We like to talk about how our Stucco Italiano Italian Plaster materials are “green”, and many consumers do respond in a positive way to that message. It gets increasingly difficult to separate the facts from the hype when it comes to calling a product green – “greenwashing” is a term I’ve seen used about over-hyping or just plain lying about the environmentally friendly nature of one’s product. More about greenwashing.
Our Stucco Italiano line consists of non-toxic, natural lime plasters. If you work with our materials you can be confident you are offering your customers a natural alternative to acrylic and cement based materials, both of which do not offer the same naturally green characteristics. Pointing these features out is a good place to start a conversation about what kind of wall finishing materials your customer wants in their home.
I have seen a lot of claims about plaster products being “green” but get hung up on the issue of processing. Extracting the lime from pits requires heavy machinery, and transporting it requires heavy machinery.
Do you have any resources about the “toxicity” of cement materials?
Well you’re absolutely right, there is an equation that is fairly complex involving a multitude of factors when determining if a material is green, including how it is mined and how it is moved about the country or even the world.
I’m not an expert, but I’ve read from many sources that the manufacture of cement is one of the major causes of the green house gas effect globally, since it releases many tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, none of which is re-absorbed by cement plaster.
Lime manufacture, on the other hand, is said to be carbon-neutral or better.
Here’s a link to an informative(if somewhat biased), comparison between cement and lime.
There is no doubt in my mind that over the next 10-20 years lime will become a much more important part of the construction industry than it is now, and it will be a good thing.
Aaron