pH levels.
Mineral Paint
Mineral paint uses mineral chemistry rather than relying on conventional plastic based binders. When mineral paints dry, they chemically bond with the substrate they’re applied to. It is chosen for breathability, low emissions, durability and compatibility with older or more natural building materials.
Sustainable Paint Certifications
But what does it say on the tin? Paint certifications and data can be confusing, but a valuable tool to help you identify a paint that’s not only sustainable, but fit for your intended use and of benefit to the indoor air quality in your home.
Here’s some of the key certifications and information you may encounter on technical data sheets. Understanding them means you can be more confident in the eco credentials and performance when choosing paint.
- VOC Figures - VOC content is shown in grams per litre, written as g/l. This tells you how much volatile organic compound is present in the wet paint. A paint with trace VOCs or ≤ 1 g/l VOC sits at the very low end.
- Indoor Air Emissions Testing - Emissions testing looks at what the paint releases into the air in your home after it has been applied. Certifications and standards such as Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold, AgBB, A+ emissions ratings, M1, EN 16516 and ISO 16000 are used to assess paint emissions.
- EU Ecolabel - EU Ecolabel certification indicates paint that has European Union certification for excellence in reducing environmental impact.
- Cradle to Cradle Certified - This is a globally recognised certification which will help you identify paint that is safe, responsibly made, and has a focus on circularity. It rewards products that can be fully recycled, reused, or composted.
- Sd Values - Sd values measure breathability or resistance to water vapour diffusion. Lower Sd values mean a paint is more breathable, so moisture vapour can pass through more easily. This is especially important for lime plaster, clay plaster, solid wall homes and older buildings.
- Scrub ratings - This is a method used to measure paint durability. It rates paints class 1 -5 depending on how much loss the paint film experiences. Class 1 is the highest or "highly scrubbable". Class 5 is the lowest or "washable".
Our Sustainable Paint Brands
Here at Greenshop Paints, we’re proud to stock some of the most sustainable paint brands available in the UK market. All are carefully researched and selected to be as natural and eco friendly as possible.
Auro
Auro is known for natural paint systems using plant based and mineral ingredients. Many Auro products are designed for customers who want to move away from conventional synthetic paint chemistry while still achieving a high quality finish.
Graphenstone
Graphenstone focuses on mineral and lime based paint technology, combining sustainability with strong modern performance. Its paints are often chosen for breathability, low VOC content, durability and technical documentation.
Earthborn
Earthborn is best known for Claypaint, a breathable matt wall paint popular in older homes and natural interiors. It is a good option for customers looking for low odour, breathable interior paint with a soft, flat finish.
Sustainable Paint - The Whole Picture
Sustainable paint is not about considering just one feature. The best sustainable paints combine better ingredients, low emissions, durability and breathability. They reduce environmental impact while still giving you a finish that works properly in real homes.
Do you need help understanding which paint is best for you? Please contact us, our friendly team of paint experts will be happy to help.
