Eco paints

[Mung]

Has anyone tried and tested any eco paints? I have looked at ECOS Paints (organic too ) and Eco Paints, but just wondered if anyone has had experience of using them.
Are they hard wearing? Do they last? Can you wipe them? Were you happy with them?

What are the beneifts of eco-paints? Do they smell less? Are they ecologocally manyfactured? Better colours? What?

Conventional paints can emit harmful fumes for 5 years.

I still haven't found anyone who has used them? They are so expensive that I need some feedback to see what they are like in a house with a toddler before buying.

I have used them they are very pricey but I was pleased with them,they were nice to use;no strong smells.
However they are not as hard wearing as conventional paints.
Suppose you have to weigh up the pros/cons.

Actually their wall paints are pretty hard wearing.
It was the 'eggshell' and'gloss' for woodwork that aren't so robust.

Have a look on the green building forum - you should get some interesting opinions

We used the eggshell ones sold by Healthy House -- very expensive but nice 2 work with, have lasted ok so far (in our bathroom since last summer).

I had Ecos paints used about 4 years ago, so they might have changed the mix, but my decorator didn't like them at all. He said they were very thin and gave very poor coverage. they don't seem to stand up well to wiping.

This year I used Biofa paints and the same decorator raved about them - great coverage, easy to apply, excellent finish - but they do take significantly longer to dry than the conventional ones full of quick-dryers.

very happy with the Biofa finish, have wiped walls successfully, excellent colour range.

have used 'Green Paints' and also Ecos Paints in last 6 months. Happy with both - colour, coverage etc. Ecos paints have more colour choice.

We have used ECOS paints. Very happy with them, we painted the girls bedrooms with them 2 years ago and they still look very fresh. I found them very easy to apply too.

We've used Auro natural paints in 3 rooms now. They are good - very un-fumey - and not too pricey. The finish is very matt so it doesn't wipe well, but I just touch up any marks. The only thing I would say is that we found it quite difficult to get a streak-free finish, and did have to water it down quite it bit to get it to flow on freely. Worth it though I think. We are painting DD2's bedroom now and I have no qualms about painting in the daytime and putting her in there to sleep at night.

We got them from www.thegreenshop.co.uk

We used ecos paints in the last 6 months, definately noticed a difference with smell etc. I do tend to find they mark pretty easily, and they are not that easy to touch up, you can't just do a small bit as it shows. They are expensive but worth it IMHO. They do need two coats however as coverage isn't great, all my decorator did was to mix some with water,even though ecos tell you not to, they were fine. I don't know if it would make a difference but ours went on to new plaster, so no colour to cover IYKWIM

should have said also - yes wipeble like normal paint - we are going to Ecos again - really pleased with it

I've used a number of different eco emulsions and found them pleasant to work with (no smell, etc) but not fantastic in terms of finish and durability. Still, I would always choose them over conventional paints.

Now we just use home-made lime or milk paint.

Farrow & Ball might be a good compromise? They are top quality and although not marketed as eco-paints they are very environmentally friendly:

www.farrow-ball.com/ProductAdvice/Environment.aspx?language=en-GB