WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

The range of eco-friendly paints is growing, here’s a breakdown of what to look out for

LIMEWASH PAINT

Made from slaked lime (generated from limestone), it is cured for almost a year to thicken, with a small amount of linseed oil

added to help with wall application.

Francesca’s Paint specialises in limewash paint made in Italy with organic and mineral colour pigments added

in London (francescaspaint.com).

CLAY PAINT

A water-based solution with natural clay pigments, it has naturally low VOCs. It’s proven to be very effective on porous

walls in older properties that are susceptible to damp. Earthborn was the first paint company in the UK to gain the EU Ecolabel licence. It produces acrylic- and oil-free clay

paint and varnishes (earthbornpaints.co.uk).

CASEIN PAINT

Made using milk proteins rather than toxic petrochemicals. Emery & Cie, a Belgium brand, offers paint that contains up

to 40 per cent casein plus organic binders, organic or non-organic pigments (depending on the colour) and

15-25 per cent water (emeryetcie.com).

PLANT-BASED PAINT

This is produced using pigments found in nature

and solvent made from water and plant oil. Edward Bulmer Natural Paint was founded by the interior decorator when he struggled to source good-quality paints using natural ingredients for

his projects (edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk).

MINERAL PAINT

Made using natural colour pigments that are taken from the earth, rather than synthetic alternatives. Paint the Town Green offers a decorating service within London and the surrounding counties and stocks a paint collection created by interior designer Nicky Haslam

(paintthetowngreen.co.uk).