Interior VUES believes that home improvement should never be at the expense of the environment. Many say that the damage done to our earth is irreversible, but that is certainly no excuse to continue making matters worse. In so many ways, we can slowly change the way we do things to make less of an impact. It requires not only a change in lifestyle, but also a reprogramming of sorts. We have to change the way we think.

We may have already put in place a recycling program in our homes... we may be attempting to consume less water by taking shorter showers... we may have installed more energy efficient appliances, windows and fixtures. These are all a good start! There are so many others areas that may be less talked about that should be given some attention. And some of these have to do with our home design and improvement projects.

Paint is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to spruce up your home. Many home improvement stores and paint retail sources are now offering lines of paint that cut down on the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that are emitted into the air during the drying process. So they are safer for you to work with (especially when there is not sufficient ventilation) and are also better for the environment!



Also, more attention could be given to selecting energy efficient window treatments to address your privacy and light control needs. Many of the products offered today not only cut heating and cooling expenses, but are also more responsibly made. Graber, for instance, has a program in place called Green By design. It focuses on 1) what the products are made of, 2) how they are fabricated, 3) the plants where they are made, and 4) how they are distributed.

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Some useful "green" names and terms to know:

• Association for Contract Textiles: A not-for-profit trade association that addresses a variety of issues related to contract fabrics. Membership includes principal members, associate members, and industry partners and individuals. Principal members are textile wholesalers directing all or the majority of their business to the contract interiors market; associate members are furniture manufacturers; and industry partners and individuals are suppliers to the principal member companies. www.contract-textiles.com

• Biodegradable: Exhibiting the capability of being broken down (or decomposed or metabolized) by microorganisms and reduced to organic or inorganic molecules which can be further utilized by living systems.

• By-product: Anything produced in an industrial or biological process in addition to the principal product; a secondary and sometimes unexpected or unintended result.

• Certified Organic: Items that have been grown according to strict uniform standards that are verified by independent state or private organizations.

• Compostable: Possessing the ability to break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost (e.g. soil-conditioning material, mulch) in a safe and timely manner.

• Eco-Efficiency: Reducing the ecological impact of goods and services while at the same time producing and delivering desirable, competitively priced goods and service.

• Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigments Manufacturers (ETAD): Swiss-based organization formed in 1974 to represent the interests of these industries on matters relating to health and environment. ETAD is an international organisation and its currently 45 member companies are based in 16 countries worldwide. The aim of ETAD is to minimize possible negative effects on health and the environment arising from manufacture and use of synthetic organic colorants and to ensure information on the best practicable protection is provided to the purchasers of these products.

• Environment: The complex of physical, chemical and biotic factors (such as climate, soil and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival.

• Environmental Management System (EMS): An industry-developed and driven management structure that prioritizes compliance with environmental policy objectives and targets effective implementation of environmentally-focused procedures; a key feature of an EMS is the preparation of documented systems, procedures and instructions to ensure effective communication and continuity of such implementation. ISO 14001 specifies the actual requirements for an EMS standard and is the most widely recognized system of this type.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The U.S. federal agency established in July of 1970 to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment air, water, and land upon which life depends; works closely with other federal agencies, state and local governments and Indian tribes to develop and enforce regulations under existing environmental laws; provides leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts; and is responsible for researching and setting national standards for a variety of environmental programs and delegates to states and tribes; responsible for issuing permits, and monitoring and enforcing compliance. www.epa.gov

• Fabric content: The type of yarns/fibers used in the fabric.

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): An international organization, the FSC brings groups together to find solutions which promote responsible management of the world's forests. The standards set forth by the FSC represent the world's strongest system for guiding forest management towards sustainable outcomes. www.fscus.org

• Global Organic Textile Standard: Requirements set to ensure the organic status of textiles. This includes harvesting of raw materials, environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing, and labeling in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.

• Green: An adjective used to describe something that is perceived to be beneficial to the environment.

• GREENGUARD ™: A third-party product certification program based on proven emissions standards that provides specifying and procurement professionals with a resource for low-emitting products. www.greenguard.org

• Greenhouse gas (GHG): Certain gases (including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone and several classes of halogenated carbons that contain fluorine, chlorine and bromine) that allow solar radiation to reach Earth's surface and become absorbed, yet trap thermal radiation leaving the earth's surface. Outgoing thermal radiation absorbed by these gases heats the atmosphere. The atmosphere then emits thermal radiation both outward into space and downward to Earth, further warming the surface.

• Indoor air pollution: Chemical, physical or biological contaminants in indoor air.

• International Standards Organization (ISO): A non-governmental organization located in Geneva, Switzerland, chartered to develop voluntary technical standards that aim to make the development, manufacture and supply of goods and services safer, cleaner and more efficient. www.iso.ch

• ISO 9000: A group of ISO standards and guidelines that relate to quality management systems. Currently includes three quality standards: ISO 9001: 2000 establishes requirements; ISO 9000: 2000 and ISO 9004: 2000 establish guidelines. All of these are process standards, not product standards. Compliance results in ISO 9000 Certification. www.iso.ch

• ISO 14000: A group of ISO standards and guidelines that address environmental issues. Includes standards for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) (ISO 14001), environmental and EMS auditing, environmental labeling, performance evaluation and life-cycle assessment. Compliance results in ISO 14000 Certification. www.iso.ch

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED ™): A point-based rating system developed by The U.S. Green Building Council Rating System for Sustainable Development (USGBC) to assess new and existing commercial buildings for a variety of earth-friendly features. www.usgbc.org

• McDonough Braungart Design Certification: Provides a company with a means to tangibly and credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design. The certification requires using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility.

• Nonrenewable energy: An energy source, such as oil or natural gas, or a natural resource, such as a metallic ore, that cannot be replenished or replaced after it has been used.

• Oeko-Tex: A European standard for the impact of textiles on human ecology and the environment. www.oeko-tex.com

• Organic: Pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals.

• Ozone: A bluish gas that is harmful to breathe. Nearly 90% of the Earth's ozone is in the stratosphere and is referred to as the ozone layer. Ozone absorbs a band of ultraviolet radiation called UVB that is particularly harmful to living organisms. The ozone layer prevents most UVB from reaching the ground.

• Post-consumer: An adjective used to describe all or part of a consumer product that has reached the end of its useful life in that form.

• Post-consumer material: A material or finished product that has served its intended use and has been discarded for disposal or recovery, having completed its life as a consumer item. www.ofee.gov/eo/greening.pdf

• Post-consumer recycling: The recycling of materials generated from residential and consumer waste for use in new or similar purposes, such as converting wastepaper from offices into corrugated boxes or soda bottles into polyester fiber.

• Post-industrial material: Recovered industrial and manufacturing materials that are diverted from municipal solid waste for the purpose of collection, recycling and disposition. Post-industrial materials are part of the broader category of recovered materials and include print overruns, over issue publications and obsolete inventories.

• Recycling: The series of activities, including collection, separation and processing, by which products or other materials are recovered from the solid waste stream. The products are then used in the form of raw materials in the manufacture of new products, other than fuel for producing heat or power by combustion. www.ofee.gov/eo/greening.pdf

• Renewable: Capable of being replaced by natural ecological cycles or sound management practices.

• Renewable energy: Energy derived from sources that do not become depleted such as the sun, wind, oceans, rivers, eligible biomass and heat from the earth's interior.

• Reusable: Capable of being used again after salvaging or special treatment or processing.

• Sustainable: Of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

• Sustainable product: A product that has no negative impact on natural ecosystems or resources.

• Sustainable manufacturing: Manufacturing processes that have no negative impact on natural ecosystems or resources.

• U.S. Green Building Council: A coalition of representatives from the building industry that promotes buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and are healthful places to live and work. www.usgbc.org

• Volatile Organic Compound (VOC): Any compound that contains carbon and becomes a gas at room temperature. VOC emissions are regulated because they contribute to smog formation. The most common sources of VOC emissions are from storage and use of liquid and gaseous fuels, the storage and use of solvents and the combustion of fuels and can include housekeeping and maintenance products and building and furnishing materials. In sufficient quantities VOC emissions can cause eye, nose, and throat irritations, headaches, dizziness, visual disorders, memory impairment; some are known animal carcinogens; some are suspected or known human carcinogens.

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Useful Websites...

• Association for Contract Textiles
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Sustainable Products
• Natural Step
• US Green Building Council
• Graber, Green By Nature
• Greenguard

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