First Green Seal approval for metal paint
reen Seal is an independent nonprofit organization that awards a seal of approval to products found to cause significantly less harm to the environment than other similar products. It sets environmental standards for product categories and considers the environmental impacts of products and their packaging from manufacturing through consumer use, to recycling and disposal. Products are Green Seal-certified only after rigorous testing and evaluation.
The Earth Times is a strong advocate of the Green Seal, and will provide regular updates as products are certified. To date, 140 products in 52 categories have been approved.
Latex metal paints
Forty-nine Rust Tough® Latex for Metal paint products, manufactured by the Krylon Products Group of Sherwin-Williams Company, are the first paints to be Green Seal-certified. They contain at least a third less volatile organic compounds than most other anti-corrosive paints, and have met or exceeded Green Seal's standards for environmental impact, packaging and performance.
According to Green Seal President Norman Dean, over 500 million gallons of paint are purchased in the United States each year. "Paints that meet Green Seal's criteria reduce the need for solvents, which means less chemicals and solvents are used in painting and cleaning up," said Dean. "The Krylon anti-corrosive paints that have earned the Green Seal are latex, and clean up easily with soap and water."
For more information about Green Seal and its programs, call (202) 872-6400.
Paper standards, too
Green Seal has just announced a revision in its environmental standard for printing and writing paper in an effort to align its standard with the Federal government in the area of paper recycling. According to Dean, they took the action to eliminate conflicting requirements and relieve confusion among paper manufacturers.
Dean pointed out that Americans discard four million tons of office paper every year - enough to build a 12-foot wall of paper from New York to California. "Every time we recycle a ton of printing and writing paper, we save 7,000 gallons of water," he said. "By using recycled paper that meets Green Seal's revised standard, we would save 33% of the energy used when virgin paper is made from trees."
