Second Nature

Hi Jayme,

What steps do I have to take to ensure that my cabinet product meets green cabinet specifications?

Thanks,

Eastern Wa. Cabinet Maker

Hi Eastern Wa. Cabinet Maker,

You may already be doing a lot of green cabinet practices and may not know it; it may be easier for you to let me know the process you go through in your shop and the products you use.

The goal is to remove as much toxicity and pollutants from the indoor environment of the home as possible. A green cabinet would be as close to a non-toxic product as possible, which optimizes indoor air quality. Examples of what would be required are:

• low VOC glues, adhesives and finishes, and
• prefinish cabinetry offsite with only small touch ups in the house (you would want to make sure that the house is well aired / ventilated during and after the touchup process to expel as many toxins as possible).

Examples of what would be ideal, but aren’t required are:

• FSC-certified woods, and
• no-added formaldehyde agriboard case and drawer materials.

A company you may want to check out which is a leader and has exceeded expectations in the green cabinetry field is Neil Kelly Cabinets. The bottom of their website has more information about the woods and stains they use.

Breathe Easy Cabinets is another name which comes up a lot. They list a lot of their specifications online.

Green Tech Cabinetry is another company to check out. They also discuss their construction practices under “tech/spec”.

If you look at the above companies, all of them remove as much formaldehyde as possible which eliminates indoor toxicity, while focusing on high-end, solid construction practices.

I hope this helps.

- Jayme Mattson

http://jaymemattson.com