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Updating your home with a fresh coat of paint involves more than just choosing a color. It’s crucial to prioritize environmental considerations as well, such as minimizing air pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Traditional paints release VOCs, which are invisible yet potent chemicals that vaporize and linger through a process called off-gassing, potentially persisting for years. These compounds—including formaldehyde, acetone, toluene, and ethanol—pose both immediate and lasting health risks ranging from headaches and dizziness to more serious long-term complications.
Fortunately, there are now several major manufacturers offering no-VOC paints that eliminate these toxic emissions without sacrificing aesthetic appeal. Here are three leading paint brands that combine beautiful finishes with health-conscious formulations, ensuring your decorating project enhances both the appearance and air quality of your home.
Behr Paint Company just launched Behr Premium Plus EcoMix Plant-Based Paint & Primer, the first 100 percent all-acrylic paint in its category to achieve the USDA Certified Biobased label, confirming its renewable, plant-based content. This zero-VOC formula is also UL Greenguard Gold certified, ensuring low chemical emissions to contribute to a healthier indoor environment. This new, innovative paint line is part of Behr’s efforts to deliver on all fronts: performance, durability, low emissions, zero VOCs, and renewable content. It is sold exclusively at The Home Depot and is available in every color offered within the Behr Premium Plus line.
Benjamin Moore’s Eco Spec® line is its greenest and lowest-odor paint line. Without compromising performance and quality, Eco Spec® helps maintain healthy indoor air quality through zero VOCs and zero emissions. What’s more, Eco Spec® just earned the Asthma & Allergy Friendly® certification from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and Allergy Standards Limited (ASL) that verifies the paint as having low VOC emissions and suitable for people with asthma and allergies.
The certification helps consumers identify products that contribute to a healthier indoor environment. To earn the certification, the next generation of Benjamin Moore’s Eco Spec® paint underwent comprehensive scientific testing and demonstrated that it:
- Emits extremely low VOCs below certification limits at 24 hours and 14 days after painting;
- Meets or exceeds physical performance standards for drying time, scrubbability, cleanability, and adhesion; and
- Has a formulation where allergenic and sensitizing chemicals are as low as possible or not present.
Benjamin Moore products are available exclusively from more than 8,500 locally owned and operated paint, decorating, and hardware retailers throughout the United States, Canada, and another 74 countries globally.
Sherwin-Williams Harmony interior acrylic latex paint has long been known for its premium performance as a Greenguard Gold certified zero-VOC paint formula available in the brand’s many color options. It contains antimicrobial agents that inhibit the growth of mold or mildew on the paint film, extending the life of the coating. It is also made with odor-eliminating technology to reduce common indoor odors of organic origin, so rooms stay fresher longer. Now, the enhanced Harmony paint contains a revolutionary formaldehyde-reducing technology that actually reduces VOCs already present in a room. Harmony’s enhanced formula is now available in flat, eggshell, and semi-gloss sheens, as well as a primer.
