Featured Collections

Donghia healthier Materials Library

A resource for students, faculty, practitioners, and researchers from around the world to find material samples, evaluative tools, and in-person support.

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Healthier Building Products Collections

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When specifying products, it is important to consider their effects on human and environmental health throughout their life cycle. With the sheer volume of materials available, it can be difficult to find healthier options. HML wants to help you make smart material choices. These curated product collections contain healthier building product options. Some of these products are available to view in person at the Donghia healthier Materials Library at Parsons.

Composite Wood Products

While you might think of wood as a natural and healthy material, composite wood products often have formaldehyde added to their glues and resins for binding their particles together. Not only is forma...

Countertops

Depending on the type of countertop, health concerns may range from what kind of resin is used in an engineered quartz product, to the composite wood substrate used in a laminate surface. Even natural...

Insulation

Insulation has been one of the most focused-on material categories in the green building movement, but as we learn more about toxicity and hazards, how do we balance the demand for high-performance wi...

Drywall

Mining raw gypsum can be an energy-intensive process, which is why recycled or synthetic gypsum is often thought to be more the more sustainable option. However, this flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gy...

Healthier Design Alternatives Collections

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Human and environmental health considerations must be forefronted throughout the entire design process: from model making to finishes. These curated product collections contain products contributing to a healthier design in a range of areas.

Healthier Model-Making Materials

Physical models and prototypes offer valuable opportunities for project development and evaluation. As with building materials, the health of materials used for model-making is crucial but can be a ch...

Alternative Finishes

Often products need a finish, which mediates between user and material. Irrespective of what it covers, the last coat itself can potentially off-gas. A finish sheds particles simply through use and we...

Natural and Healthy Collections

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Natural materials offer an exciting source of healthier alternatives to commonly used synthetic products. These collections of bio-based products include natural insulations, structural materials, packaging, foams, and fibers. Using bio-based alternatives such as these benefits human health, as many natural materials are free from toxic additives like flame retardants. Because they biodegrade at the end of their life, these materials benefit the health of the environment as well. Some of the products in these collections are available to view in person at the Donghia healthier Materials Library at Parsons.

Animal

Humans aren't the only animals that can make building materials. The products in this collection come from materials produced by animals, and with their natural performance properties, can offer alter...

Plant

Innovations in manufacturing have led to the invention of sustainable, plant-based products that dramatically reduce negative health and environmental impacts. Products made from organic materials lik...

Fungi-Based

Not just for chefs and hippies, mushrooms are becoming a viable form of building insulation, acoustical tile, and product packaging. The fungi-based products in this collection can provide great alter...

Bacterial

On the cutting edge of natural materials, some manufacturers are harnessing the power of bacteria to make exciting new products. In some cases, the living bacteria acts as a means to grow products fro...

Databases of Certified Products

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Mindful Materials

The Mindful Materials database provides design industry professionals with the opportunity to research information on a wide range of products. The product information on the site has been uploaded voluntarily by manufacturers, and includes disclosure documents and certifications such as Cradle to Cradle, Health Product Declarations, and Declare labels.

Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Registry

Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2C)

The Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Registry includes products that have received certification in all five of C2C's quality categories, including material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.

Declare Product Database

International Living Future Institute (ILFI)

Declare is a transparency platform and product database. Use it to find building products that have declared their ingredients, source and manufacturing locations. Products may be labeled Declared, Living Building Challenge Compliant, or Living Building Challenge Red List Free.

Health Product Declaration (HPD) Public Repository

Health Product Declaration® Collaborative (HPDC)

The Health Product Declaration (HPD) Public Repository is where you can go to find the most up-to-date collection of HPD-Compliant product disclosures. This database has come out of the original platform developed by SmithGroupJJR, and has since become the most complete library of HPD records.

Design-Forward Product Libraries

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Designer Pages

Designer Pages is geared toward commercial interior designers and requires a paid subscription. In their product and material database, you can filter results by health and sustainability standards such as BIFMA level and Cradle to Cradle certifications. The site also syncs with Revit and allows you to write product specifications.

Paid subscription required

Ma-tt-er

Ma-tt-er's interactive periodic table of cutting edge materials lets you explore and research the newest inventions in material technology. Their Discover section (accessed by selecting the + in the top right corner) features articles on material advancements.

Materia

Materia is an international library of material innovations with a focus on sustainable materials. It's database lets you explore materials by type as well as by sensorial and technical properties.

Materio

The Materio online materials database includes thousands of materials, with a focus on material innovation. A paid subscription lets you access the database and bookmark materials for future research and inspiration.

Paid subscription required

Glossary

Affordable Housing

In general, housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs, including utilities. Please note that some jurisdictions may define affordable housing based on other, locally determined criteria, and that this definition is intended solely as an approximate guideline or general rule of thumb.

Read more at Red List

allergen

Anything that causes an allergic reaction, such as pollen, dust mites, or animal dander (skin protein that flakes off).

Read more at CCCEH

Area Median Income (AMI)

A term of art used by some federal programs to describe published income standards for various areas of the country that are used as benchmarks for determining households’ eligibility for federally funded programs. For example, homebuyers assisted with HOME or CDBG funds generally must have incomes at or below 80% of area median income. AMIs are calculated and published annually by HUD. “Median” means that half of all households in the area are estimated to have more than this amount of income.