With so many paint products in the market today you can now choose environmentally friendly products relatively easy.  Benjamin Moore now produces VOC- free paints.  These paints are just as durable as older paints but have low VOC emissions and reduce impact on your indoor air quality.  Paint that is not environmentally friendly releases harmful chemicals into the air.  These chemicals can cause headaches, nausea and other health problems.  The chemicals continue to be released into the air even after the paint has dried. 

When you paint you should always have the area well ventilated and remove all pillows, cushions, curtains, blankets and rugs from the room.  These soft materials absorb the chemicals released into the air. 

If you want to help the environment you should be extremely careful when disposing of paint.  Throwing it out or dumping it down the drain is extremely harmful to the environment as the chemicals are going into the earth’s groundwater.   You could keep leftover paint and use it to paint accessories for your room or donate it to a charity. Habitat for Humanity charities are always looking for donated materials.