No added Formaldehyde sheet goods

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EcoFurniture

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Sep 7, 2008
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Hi Forum,

The nature of my business is offering non-toxic furniture to our clients. Plywood is playing a big part in our products. Therefore I spend a lot of time researching. As a result I found the most shocking facts about "traditional made" sheets.
I don't want to point fingers at anyone, but there are some posts on this forum where people talk about sources for the cheapest plywood available....
Did you know that most (yes most!) plywood/MDF/particle board are bonded together with formaldehyde containing glues?
Formaldehyde is proven to be highly cancer causing and the reason for many allergies?
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/formalde.html

Did you know that there alternatives? One of the products we like to use is coming from Columbia Forest Products and is wildly available in North America! Even Home Depot is selling it  [smile]
http://www.columbiaforestproducts.com/

Of course there are others too, but this brand really stands out:
Purebond Video

Anyhow, maybe I got your interested in healthier supplies!

Cheers,
Andreas
 
We had to go through some formaldehyde training at work, because it is released when the paint is in the oven. Someone there, and he wasn't the trainer, had said that formaldehyde is in everything except cotton. I have always been curious if he was right or not, and I'm sure he was speaking of a real low level. He had said it is even present when you microwave coffee. Anyway, maybe a bigger brained person will clue me in.  [tongue]
 
Formaldehyde is present in all wood naturally.  The key is, not to add any.  So thats what the big thing is these days with certain jobs and customers who request to use "green" materials.  What actually is going on is that no formaldehyde is being added.  We do a lot of work for schools, hospitals, the government and most of these projects are going down the path of using "green" materials.  

Purebond is a wonderful material.  Not only does it not have any added formaldehyde, it is a great product.  Columbia products realized early that these green products are going to make everything obsolete sometime in the future so everything they sell has no added formaldehyde and with that they don't charge extra for it.  If you go anywhere else you will find that a green board is a lot more expensive then your normal material.

Eco,  you need to modify your title on this topic from "Formaldehyde free sheet goods" to " no ADDED formaldehyde sheet goods".  There is no such thing as Formaldehyde free sheet goods and your statement is a common misconception that most people make.
 
Rutabagared said:
.....I'll make every effort to purchase Columbia Forest products.  It's a relief that HD is a supplier so there's no inconvenience, assuming my local stores carry it.

Joe
Click to expand...

Joe, I looked at several HD stores in the Pittsburgh area a couple of months ago, they weren't stocking the Columbia ply. Anyone know if this is still the case?
 
I stumbled upon the Columbia Purebond products about a year ago and have had great results. Its a very nicely made product with a soy based adhesive that is second to none in my opinion. Check with your local supplier to see if they are carrying it or if they can get it. If your in the midwest, I know Liberty Hardwoods carry it. Its scary finding out about all the toxins there can be in products that you use everyday and don't think anything about. Currently I am switching to a waterborne finish that has really evolved into a nice product. Valspar's new Zenith line is very impressive, you wouldn't know its a water based product if someone hadn't told you. Even laminate contact adhesive can off-gas for years if you use products like that, I found 3M has several products that combat those issues with water based adhesive or the one I like is a greenguard certified product that is not water based. So there are alternatives out there if you are looking to providing a better atmosphere for yourself and your clients.
 
Just an FYI...if your Home Depot doesn't have the Columbia PureBond sheet goods you are looking for they can special order it for you thru the Pro Desk. This is available thru most HD stores. From 1 sheet to a truckload.
 
As far as adhesives go on our "green" jobs.  We use the Wilsonart PVA glue that we purchase in 55 gallon drums.  It's a water based glue that is excellent.  The only problem with this type of glue is that after your done with all your layup, all the panels have to be compressed for a very long period.  Typically overnight.  If we are doing work that requires smaller panels (not 4x8 sheets) we use "Z-glue".  It's a roll on contact adhesive that is solvent free.  Rolling on this glue is not something you want to do with 4x8 sheets but it is a great product for smaller sheets goods and once you apply the glue you can use it.  There is no wait time.  The wilsonart PVA is also a roll on glue as well but we have a glue spreader that applies the glue to 1 surface only or both at the same time.  It takes about 10 seconds to run a 4x8 sheet of material through the glue spreader and have glue on both sides ready for layup.  Before we bought this machine we would buy cheap paint rollers and use those to apply the glue.

The wilsonart glue can be found at this website: http://www.wilsonartadhesives.com/products/adhesives.aspx?p=pv or http://www.wilsonartadhesives.com for a list of their products.

The "z-glue" can be found here: http://www.taccint.com/Z.html

Both of these adhesives are post formable and can be purchased from 1 gallon to 55 gallons to 250 gallons.

 
Not only does my local HD have purebond, they by far have the lowest price on birch plywood of anywhere I looked $40.00/sheet can't be beat.
 
As a chemical engineer, I am skeptical of many ads, including this one.  How can be we certain the soy based adhesives aren't harmful in their own ways?  How long have these products been out in the market and in use in structures inhabited by people?  Its the free formaldehyde that is harmful when released, not that which is chemically bound up.  Does anyone use polyurethane adhesives, e.g. Gorilla Glue?  Polyurethane adhesives typically contain isocyanates which are nasty (carcinogenic) before they chemically react with moisture.  And some of them undergo reversion reactions under certain conditions.  A Goodyear inventor (G. W. Rye) came up with the first successful adhesive system by recognizing and using equilibrium reversion reactions of isocyanate water-based adhesives which enabled use of polyester tire cord so tires didn't have to go thump-thump when you first drove your car after it sat overnight.  And all the other successful adhesive systems used resorcinol-formaldehyde based adhesives which again caused no problems if properly handled and fully reacted before the end product was put into service.

Dave R.
 
Thank you Dave! Very interesting.

You are right, about using Purebond and then putting on toxic glues and finishes.... Our clients are well aware of this type of "green washing" and demanded right from the beginning documentation of ALL the components that go in to our furniture. It starts with the ply, processing the ply (dust free with Festool), non-toxic glues, knock down construction for glueless assembly and easy recycling and natural finishes (based on plant oils and not on Mineral oil).

When it comes to solid wood, I always try to get salvaged /reclaimed lumber with photo documentation. Nothing better then having a "story" attached to the piece of furniture!

It's also very important to make sure that the whole company is run in a ethical, green way. That means, office coffee has to be organic and fair trade. Using Festool for a healthy work environment, driving fuel efficient vehicles, support staff that uses alternative transportation to get to work, not using any disposable packaging materials (we have a stack of about 30 moving blankets), proper garbage recycling and much much more.

Anyhow, it's not easy to be green but certainly doable!

 
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