Where To Find Natural Building Materials

Whether you’re looking into building your dream home or simply want to renovate a specific area of your home or office, using green building materials is the best way to create an environment that isn’t detrimental to your health. Organic, natural, and eco-friendly building materials from reputable, trusted suppliers is a must for protecting your health from the endocrine disruptors found in conventional building supplies.

Where to Find Organic Building Materials

Many building materials today contain things like formaldehyde, VOCs, and fire retardants, all of which can disrupt hormone function. While building materials don’t have the same organic certification process as food, it is possible to find paint, adhesives, and other materials made with organic or natural ingredients. Here’s a list of the most common building materials you will need, along with suppliers you can trust.

Organic/Natural Sheetrock

Also referred to as drywall, sheetrock is necessary for making the interior of walls. Finding natural and eco-friendly alternatives is a bit easier in this day and age, and luckily many builders are popping up all over the place offering these options. Here’s a quick list of the best suppliers for natural sheetrock:

EcoRock, made from 85% industrial byproducts, 100% recyclable.
Durra Panel is an eco-friendly sheetrock made from wheat or rice straw fibres, contains no formaldehyde.
JetBoard, made in Texas, recently released in the US.

Organic/Natural Glue

Glue and adhesives are necessary every step of the way when you’re building, yet some can give off toxic fumes. Here’s a list of the top-selling natural adhesives you can use in your projects:

ChemLink is a leading solvent-free and VOC-compliant sealant that can safely be used for constructing a healthy indoor environment.
EcoBond is another popular adhesive earning points from environmentalists and health advisors.
Capco Adhesives are also eco friendly and low in toxic compounds.

Organic/Natural Paints

Whether you’re painting the outside of your house, your living room, or wooden furniture, you should always use lead-free, VOC-free, natural paints as much as possible. Here’s some suppliers you can look into:

Ecos Paints sell no odor, VOC-free paint for interior use.
Auro Natural Eco Paints uses zero petrochemicals, VCOs, and only organic linseed oil in their products.
Green Pant Paints is another interior paint company, selling paints that use plant-based ingredients.

Organic/Natural Grout

Not only is grout used during construction, it’s commonly used in the maintenance of buildings. Here’s some natural grout solutions:

Eco Bath Tup and Tile
Eco Grout
Eco Systems Grout

Organic/Natural Sheetrock Mud

Sheetrock mud is also referred to as ‘drywall joint compound’ and is used to seal joints between sheets of drywall. Here’s some hypo-allergenic choices you can use:

Keim, works best with JetBoard or Dragonboard as a joint compound.
Murco Wall, do not use as a joint compound.

Organic/Natural Thinners

Paint thinners are commonly tainted with chemicals, most notably VOCs. Here’s a list of reliable, healthier alternatives:

Solvent-Free Paint thinner is made from 100% purified linseed oil.
Real Milk Company uses organic citrus solvents as a natural paint thinner.
Eco-Solve is a paint thinner made with soy and is non toxic.

Organic/Natural Caulking

While caulking doesn’t typically present a dire health concern, the PCBs found in conventional caulking materials can be hazardous over time. Here’s a couple of sources of caulking without the endocrine disruptor:

SafeCoat Multi-Purpose Caulk is non toxic and good for the environment.
Eco-Bond has a 10 year mold-free guarantee and is low in VOCs.

Natural/VOC-free Concrete Sealants

Most concrete sealants contain VOCs, which interfere with the immune system. Here are the top VOC-free concrete sealants:

Seal Green provides concrete sealants made with green ingredients.
DurasealZero™¨is made by Enviroseal, and uses natural ingredients that are EPA approved. No VOCs.
Conkrete-Seal by AgraLife is a natural, VOC-free concrete sealant.

Organic / Natural Ceiling Tiles

Formaldehyde a toxic poison that is commonly added to conventional ceiling tiles. Here’s a couple of suppliers for ceiling materials that do not use chemicals:

Armstrong is one of the leaders in providing sustainable ceiling tiles for office buildings.
Sustainable Ceiling Resource Center provides information and products related to healthy ceiling products.

Got a favorite that I missed? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, NP, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM has studied natural healing methods for over 20 years and now teaches individuals and practitioners all around the world. He no longer sees patients but solely concentrates on spreading the word of health and wellness to the global community. Under his leadership, Global Healing Center, Inc. has earned recognition as one of the largest alternative, natural and organic health resources on the Internet.