PAINT IT GREEN.

Byline: ENVIRONMENT By Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

When it comes to home improvement, being green has never been easier.

Those in the industry say recycled glass tiles, low toxicity house paints, carpet tiles and other eco-friendly products have reached a tipping point with consumers.

"It's growing and continues to grow both in breadth and depth," says Aaron Winer of the environmentally minded home improvement center Environmental Building Supplies, which has showrooms in Portland and Bend.

You may not decide to go so far as to have your home pedigreed as a ``LEED home'' - that's for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a recently enacted certification program set up by the U.S. Green Building Council. Still, proponents say you can take a few simple steps to improve the greenness of your abode.

And green doesn't have to be ugly. In fact, it's becoming a style in and of itself, proponents say.

``In a very broad sense the materials have gotten more visually and artistically interesting,'' Winer says. ``Not only are you getting something that's environmentally friendly but you're getting something that has some aesthetic (appeal).''

Environmental Building Supplies caters to a variety of different styles with everything from classic hardwood floors made from sustainably harvested timber to more whimsical man-made "stone" countertops. And while some of these products come at a price, you don't necessarily have to have a lot of green to go green, Winer says.

Cork flooring is a one example of a product that has fallen dramatically in price as its popularity has risen, Whiner says. Floating cork floors can now be had for as little as $2.50 a square foot. It is not exactly a new material. Cork floors have been used for hundreds of years in Europe and were popular during the 1950s and 1960s.

But cork is regaining favor for its durability, comfort and unique appearance, not to mention its sustainability. It is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees about every nine to 12 years, and a good deal of the material being used for flooring is salvaged from the waste of wine cork manufacturing.

To prove his point that green doesn't have to be expensive, Winer offers his customers a handout titled ``Go Green Without Busting Your Budget.'' Among the green alternatives he suggests: Wool carpet is $26.01 a square yard, as compared to nylon carpet at $25.60 a square yard. True linoleum flooring is $3.05 a square foot instead of vinyl at $3.66 a square foot.

Green home improvement is increasingly common in Portland, but in Eugene, green supplies are also readily available. Even mainstream building supply centers stock sustainable materials, low toxicity paints and other green alternatives.

``We get more and more questions about it. The interest is growing,'' says Drew Clark, an expeditor at Jerry's Home Improvement. ``I think it's going to be an ongoing evolution in the home improvement industry.''

Some of the more popular green items at Jerry's include recycled carpeting and carpet padding, bamboo flooring and low toxic construction adhesives. He believes many customers who buy green materials are as interested in quality as they are in sensitivity to the environment.

Still, Clark doubts that green home improvement will add significant value to your home when it comes time to sell it. That's an opinion shared by Eugene Windermere real estate agent Liz Kramer.

She says despite Eugene's reputation as an environmentally conscious community, such home improvements generally won't translate to a high return on your investment.

"Some buyers are looking for that, but it doesn't preclude buying a house that isn't environmentally friendly," Kramer says.

But if going green isn't a deal maker, it's also not a deal breaker.

Kramer says she has advertised the presence of bamboo floors while selling a house and, unless a homeowner exercises bad taste or does a poor job of installation, adding a green element probably will not detract from the bottom line.

If you are adding green elements to your home, Kramer suggests focusing on kitchens and bathrooms, which tend to bring the highest dollar returns of all the home improvement projects.

In many instances, though, going green is not an economic, aesthetic or an ethical decision. It's a practical one.

Some homeowners say the presence of toxic chemicals in common household paints makes them sick, and are instead using paints that are low in volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

Jerry's stocks low VOC Dutch Boy paints that are particularly popular with homeowners looking to add some color to children's rooms.

Rodda Paint carries two zero VOC paints, Horizon and Yolo, that manager Rick Tomp says are popular with pregnant women, chemically sensitive customers and environmentally minded home improvers.

Although low VOC paints represent a fraction of the paints sold at Rodda, the sales volume is growing.

Horizon's line sells for about $20 to $30 a gallon and Yolo sells for $30 to $40 a gallon, compared to $16 to $35 for conventional paints.

While it's easy to read the labels of paints and compare VOC levels, some environmental claims are more difficult to verify. Some manufacturers are guilty of "green washing" or making spurious claims to cash in on the current interest in green materials.

For example, companies have tried to argue that vinyl flooring, which is a petroleum based product, is more environmentally sound than "true linoleum," which is made from linseed oil and other natural ingredients.

To help weed through the confusion, there are a number of certifying agencies for green products, including the Certified Forest Products Council, which looks at wood products and their harvest, but not all agencies have the consumer's best interests in mind and Winer, the Environmental Building Supply specialist, recommends examining all green claims. A good place to start is with the aforementioned U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc .org), which offers certification of entire homes and buildings and provides links to certifying agencies.

Although employees at companies such as Environmental Building Supply research the green products they sell, Winer suggests doing additional homework ahead of time, as many of his customers have done.

"People are coming in more well educated and savvy about products," he says. "Not only do people know what bamboo flooring is, but now they want to know why we're selling the types (of bamboo) we're selling."

Flooring

Whether you choose "true" linoleum - a natural material made of linseed oil, pine, rosin, wood or cork flour, and limestone - cork, reclaimed wood or wool carpeting, there are a number of green flooring alternatives available for home improvers. Bamboo flooring is one of the most popular green alternatives. Carpet tiles, which minimize waste and chemicals and can be easily replaced one at a time, are an up-and-comer.'

Recycled materials

Carpeting made from recycled bottles, carpet padding produced from carpet scraps, and recycled glass tiles are some of the more common building materials being made from recycled goods. Among the more unusual products are wheatboard cabinets made from the waste product wheat straw, as well as tiles made from windowpanes, electric parts and yeast cakes from a large production brewery.

Paint

Paint containing low levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are readily available at hardware and paint stores. Some companies even manufacture zero VOC paints. VOCs are released as paint cures and can cause irritation and illness in some people. VOC ratings are listed in grams per liter and are printed on the side of the can. While a traditional paint can measure 200 grams to 300 grams per liter, a zero VOC paint measures less than five grams per liter.

Decking

Most green building experts recommend using wood from sustainably managed forests over plastic composites or traditional wood building materials. The Forest Stewardship Council puts its seal of approval on wood that has been harvested and sold in an "environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable way." Tigerwood, an FSC certified Brazilian hardwood, is one such material.