Buy healthy products
By buying healthy products, fewer pollutants end up in the indoor air.
You tackle the following challenges:
That's how you do it
Many products in the home, school or office can emit pollutants into the indoor air:
- Building materials such as floor coverings, adhesives, paint or varnish
- Wood fiber board furniture
- Chemicals such as white spirit and thinner
- Cleaning products and aroma diffusers
- Electrical appliances such as printers, copiers and computers
- Craft materials such as glue, paint, markers and chalk
By purchasing healthy products and materials, you prevent products that release harmful substances from affecting indoor air quality and health.
Tips
- Buy healthy products and materials, such as water-based paint, furniture without wood fiber board, or ecological cleaning products. Recognized labels can help you with this (see here for an overview of eco-labels in construction).
- Develop a sustainable purchasing policy within your organization. You can use the guide for sustainable purchasing.
- Limit the use of harmful substances indoors as much as possible: do not use too many detergents when cleaning, and avoid using indoor perfumes or fragrance fresheners.
- Always read the label or instructions for use of the products you buy.
- Make sure there is good ventilation during or after cleaning, DIY or renovation, or when you have bought new furniture.
Knowing more
Products such as building materials, fuels, paints, cleaning agents, adhesives and perfumes contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These substances are harmful to health. They can cause irritation of the mucous membranes, eyes, respiratory tract and skin and affect the nervous system. Common symptoms of exposure to high levels of VOCs include difficulty breathing, headache, fatigue, dizziness and sleep disturbances. Some of these substances are carcinogenic, such as benzene and formaldehyde.
More information
- Healthy indoors (Flemish Institute for Healthy Living, Flanders)
- Vairy organic substances (Healthy Living, Flanders)
- Sustainable purchasing (CSR Flanders)
- Guide to sustainable purchasing (Federal Institute for Sustainable Development, Flanders)
- Volatile Organic Compounds (waarzitwatin, the Netherlands)
- Socially responsible procurement (PIANOo Expertise Center Procurement, The Netherlands)
- Volatile Organic Compounds (RIVM, the Netherlands)
