BEYOND COLOUR?...But given the climate crisis, isn’t it time we all started to think ‘Beyond Colour’

Graphenstone offers over 1,000 colours - but with a significant added benefit.

Most paint brands offer a wide range of colour.

Shouldn’t we now be more focused on other aspects of our paint purchase, that are far more important that just colour alone?

Paint is one of the most toxic substances that you can buy over the counter. Amongst the top five most poisonous, according to the US Environmental Agency. Your average high street low cost paint is packed full of deeply unhealthy, damaging chemicals, sourced from crude oil and petro-chemicals.

We must now ask about the toxicity level of the brand you’re using and the ‘VOC’ levels that it off-gasses in your home or office for months and years after application, poisoning the air you breather in and out about 11,000 times a day. What chemicals and plastics does it contain? What’s it’s embedded carbon footprint and it’s impact on indoor air-quality?

These are the issues that should be pre-occupying us all nowadays. The ecological need is starkly clear.

On colour, we’ve got you! A huge range to choose from, rich in pigments and minerals, our high solid content providing a uniquely mineral rich coverage, for the perfect colour impact in your space. But it’s also worth looking at the other functional and environmental benefits – including:

· Zero VOCs, plastics, microbeads, chemicals, preservatives – just 100% natural ingredients

· An ultra-low CO2 footprint (just 0.5Kg CO2e per litre!)

· And with the inclusion of graphene – an incredibly durable and washable paint … but why is it so important to have zero plastic in your paint? To answer this, let me pose a another question…

Question: How much paint do you think ends up in our oceans every year?

We’ve all seen the horrific images and learnt of the damage and death caused by plastics in our oceans, from the recent BBC programmes with Sir David Attenborough.

According to a new report, particles of paint account for more than half (58%) of all the microplastics that end up in the world’s oceans and waterways every year. This is significantly more than had been previously estimated.

Answer: 1.9 million tons

According to a new study by the Swiss-based Environmental Action (EA), 1.9 million tonnes of paint ends up in the oceans and waterways every year, which represents 58% of all the microplastics in the water, and outweighs all other sources of microplastics, including textile fibres and tyre dust.

Plastic polymers are a key ingredient in many forms of paint and flakes leak into the environment while being applied to objects, or through normal wear and tear and removal.

They estimate that more than a third (37%) of the paint leakage into the oceans is a result of waste mismanagement.

The study also analysed where the paint found in the oceans comes from. Researchers found the architectural sector is by far the largest contributor (48%) to the total amount leaked into the seas, while the road markings sector contributes just 2%.

Last year, a study by scientists from the University of Plymouth and the Marine Biological Association (MBA) concluded that flakes of paint could be one of the most abundant types of microplastic particles in the ocean.

''A wake up call for the paint industry''

Dr. Julien Boucher, EA founder and author of 11 reports on plastic pollution, said: “The intention of this research is not to criticise paint, but to increase the level of knowledge and awareness of the issue, so as to pave the way towards a better-managed paint system where paint can deliver its full value without compromising the health of our environment.”

Declan McAdams the chairman of Pinovo the ocean impact company that commissioned the report said the study should be a “wake-up call for the paint industry”.

He added: “We need a systemic change in the use and management of paint, now that these findings have shone a light on the extent of the pollution being caused.

GRAPHENSTONE PAINTS CONTAIN ZERO PLASTICS. ZERO CHEMICALS. ZERO VOCs

Lets help solve the issue of plastic on our oceans by choosing paints after careful research and thinking. LET'S GO "BEYOND COLOUR"