Improve the healthiness of your home while protecting the environment by going Green with your cabinetry!

Eco, green, environmentally-sensitive, eco-friendly – these are terms often heard and respected, but lack a universally-accepted definition. Do they embody attributes that lead to better air quality or less waste? Do they contain recycled material or are crafted from a renewable resource? Homeowners, builders, designers, and architects are demanding building materials that harmonize not only form and function, but also healthiness. But, with the plethora of materials on the market deemed ‘Green,’ and with ambiguous understanding of what makes them so, it is difficult to know what you are getting.

Here, we try to clarify cabinetry deemed earth-friendly:

1. Look for materials that are abundantly available to lessen the impact on the environment.
2. Favour rapidly renewable materials or fast-growing woods.
3. Consider the distance the raw material must travel to reach the manufacturing site and the amount of fabrication time needed to arrive at a finished product. The less distance the product has to travel and the less time to manufacture, the lower the impact on the environment.
4. Materials harvested from a responsibly managed forest have merit.
5. Avoid exotic species specifically. They are often rare and slow-growing. Harvesting practices are often questionable and materials usually travel long distances between the harvest site and your home.
6. Look for products with recycled content.
7. Select products that minimize the use of glue, unless the adhesive has no added Urea-Formaldehyde (a known carcinogen).
   • Solid wood doors are usually best, followed by flat panel, and then veneered slab.
   • If veneered slabs are crafted with eco-rated MDF or particleboard, they are a good choice
   • Painted MDF doors tend to be an offender, unless the MDF is 4 Star rated (see below).
8. Water-based stains and top coats aren’t necessarily more favourable. All finishing materials, even water-based ones, contain chemicals to dry, set, and harden the product. Many of these chemicals contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that are not required to be reported. Some interesting facts about any finishing product:
   • Only top coats emit gases.
   • By the time cabinetry reaches the home, 97% of the off-gassing has already dissipated.
   • The remaining 3% takes as little as 28 days (stained with top-coated product) or up to 40 days (painted product) to dissipate; no off-gassing occurs after this.
9. Certification from a notable environmental agency provides assurance. (see below)
10. Purchase from manufacturers who have an environmental mandate.

Some more formal benchmarks to look for when purchasing cabinetry:

4 Star Rating – One of the most demanding standards in the world – the Japanese indoor air quality regulation. Products undergo rigorous testing and are awarded stars for low formaldehyde content. The highest rating is 4 stars and is granted by the Japanese MLIT (government ministry).

CARB Compliancy – The California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) mission is to improve air quality. Building materials in California must be CARB compliant for use in construction. Materials undergo independent emission testing for formaldehyde in order to be approved.

EPP Designation – Environmentally Preferred Product – Material that has been recognized as reducing impact on the environment, across the board.

LEED Accreditation – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – A point system used to rate the reduced impact and human benefit of new buildings. Each design element or construction material is allocated points based on a broad spectrum of environmental benefits, including low emissions, decreased energy consumption, and utilizing recycled materials, to name a few.

For nearly two decades, Merit Kitchens has proudly offered our 4 Star rated, LEED accredited EcoPlus cabinetry to North America and Japan. So steadfast is our commitment to you and the environment, that even our standard case material is both CARB and EPP compliant.