The Volatile Organic Compounds is abbreviated as VOC, in paints and adhesives they are carbon-based chemical solvents that evaporate into the air at room temperature and almost every trending interior design materials are drenched in it. Ever had a cold once you inhabited a newly painted room? Well you know what we’re dealing with then. The interior spaces are the first spaces where we embrace our environment, with lesser ventilation they dont give us enough light or air that we may need. While wellness has rightly creeped into our clothes, make-up (nail paint is no longer a status symbol), accessories (plastics are fast making their way out) and natural materials or concoctions with natural ingredients have begun to be seen in our consumerables, our built environment too definitely needs an upgrade to become well, not just for the sake of the environment or the ethos of sustainability but mostly for our own hedonistic benefits.
Ofcourse one way to go about this is to go with products and materials that have been listed with a low VOC, those could include paints and solvents that do not embody any of these compounds that are injurious to health else there is a way to truly understand materials. Natural materials with their textures are not just wonderful to see, they also feel extremely wonderful to feel. While concrete isn’t a natural material, it is completely free of VOC’s, and like the other natural materials of stone, wood, clay, bamboo, hempcrete that aren’t releasing low-vibe compounds into our being. Our commitment to ourselves and the environment may well be to steer clear of such.
Citing a few examples for a better understanding, the most popular interior building material is plywood with it’s dangerous synthetic glue that continuously off-gas formaldehyde. Once you see how plywood employs tons of urea-formaldehyde, switching to engineered timber or soy bonded plywood makes a lot of sense. Wood plastic composites and low emission ply woods are options better that the traditional plywood. Educating ourselves and our carpenters alike would be very useful. Veneer is a natural wood slice, yet the application of it is largely hinged on high-VOC solvent contact glues, if veneer application is much desired then low-VOC glues are an alternative or natural linoleum veneers work. High Pressure laminates fuse paper and plastic-based phenolic resins under intense heat, offering very little end-of-life recyclability and instead paper-based composites, natural mineral and stone surfaces require zero chemical sealing. Woven ratten panels are increasingly growing in popularity for their durability and appeal. Stainless steel has no VOC compounds but even if not, mild steel when degreased and powder coated present a highly durable finish without a hazard.
Vedasri Siddamsetty 