Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cabinets Guide
When we embarked on our first kitchen renovation, we wanted to invest in our health and the planet by creating a green kitchen. You would be surprised to know how toxic stock cabinets can be. The frames are traditional made with mdf board laden with formaldehyde, VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) and HAP’s (Hazardous Air Pollutants), indoor air pollutants that can be harmful to your health.
We really struggled to find a viable green, chemical free option, at least not at prices we could afford. There were many local carpenters who could create custom cabinets made completely of sustainably harvested woods, but the cost at the time was prohibitive. We wanted cabinets made with sustainable woods (even better, reclaimed wood!) and low VOC, formaldehyde-free finishes. Unfortunately, we were not able to find an option that worked for our renovation and consequently have been obsessed with sourcing green cabinets ever since.
Since our green kitchen remodel, more and more eco-friendly cabinets have arrived on the market. It is still a growing market and now always easy to track down, so we’ve put together this guide to help you find the eco-cabinets that are right for you.
This guide is to serve as a reference for the types of cabinets, manufacturers and installers available to you for you green renovation. You will note that many of those feature are geographically specific as some are smaller brands and you may find more affordable options by shopping for a local woodworker to achieve your dream kitchen.
We’d love to hear feedback from you with comments about your own personal experience with eco-friendly cabinet, with recommendations of brands and/or types of cabinets we should include on this list or with any questions that you might have.