RESEARCH LIBRARY
Our research library is full of carefully selected green materials, products and practices, and is updated on a regular basis to accurately keep on top of the latest products. Before we add to our library, we carefully analyze a product or material to determine whether or not it meets our highest standards for a green building product.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Criteria for the selection of materials and components include human and environmental health effects, cost, aesthetics, performance and availability. Environmentally-responsible specifications of building materials and components, and of the manner in which they are assembled, means that consideration of embodied energy, and local and global environmental impacts must also be added.

GREENWASHING
There is a tremendous amount of "greenwashing" in the building and design industry that must be sorted through on a regular basis. We specialize in determining what is- and what is not- a truly green product or material. Our criteria for judging these products is the highest in the industry and we base all of our health considerations on what would be considered safe for a child's exposure in the home. Learn more about Green Washing (pdf).

Some of the issues to be considered when choosing materials include:

• Impact of the material's production: habitat destruction, toxins released;

• Any hazards to health or local environment during construction or use;

• Lifespan of the material;

• Eventual destination of the material after the building's life. Re-use is better than recycling, which is better than incineration or landfill;

• Reduction/separation of construction waste and avoidance/careful disposal of toxic waste;

• The nature of the resources involved: renewable or non-renewable, scarce or abundant;

• Emissions of CO2 during production or, if information is not availabble, embodied energy;

• How far and by what means the material will be transported, and emissions/energy use due to this.