Where can I find eco-friendly (Green) cabinets?

First let me say that wood is more Eco Friendly then what most people think. Building a house with wood construction has many advantages over other building products when it comes to energy savings and more.

Here is a quote from the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, that will surprise many of you out there.

"The research showed that wood framing used 17 percent less energy than steel construction for a typical house built in Minnesota, and 16 percent less energy than a house using concrete construction in Atlanta. And in these two examples, the use of wood had 26-31 percent less global warming potential...The growth of wood in renewable forests works to "sequester" and remove carbon from the atmosphere, and fewer carbon emissions are created in the processing needed to produce wood products than their steel and concrete counterparts."

So now we want to know which wood would, hey that sounds kind of funny, wood would, anyway which wood would be the best choice for kitchen cabinets.

Think about the cabinet boxes being made out of material that is formaldehyde-free. How about these boxes being made out of a wheat board that is not only strong but is actually made out of straw. Since up to 75% of cabinets are comprised of the boxes, the majority of the cabinet is in fact very Eco Friendly.

Face frames can come from a selection of SmartWood and Certified maple, cherry, red oak, birch and bamboo. Bamboo is a very strong and environmentally friendly material.

While certified woods are critical in reducing longterm damaging effects on the environment for some the cost may be prohibitive. In such a case the cabinetry selection can be manufactured using standard woods.

The key then would be to use Eco Friendly wood finishes to not only protect the cabinets but also the environment. These finishes are water based and non toxic. There are many manufacturers that are making a wide variety of water based stains and varnishes and these finishes are highly durable.

Now about finding a builder who is "Green Conscious". Built Green is the place to look.

The Built Green logo is your assurance that your builder has certified that your new home contains selected Built Green features and meets the criteria on the Built Green checklist. You can find a list of builders by clicking on the following link.
http://www.builtgreen.net/

To find out more about Built Green builders, click on the following link.
Green Builders

And, Gooooo Green.

Rick Maselli
Founder of Showroom411.com