The non-toxic train! Sealants, Caulks, and Adhesives

Go train go!  Non toxic is a growing trend in our world and for very good reason.  In this blog we wanted to help make sense of why this trend is so important and how it connects to the building materials world.  You've probably heard non toxic quite a bit over the last handful of years or so, maybe even VOCs has entered the brainwaves a few times.   VOCs, volatile organic compounds, are the ugly compounds or chemicals that can be released even after installation.  Have you ever been in a new building and noticed that new building smell? That smell was actually a whole lot of VOCs, probably really unhealthy VOCs.  In building materials, formaldehyde (methanal) is probably the most well known VOC and it can typically be found through out our homes.  It's in ceiling tiles, wall boards, paints, sealants and adhesives in cabinetry, shelving and flooring.  It's a big deal because formaldehyde can be  slowly omitted into our air over time  with changes in temperature and humidity (also known as offgasing).  These types of VOCs are part of the reason indoor air quality can be significantly worse than outdoor air quality.  After poisoning our air quality for years many of the toxic items in our home end up in a landfill or even worse are burned.  Non toxic is a no brainer for anyone equipped with this knowledge but it isn't always realistic for everyone's budget.  We're working toward and looking forward to a day when non toxic doesn't mean really expensive.  If you can fit non toxic into the budget it's one of the the best ways to improve indoor air quality.

When it comes to building materials, sealants, caulks, and adhesives are on the map with non toxic options.  These finishes are often used all over the home especially during kitchen and bathroom remodeling.  Chemlink of Schoolcraft, Michigan has developed a line of high performance adhesives, sealants, and coatings that are completely non toxic and perform as well as traditional toxic products.  AFM (American Formulation & Manufacturing), of San Diego, CA is another eco-friendly manufacturer offering non toxic sealants and adhesives.  AFM also offers non toxic paints, primers, stains, and sealers.  We're happy to see some very established non toxic sealant manufacturers and expect some bigger names to add non toxic sealants, caulks, and adhesives to their product lines in the near future.  Thanks for reading!

Eco-friendly or not so much eco-friendly? Navigating the maze.

Confusing title?  More like confusing eco-friendly products market.  Eco this Eco that, what the heck is eco-friendly and what's not?  In today's consumer markets there are many companies that offer eco-friendly products and services.  Well, these companies are claiming eco-friendly...but are they really not harmful to our planet?  And that's the maze!  When we first started Paper Plane Co. we set two steadfast guidelines that we wanted our business to maintain as an eco-friendly building materials supplier.  First, Paper Plane Co. is only providing what we know to be truly eco-friendly building materials for the kitchen, bathroom, and home.   Second, we're keeping our message positive focusing on educating consumers and not attacking any false advertisers or otherwise misguided.  The last guideline is going to make writing this blog a bit difficult but we'll see if we can get it through without naming any names!

So what's eco-friendly?  Well, it's probably a little easier to think about what's not eco-friendly...  The first thing to consider is the manufacturing process for the good in question.  Understanding how much energy is required to manufacture the good can help determine whether or not it's really eco-friendly.  For example, some of the delusional claim concrete to be an eco-friendly building material.   The reality is that a key component of concrete, cement or Portland cement, is produced via one of the most destructive manufacturing processes to our planet because it requires so much energy.  Just know high temp ovens and furnaces are bad!  If the product requires a gas or coal fired furnace during it's manufacturing process, it cannot be considered eco-friendly.  These ovens burn at temperatures over 2500 degrees and release significant pollutants into the atmosphere.  For example, glass manufacturing utilizes kilns to melt and form the glass.  Even if the glass being manufactured had been previously recycled, this still could not be considered eco-friendly.  The environmental damage of the oven counteracts any benefit of using a recycled input.  Keep in mind toxins are never ok!  Anything made with toxic components cannot be considered eco-friendly.  For example, bamboo is considered rapidly renewable and highly eco-friendly.  But when foreign manufactures utilize toxic glues to make bamboo flooring or plywood, it's no longer eco-friendly.  These materials will likely end up in a U.S. landfill someday and the toxins in that glue will be there for years to come.  Finally, mining is seriously painful to our planetbecause of deforestation, the use of noxious chemicals and an aftermath of dangerous exposure and leakage.   Anything that was mined could never be considered eco-friendly.

I hope this snapshot of info helps green friendly consumers in this topsy-turvy eco-friendly world.  When in doubt, it's probably best to just use common sense.  If it doesn't seem like it's eco-friendly than it's probably not!  In addition, organizations like the FSC and the EPA are consistently providing information on what's eco-friendly and what is not.  

Can we insulate without hurting our planet? Yes we can!

The materials generally used to insulate our homes wouldn't exactly be considered eco-friendly or even safe for that matter.   Though these insulation products have improved over the last 20 years, the fiberglass and foam products used today are still harmful to our environment and the workers installing them. Even though today's fiberglass and foam products contain some recycled content, they also contain hydrochlorofluorocarbons  which damage the Earth's ozone layer. Fortunately, we do have alternatives to fiberglass and foam insulation.  The short list of these eco-friendly insulating products include wool, cotton (recycled denim),  and recycled plastic.  Natural wool insulation first developed in Europe and there is one product currently available in the U.S. called SheepRoll.  The product is manufactured by the British company Black Mountain and it's mainly comprised of natural and sustainable sheep wool.  Wool insulation is not only breathable but also able to absorb, retain and release moisture without affecting its thermal properties or performance.  It's fire resistant and will maintain it's thermal properties far better than other insulation products.

Another insulation alternative is cotton and it's primarily manufactured using recycled denim jeans.  Like wool, there is only one product being sold on the U.S. market called UltraTouch Denim Insulation.  UltraTouch is produced by the U.S. company Bonded Logic.  This insulation product has a low thermal resistance and is sold more as an around the house insulation used to fill in any gaps in the home or around kitchen and plumbing appliances.  The last of our short list is called Supaloft Polyster insulation and produced by another British company called Thermafleece.  Thermafleece is apparently the original manufacturer of wool insulation in Europe.   Supaloft Green Insulation is manufactured from 95% recycled PET and it provides excellent thermal insulation performance.  Supaloft Green is long-lasting, safe to handle and can be easily recycled at the end of its life.   Unfortunately, we could not find this product available on the U.S. market.

In all honesty, the current eco-friendly insulation products available are far more expensive per square foot than standard fiberglass and foam products.  However, in the case of wool insulation the product will last far longer providing a far more consistent thermal insulation.  Products like fiberglass tend to deplete over time because of moisture fluctuations.  Though we're encouraged by the products available we would be delighted to see more eco-friendly insulation products on the market.  We'd also love to see more U.S. manufacturers getting involved in the cause, we can't be letting those blokes across the pond lead the way, jk!  But seriously good job Great Britain!

Where Mining meets Building Materials

Most people generally understand that mining is bad for our planet.  In today's blog we want to explain why exactly that is and how mining impacts today's building materials.  According to environmental experts mining is one of the most detrimental things that we do to our planet.  There are several negative effects and it all first starts with the complete deforestation of the land that is to be mined.  Deforestation results in a massive loss of oxygen producing vegetation, the elimination of essential habitats for wildlife, and is a severe disturbance to the area’s ecosystem.  Once the mining site has been cleared than the real nasty begins.  Explosives, cyanide, and other disturbing chemicals are used to open the land in order to extract the nonrenewable resource sought.   The chemicals and explosives used can affect local residents and of course the miners working the site.   Once the resource is removed a variety of poisonous chemicals, including mercury, arsenic, cyanide, methyl mercury, and sulfuric acid will be dangerously exposed.  All of which will eventually leak into local ground water supplies or dissipate into the air causing lovely things like acid rain.  Many mining sites are completely abandoned once the dollar signs are gone leaving the land to suffer for years to come.

There are several building materials now a days that are derived through mining.   Mining is needed to acquire aggregates used in concrete and concrete block as well as components of drywall and other gypsum products.  Granite, quartz, basically any stone kitchen or bathroom countertop or flooring was likely the result of mining. Even today's popular backyard designs typically include landscape pieces that had been previously mined. All in all, it's sad to say a good portion of today's building materials are derived through some type of mining.  But the good news is that we have eco-friendly alternatives for most of these building materials.   We also have peace of mind knowing that there are some really smart people developing new eco-friendly building materials that we'll be blogging about soon!

Paper Countertops, not paper napkins..

What the heck is a paper countertop?  What if it gets wet?  We hear questions like this quite a bit at Paper Plane Co.   No, paper countertops don't get soggy when wet.  They are a completely non-porous solid surface that can with stand temps up to 350 degrees.   The reality is most people have never heard of paper countertops, or as we like to call them recycled paper countertops.  It's been our experience that after some explanation and our best friend product samples, home owners quickly become open to the idea of having a countertop like this in their home.  Simply made by compressing  recycled paper fibers with resin, recycled paper countertops are the most eco-friendly countertops on the market.  Hundreds of pounds of paper avoids going to landfill each time a recycled paper countertop is manufactured.  The manufacturers of these beautiful products use eco-friendly resins and colorants making the whole process harmless to our planet.

Recycled paper countertops currently come in two forms.  There is the standard version that consists of recycled paper and eco-friendly resins.  This type of recycled paper countertop is currently available in three brands, RecycleTop by Kliptech, Paperstone by Paneltech, and Richlite's Northwest Collection by Richlite Company.   Each manufacturer offers different colors and not all the colors of Paperstone and Richlite are made with 100% recycled paper so watch out for that.  We love this product in the bathroom, the soft nature of it makes it a perfect bathroom countertop.  The other type of recycled paper countertop combines recycled paper and rapidly renewable bamboo fibers to achieve new heights in color and scope.  Our favorite for the kitchen, EcoTop comes in a beautiful snow white color that pairs nicely with modern dark cabinetry.  Richlite's  Stratum combines a recycled paper top and bottom layer with a paneled bamboo core creating a whole new concept in countertop.

It's safe to say the recycled paper countertop industry is here to stay.   The industry as a whole made huge strides before being stymied by the Great Recession.   Previous bad timing aside, these manufacturers are pioneers of a product that could be essential in the eco-friendly building efforts of tomorrow.