BCF Launches Consumer Guide to Clarify ‘Eco Paint’ Claims

The British Coatings Federation (BCF) has published a new guide to help UK consumers navigate growing confusion around ‘eco paints’, amid increasing volumes of technical, misleading or inaccurate information being shared online.

As the body representing companies responsible for around 95% of decorative paint sold in the UK, the BCF aims to provide an independent, evidence-based view of the paint and coatings market.

Its new guide – titled “De-mystifying Eco Paints” - aims to cut through technical jargon and marketing language by providing consumers with clear, evidence-based advice to help them make informed decisions when decorating their homes.

With no official UK definition of what constitutes an eco-paint, the guide advises consumers to look beyond labels such as “eco-friendly”, “natural” or “chemical-free” and instead consider measurable factors, including a paint’s composition, durability and performance over time.

It also emphasises that a paint’s environmental impact should be considered across its full lifecycle, as coatings that last longer and provide better coverage reduce the need for frequent repainting, helping to lower waste and overall environmental impact.

“UK consumers are becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of products they buy to decorate their homes,” says Zoe Slade, Sustainability Manager at BCF. “However, as there is no official definition of an ‘eco paint’, it can make it difficult for people to know what all the different claims that can be read online really mean.

“Rather than focusing on marketing terms, people should look at practical indicators such as the amount of VOCs contained in a product, whether a paint is water-based and how long the finish is expected to last.”

Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, are one of the clearest indicators of a paint’s environmental performance and reducing levels has been a major focus for the paint industry. Most decorative paints now display VOC content through the BCF’s ‘Globe’ icon, but all manufacturers are legally required to provide certain information on product labels, enabling consumers to compare products more easily. It also notes that most decorative paints sold in the UK are now water-based, which make them more environmentally friendly and safer to use in the home than traditional, solvent-based alternatives.

The BCF’s guide stresses the importance of responsible use of paints, during application and then disposal, and highlights schemes that enable leftover paint to be reused or recycled, rather than poured away or sent to landfill. Consumers are encouraged to take unwanted paint to local reuse organisations or council recycling facilities, where it can often be redistributed or processed safely.

Guidance around how to dispose of paint supports wider industry efforts to improve paint reuse and recycling through PaintCare, a voluntary, industry-funded take-back scheme, led by the BCF on behalf of UK paint manufacturers. The scheme is currently being piloted across the West Midlands Combined Authority area, allowing consumers and tradespeople to return leftover decorative paint and empty packaging to participating retailers.

For further information or to download the BCF’s new De-Mystifying Eco Paints guide, visit https://coatings.org.uk/page/DemystifyingEcoPaints.

Source : BCF

Image : BCF

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