"Green" Paintbrushes

Consumers are beginning to feel responsible for the environment. Today's consumer hopes to protect and sustain the environment for future generations. As a result, shoppers tend to seek out products that protect our ecology.

In some cases, such "green" products are created out of recycled materials. Taking garbage and turning it into something useful is a way to avoid overflowing landfills and releasing toxins into the atmosphere. Now a company called Shur-Line has created a line of paint brushes and rollers that fit the bill for consumers hoping for a greener product.

Environmental Attributes

Here are the environmental attributes of these Shur-Line brushes:

*All handles are crafted of bamboo

*Bristles consist of recycled aluminum waste

*The metal ferrules are crafted of recycled aluminum

Recycled Materials

*All packaging is created from all-recycled materials

These are the green attributes of the Shur-Line rollers:

*Roller cover fabrics are crafted from all recycled materials

Biodegradable Packaging

*All packaging is 100% biodegradable

The company is following the current trend of making sustainable products and in producing this line of green products has tried to apply what it calls a "life-style approach" in developing its product line. To this end, the company purchased LCA (Life cycle analysis) software to teach its employees how to use this application and the information generated to lower the impact of products on the environment. For instance, switching from virgin products to recycled products lowers the impact of a given product on our surroundings. The company hopes to continue the expansion of its green product line.

Efficient Packaging

Shur-Line's packaging team is also using software to analyze the perfect size for its packaging, making for smaller-sized packaging that is more efficient. In some cases, such analysis enabled the company to reduce the amount of plastic in the packaging by a whopping 59%.

Another paint brush line that is environmentally-friendly is the Envirobrush. This Canadian product is distinguished by its replaceable bristles. Painters can remove the bristle for easier cleaning and then replace with a bristle refill. In traditional paint brushes, the metal ferrule tends toward paint buildup so that cleaning is a trial and often the entire brush needs to be replaced. Using bristle refills means the painter pays only a fraction of the cost to get a brush that works like new. With the Envirobrush the handle is kept and only the bristles ever need replacement. That means that landfill disposal is reduced by half.