Good Morning;
I wanted to share a resource that everybody might not be aware of - HomeFree by the Healthy Building Network which can be found here: https://homefree.healthybuilding.net/products
Most of us know that HBN exists, but i think many folks just think HBN = Pharos, which is an extensive database behind a paywall that can be used to assess human and environmental health hazards of chemicals and building materials. But Pharos is tough to slog through. HBN is focused on providing info to assist with market transformation and they have other resources that do just that.
HomeFree provides basic info in a much easier to digest format. They have organized building products in 12 categories: Flooring, Paint, Drywall, Counters, Cabinetry & Millwork, Doors, Insulation, Flooring Installation and Sealants. You can click on any of those graphics and get to a page that lists product choices by hazard spectrum, with the best choices color coded in green, all the way down to what you should avoid in red. There are lots of things to review and lots of info to digest, but this info starts with a specific building product, not a chemical, with basic information to guide your product search.
A new feature is spec language that yours truly developed for HBN in the paint and flooring category. This can be found under the paint and/or flooring tab, or at this link: https://homefree.healthybuilding.net/reports Here you will find language to include in your specs, specific products to choose, and basic explanations for why.
If we are going to improve our materials palette and the products generally available for use in this country, we are going to need to apply market pressure - in the USA in 2020 regulations just are NOT going to happen. We need to make better product choices to make it clear to manufacturers that this is what we want, we will accept nothing less. I had a chat with Bill Walsh, Founder and President of HBN last week, when he said "A few years ago we had to worry about which batt insulations had formaldehyde in the binders, but that is all gone now, so it is one less thing to worry about. We can get rid of a lot of the bad products, we just need to work together to transform the market."
HomeFree is a great resource to help us all do just that.
