GET THE FACTS ~ Healing Homes Guru

HomeFree

Healthy Building Network’s HomeFree is a national initiative supporting leaders in affordable housing who are improving human health by using less toxic building materials. Though their web site’s educational tools and product spec sheets and workshops and webinars are really geared to developers, architects, contractors and material specifiers working in the affordable housing sector, they welcome anyone striving to create a healthier world. Their introductory course, “Why Materials Matter” is a killer course and really does offer a great overview of healthy building materials and why they matter. Another giant in the healthy home space is Alex Wilson, Founder of BuildingGreen and publisher of a newsletter which back in the day was called Environmental Building News (EBN). I was a subscriber for a number of years and EBN quickly became my go-to reference for unbiased reviews of the latest healthy and sustainable building products. BuildingGreen like Pharos is another subscriber-based resource. But unlike Pharos, it conducts name-brand product reviews which is helpful for my work. Some might view the name brand reviews as problematic until you learn that they accept no advertising or sponsorships in any of their publications. They are a name you can trust. If you subscribe you will gain access to feature articles, news analysis, webcasts, product guides, and what I like most about their work, their opinions. I go to this web site for out-of-the-box thinking and profiles on materials I am generally not familiar with. When I do visit, I almost always learn something new and I like the methodology they use to evaluate the relative healthfulness of various materials. Their database of products is almost exclusively products from European manufacturers. I know for a fact however I can get at least one of their products here in the States as I have already spec’ed it for my development work and sourced it from a Brooklyn supplier. Friendly Materials BuildingGreen

Living Building Challenge

There are a handful of green building certifications that can increase the marketability of one’s home and in some cases are a source of information on healthy building materials. The Living Building Challenge is the only green building certification that requires any kind of validation after a building’s construction that proves it does what it was designed to do. It is a very rigorous and comprehensive certification.