Sustainable materials are becoming more and more popular due to the fact that the public has become more environmentally conscious. Major brands have started to come up with many new innovations in sustainable materials. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams are on the fore front of low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints which are much better for the environment and for the inhabitants of homes and offices. Low VOC paints do not contain formaldehyde but are organic or milk based. In some markets in Colorado, such as the Boulder real estate market, have a high percentage of new construction using low voc materials.

One great sustainable project that has become increasingly prevalent in building is FSC certified lumber. The FSC, or Forest Stewardship Council, is an organization has had great progress in Europe, Central, and South America and is becoming more widely recognized here in the United States and Canada.  The lumber that FSC promotes and sanctions is plantation grown that is specifically planted for logging, thus preventing lumber companies from disturbing as many natural forests. The way you know lumber is FSC certified is from an actual logo that the FSC organization puts on all the wood that meets FSC standards. This certification means that the loggers who logged that lumber took special precautions to obtain the hard wood, such as reforestation, logging only trees that are dying or logging areas with an over population of trees. Bigger corporations are helping out as well. Home Depot has FSC certified lumber, IKEA only uses FSC certified lumber for its furniture, and Smith and Fong’s has just introduced FSC certified Bamboo.

When buying or selling your home, talk to you local real estate agent to find out how you can either improve your home using sustainable materials. Also, when looking to buy a new home make sure to ask the builder or the real estate agent if the home has sustainable finishes incorporated into the home.