Being a responsible consumer when it comes to paint can be hard. Unlike organic greens, there really isn't an "organic" paint. Green Seal certification doesn't necessarily tell you what is in your paint. Regulatory agencies don't require paint companies to divulge all of their ingredients. So how can you as a consumer make careful choices when you don't know what's in the can?

In the US, zero VOC is gaining attention. What this means is that per federal regulation, there is a reduction in the amount of material coming out of your paint as it dries. This is a good thing for the environment, as it is well known that these substances react with nitrous oxides in the air to form ozone. The EPA determined that the off-gassing from architectural coatings is estimated to account for about 9% of the VOC emissions from all consumer and commercial products. It is important to understand that using the EPA's test method for VOC's, any paint with VOC's less than 5 g/l or less can be called zero VOC. Further, the colorant that is typically added to these paints has VOC's, meaning that the paint you take home may not be zero-VOC, even if the base is.

The lesson is that it is insufficient to consider only VOC's when making paint purchasing decisions. The environmental footprint of a zero VOC paint can include all kinds of synthetic materials to control flow, skinning, settling, etc., that ultimately don't support a vision of sustainability and "goodness" for the environment. It is because of this that we decided to produce a simpler paint with ingredients that have been carefully selected to minimize environmental impact.

Simplicity. Consider the difference between home-made spaghetti sauce made from fresh organic tomatoes, organic virgin olive oil, garlic and herbs fresh from the garden and salt and pepper. It is rich with the fresh flavors you put into it, needing little more. Now compare that to a bottle of conventional canned sauce. They may contain all kinds of ingredients such as -- sweeteners, color stabilizers, thickeners, and preservatives you would never choose to add to your own sauce. This is why we keep our paints simple: clay, marble, titanium dioxide, soy resin, a phosphate salt, cellulose, mineral pigment, with small amounts of dispersing aids and preservatives. Why should it be more complicated than that?

If you want to make your own paints fresh from the start, we'll help you in buying fabulous unique pigments, bulk fillers, and even point you towards recipes that will work for simple paints. Since our paints are mixed wet in cans, we do use additives to ensure they stay mixed, and they don't mold in the can or on the wall.

So why natural?

• You know what you're putting on your walls.
• You know you're choosing a product you can live with.