Healthier Paints: A Research Guide

When choosing paint, most designers focus on color and performance. At Healthy Materials Lab, we begin with deeper questions: What is it made of? How and where was it produced? Who made it, and what are they exposed to in the process of making it? These questions reveal that common paint is not just a decorative surface finish, but a petrochemical product whose ingredients and life cycle affect human health, ecologies, climate, and workers across the supply chain.

Most conventional acrylic or “latex” paints, used widely on interior walls and exterior facades, originate from fossil fuels. Their binders are derived from petrochemical resins, pigments are often synthetic or metal‑based, and additives such as VOCs, APEs, antimicrobial agents, phthalates, and sometimes PFAS are added to improve flow, durability, and shelf life. People working in and living near manufacturing facilities are chronically exposed to these chemicals and face increased risks of hormone disruption, organ damage, cancers, and other long‑term health effects. When disposed of, these same paints shed microplastic particles and toxic additives into air, soil, stormwater, and waterways, linking everyday coatings to global microplastic pollution and climate change.

Exterior paints intensify these concerns. They must withstand rain, UV radiation, heat, and physical wear; which over time break down paint films and release chemical additives, microplastics, and toxic compounds into the environment. This process also exacerbates urban heat island effects. Petrochemical‑based paints are among the largest sources of microplastic leakage into oceans and waterways, surpassing textile fibers and tire dust. Testing by Habitable (Healthy Building Network) found that approximately half of commercially available paints contain PFAS, often as fluorosurfactants used to improve adhesion and cleanability, including in some products marketed as low‑VOC. In contrast, mineral‑ and plant‑based paints, such as potassium silicate, lime, and linseed oil formulations, avoid synthetic polymer binders and solvents and do not generate plastic micro-particles when they weather. Mineral silicate paints form a chemical bond with masonry and stucco, and can offer UV resistance and protection against mold and fungal growth.

From HML’s perspective, healthier paint practice means shifting away from petrochemical resins and “forever chemicals,” recognizing paint as a major source of microplastics and pollution, and centering worker and community health across both interior and exterior applications. Designers, material researchers, and students can drive this shift by interrogating paint ingredients, demanding transparency, and specifying mineral‑ and plant‑based alternatives wherever possible. For curated product examples and specification support, explore HML’s Material Collections portal, including Healthier Interior Paints and Healthier Exterior Paints.

PFAS and paints in construction

• Understanding PFAS in the Construction Industry
  Henning Larsen; Henning Larsen, 2026
  Explains where PFAS show up in construction products (including paints and coatings) and outlines initial strategies for identifying and reducing PFAS use in building practice.
  Link: https://henninglarsen.com/news/understanding-pfas-in-the-construction-industry
• PFAS in Paints
  Healthy Building Network; Healthy Building Network, 2023
  Reports testing of 94 commercially available interior, exterior, and specialty paints, finding approximately half contained fluorine (a marker of PFAS) and calls for full ingredient disclosure and a phaseout of intentionally added PFAS in paint formulations.
  Link: https://habitablefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/97-pfas-in-paints.pdf

Microplastics and paint pollution

• Paint: a ubiquitous yet disregarded piece of the microplastics puzzle
  Zoie T. Diana, Yuying Chen, Chelsea M. Rochman; Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, 2025
  Systematically reviews paint as a major, under‑recognized source of microplastics, synthesizing evidence on how paint particles are generated, transported, and detected in the environment.
  Link: https://academic.oup.com/etc/article/44/1/26/7942808
• Plastic Paints the Environment
  Paola Paruta, Margherita Pucino, Julien Boucher; EA – Environmental Action, 2022
  Global assessment showing that plastic paints are a leading contributor to waterborne microplastic pollution, with emissions estimates and major paint‑related sources across sectors, including buildings and infrastructure.
  Link: https://www.e-a.earth/insights/plastic-paints-the-environment/
• What Do Plastic and Paint Have in Common? Everything.
  Healthy Materials Lab, Brown Burgess; Architizer, 2023. 
  Practice‑oriented article for architects and designers that explains how plastic paints drive microplastic pollution and outlines mineral, clay, and plant‑based paint alternatives suitable for both interior and exterior use.
  Link: https://architizer.com/blog/practice/materials/microplastic-plastic-paint-alternatives/