What Designers Should Ask About Sustainable Materials
Michelle Jacobson ’18 (MPSS) Empowers Designers to Create More Transparency
“One of the reasons some interior designers don’t investigate the chemicals in products is that they think the science might go over their heads. It’s not over their heads,” asserts NYSID alum and instructor Michelle Jacobson ’18 (MPSS) NCIDQ, WELL AP, LFA, ASID, Fitwel Ambassador, LEED AP ID+C, and Healthy Materials Advocate. “Making a difference to the health of people and the planet starts with knowing what questions to ask manufacturers.” A NYSID instructor and member of its Alumni Council, Jacobson wants to empower designers at every stage of their careers to think of themselves as sustainable designers.
Jacobson, principal of mljacobson design, is a graduate of NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments, a member of ASID NY Metro Health, Wellness & Sustainability Committee, and the Board Chair of ASID’s Emerging Professionals Committee. She’s created healthy interiors for vulnerable populations, including residences free of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) for cancer survivors and classrooms for children. At NYSID, she teaches Color for Interiors, Residential Design II, and Sustainable Furnishings, Finishes and Materials. She teaches her undergraduate Residential II studio with a sustainability lens. She says, “I teach my students to ask certain questions. If the manufacturer doesn’t know what you are talking about or can’t give you any information about sustainability, then you know that the product is probably not sustainable.” Jennifer Dorr, Managing Editor of Atelier, sat down with Jacobson to discuss her thoughts and advice.
What are the key questions a designer should ask manufacturers about sustainability?
I encourage my students to ask:
What is it made of? Are the materials sustainable/organic/fair trade?
Is the wood FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified?
Are there any recycled/upcycled/reusable materials involved in the making of the product?
What kind of foam is used? Are there any stain repellents or flame retardants?
Do you have an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) or HPD (Health Product Declaration)? An EPD is a document that transparently communicates the environmental performance/impact of a product or material over its lifetime. An HPD is a document that provides information on the contents of the product and the potential health-related hazards of those contents.
Do you have a Declare label? A “Declare” product reports 100% of its ingredients.
Do you know if this item will negatively impact indoor air quality?
Do you know if the manufacturer reduces carbon emissions in its processes or its shipping?
What are your labor standards for fair labor/wages and human rights?
Do you try to reduce waste by limiting the packaging of your products?
Why is it so important for interior designers to ask these questions of manufacturers?
A designer is the person who researches and ultimately decides to specify a product. If we begin to choose items or materials that are sustainable, organic, and FSC certified; have EPDs/HPDs or a healthy Declare Label; use recycled or upcycled materials; are manufactured without releasing carbon emissions; and don’t use flame retardants or stain repellents, then ultimately manufacturers will realize that there isn’t a market for items that aren’t healthy or sustainable. This will make a difference to the products that are on the market. Interior designers have tremendous power to determine what is manufactured.
How do chemicals get into our bodies from household furnishings, textiles, and finishes?
Chemicals get into our bodies through skin contact, through the air we breathe, and from ingesting them. I point out to clients that humans spend about 90% of their time indoors. The indoor air quality of a home or workspace surrounds people in their environment. If the air is filled with toxins, like VOCs off-gassing from paint, wallpaper, carpet, wood flooring, vinyl tile, and/or furniture, then people are being exposed to harmful chemicals all day and all night long. PFAS (forever chemicals), phthalates, halogenated flame retardants, stain-repellents, bisphenols, pesticides, formaldehyde, vinyl, and PVCs have been shown to have negative effects on human health. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens and are in products we all use.
Will you tell me about some of your go-to resources for information on the sustainability of materials and their effect on human health?
These websites and resources will help designers do research rather quickly and independently. Look into the Healthy Materials Lab and their published books, MindClick, the Perkins and Will Transparency List, the Green Science Policy Institute, and the Environmental Working Group. Also, the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Material Bank, and EcoMedes are also great resources.
How do you convince clients to go for sustainable, non-toxic materials?
One of the main ways to get a client to think about using sustainable, non-toxic materials is by talking about what chemicals and toxins can do to their children or grandchildren, and their pets. They immediately perk up. No one wants to knowingly make a decision that could be hazardous to those they care for. I had a client in Boca Raton who was extremely concerned for her young granddaughters, so I made sure the rugs were wool, the cabinetry was FSC certified and painted with low-VOC paint, and the furniture was vintage. I want my clients to know that I am looking out for them and making decisions in their best interest, taking their health and the health of their families or co-workers into consideration.
Are there vendors or product lines you want to shout out?
I think Interface is a great company for commercial flooring, Mohawk and Shaw are improving their products to reduce toxins and chemicals. Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Farrow and Ball, Clare, and Keim, are also doing their best to come up with paint finishes that are healthy and boost indoor air quality. Look for hardwood flooring manufacturers who keep formaldehyde, glues, and toxins out of their manufactured flooring and use water-based stains. Bella Dura, Momentum and Carnegie are all great organic and non-toxic fabric manufacturers. Brooklyn-based William-Sonoma Home/West Elm/Pottery Barn has been introducing products every month that are FSC certified, sustainably made and sourced, use Fair Trade and labor, etc. I try to purchase those products to show the manufacturers that people care about having these options available in the marketplace.