Brands of natural paintings

The ‘natural’ paint movement began in Germany towards the end of the 20th Century in response to concern about the impact of modern chemical paints on the environment and health. There are now many brands of ‘natural’ paint on the market which maintain to be both safer to use and kinder to the environment than conventional products.

Of the seven brands featured in this report, four are made in Germany (Auro, Livos, BIOFA and earthborn) at the same time as three are made in the UK (Nutshell, ECOS and Green Paints).
Not all ‘natural’ painting are the same. Some contain no solvents, while others just contain fewer than conventional paints, using natural material instead. They may use turpentine or d-limonene as a solvent substitute to white spirit. Others might be VOC free but use other synthetic binders and resins. Linseed oil and casein can replace vinyl and acrylic plastic binders, and chalk and clay are a few times used as fillers instead of titanium dioxide.