Turbo charge your commitment to the go green effort by having your kitchen cabinets made from eco-friendly materials.  Regardless of the materials used for the doors and drawers fronts, the casework which consist of the drawers and box, are made from medium density fiber board (MDF) and particle board.  These materials contain urea formaldehyde glue which can emit gas toxins into your home.

Choose your green kitchen cabinets made from FSC-certified plywood, wheat board, bamboo or are formaldehyde free.  You’re not going to find these materials used in semi-custom or stock cabinets, so you’re going to have to go the custom made route.

Finishes

Whether you are re-finishing your kitchen cabinets of buying new ones, look for the following for your new eco-friendly kitchen cabinets:

  • Water based sealants
  • Formaldehyde free paints
  • Solvent free adhesives.

Outside The Box

Here are a few of the most popular green materials used for cabinet exteriors:

Wood and Wood Veneers

These are naturally found materials.  Choose kitchen cabinets made from wood with FSC or some industry standard attesting to the fact that the wood was obtained from a well managed and sustainable forest.

  • CONS – Non FSC certification standards are not very strict, as a result, some exotic woods such as African Teak, Brazilian Rosewood and Caribbean Mahogany are endangered.

Eco-friendly Bamboo

A grass that looks like wood and is an elegant alternative to wood cabinets.  It grows rapidly and can be harvested in 6 – 8 years, making it more sustainable that hard woods.

  • CONS – No organization monitors environmental regulations and worker safety.  The resins used to laminate often contain formaldehyde.  You need to make a special request to use formaldehyde free resins.

Eco-friendly Stainless Steel

Contains a large amount of recycled steel and does not emit any gas in your home.  Extremely durable but can be scratched.

  • CONS – Mining and refining steel uses a lot of energy and creates pollution.

These are only some of the  options available to having eco-friendly kitchen cabinets.  As you read this, more and more research and development is being done to identify sustainable materials for production of not only eco-friendly kitchen cabinets, but many other eco-friendly items in our world today.