BY FRANK NELSON | PHOTO BRENT MCGILVARY
A new decorating business in Nelson, Pure Eco Painting, offers the opportunity to live and work in much healthier surroundings just at a time when people are becoming increasingly aware of the need to safeguard their own health and the health of the planet.
Owner Jonny Anderson says he uses only natural, chemical-free, environmentally safe paints and timber oils, which contain a host of natural ingredients such as chalk and china clay plus a number of tree and plant oils, resins, pigments and waxes. He also uses a completely natural mixture of vinegar and citrus to clean before painting.
He says these products, sourced locally from the Natural House Company, in Motueka, and the Natural Paint Company, in Christchurch, are at least as good as, if not better than, traditional paints. They come in a full range of colours and finishes and carry comparable quality and performance guarantees.
Jonny does interior and exterior work on homes plus offices, restaurants and other commercial spaces, providing clients across Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough with a healthy and sustainable decorating option.
“Mainstream paint is jam-packed with chemicals,” he says. “These paints are acrylic, which is plastic, and we know how particular we are about plastics these days! It doesn’t need to be that way. For hundreds of years paint was a simple concoction of chalk, clay, plant oils and tree resins. This notion we need all these chemicals to create a sound substrate is ridiculous.”
Locally born and bred
Jonny grew up in Spring Grove, near Wakefield. He studied at Waimea College before moving to Wellington where he completed his apprenticeship as a painter. During this time he worked on the two-year restoration project for Government House.
After around five years in the capital he went to England, sharpening his decorating skills on residential and commercial jobs in central London, before returning to New Zealand to join the Christchurch earthquake rebuild. It was in Christchurch that he met his future wife Karen, a physiotherapist.
More than a dozen years in the trade opened his eyes to the toxic nature of the products being used and made him aware there are equally good natural, healthy paints and timber oils. “I decided enough was enough, there must be another way to do this more sustainably.
“Many paints give off harmful fumes from volatile organic compounds such as acetone, xylene and benzene. These are commonly found in our homes and are linked to some fairly serious health conditions, especially with regards to respiration, cognitive function and development.”
No harmful chemicals
“Studies have shown that indoor environments tend to be up to 10 times more polluted than external environments … with all those toxins leaching from your painted surfaces.”
He says many of these chemicals are also linked to cancer, as well as to a variety of other ailments like eye, nose and throat irritation, allergy problems, headaches, memory loss, nausea and more. Paint fumes and residues also damage air and water quality.
“Pure Eco Painting is a service that provides clients the opportunity to use a high-quality product, from a natural source and with no harmful chemicals. I’m using a product which is clearly safe for the environment,
your health and your home.”