back in business 2011

Finally back. Been really busy with the projects and renovations, while bemoaning the difficulties of trying to be a green designer in a country that is too reliant on other countries for products and finishes that are safe to use and cause minimal damage to the environment... Meaning, it's tough finding products with a proper ecolabel; if there are products that claim to be green, it's tough to verify or even find the information on composition; or if the products are available in the metro, they are difficult to find, and/or ridiculously expensive compared to their non-green counterparts. We can add to this, the absence of any local body that conducts the proper research on these things or regulates these products.

Also, after having done a few renovations, I am starting to be really convinced (after witnessing the amounts of construction waste involved in any one project) of 2 things:

a) that NO renovation/construction is really better, if it can be avoided!!! I suggest that homeowners learn to live with the things that work, if possible.

b) our native ancestors knew how to build green, with their bahay kubos and bamboo.

Nevertheless, I'm learning a lot in this green sourcing process. And I'm happy to have stumbled across 2 good lookin' (albeit imported from the US) products:

1. Deft Waterborne Interior Clear Wood Finish. I found this is a water-based polyurethane (in my refusal to use solvent-based liquids!! Still trying to find a greener alternative for wood putty though...) in MC Home Depot Fort Bonifacio. It supposedly emits very low odor (will test it out on Monday with Reggie the carpenter); of course this may not necessarily mean that it's not toxic... so of course off I went hunting for the technical information, and came up with the following:

• VOC content when mixed = 275 g/L, matching the LEED maximum standard for sanding sealers (phew! made it)
• HMIS Health Rating of 1 = Slight Hazard; irritation or minor reversible injury is possible
• Contains N-methylpyrrolidone (but just 1.8511% of weight), which has been known to cause reproductive/birth defects

For the completely OC with technical and chemical information (like me), more in the MS data sheet here.

(Aside: I wonder why these toxic substances even exist in the world of your ordinary average consumer... like lead, which has apparently been banned in the EU already except for x-ray protection...)

In any case, all things considered, it's still a better alternative to the polyurethane/solvent-based sanding sealers.

2. Bayer Dacrol TM-CE25. I refused to use Solignum (Jardine) due to it being a solvent- and pyrethroid-based solution (toxic to bees, mosquitoes, invertebrates and fish), so after scouting around online for waterbased (and pressumably safer) anti-termite alternatives, I stumbled across Dacrol. I was unable to find the complete ingredients list, but the site mentions that the active ingredient is imidacloprid, which from what I have seen is mainly harmful only to bees (so stay away from this if you have a bee farm!!).

I still need to see if they will send me the ingredients list and VOC content.