April 13th, 2008

Eco-friendly Cabinets: The Definitive Guide

Posted by Jessica Jensen

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If you are considering any kitchen or bathroom remodeling, likely cabinets are on your list. In any green home remodel, incorporating eco-friendly cabinet choices into your plans is a great idea.

Fortunately there are many excellent options available to us now as green consumers. We are trying here to create the definitive list of eco-friendly cabinet options available across the United States.

First and foremost to embrace sustainability we should try to save as much of existing cabinets as possible– perhaps you can just put a new face on your cabinets and save the underlying ”boxes”? That can be a great way to reduce your use of new materials and cut your waste output.  But if you need entirely new cabinets, here are some great options from the leading green cabinet makers in the U.S.

Bamboo Cabinets

AlterECO creates unique and beautiful custom bamboo cabinets built to high standards of craftsmanship, utility and sustainability. Based in San Francisco.
Grass Cabinetry creates custom, green cabinets in Sacramento, California.  They also do work in hardwoods.
Laguna Bamboo is another leader in bamboo cabinets. Surprise– they are located in Laguna, CA.

Cabinet Makers Working with Mixed Materials (Bamboo, FSC Certified woods, reclaimed woods, etc.)

M8 Cabinetry is an innovative firm that is creating recycled and recyclable cabinet solutions. Their work is modern and beautiful.
Kirei board is a gorgeous option for cabinet fronts. Kirei is a unique material made from compressed sorghum stalks.  Please give it a look!
Artistic Freedom Designs, based in San Diego, uses FSC woods, Smith and Fong Plyboo bamboo plywood, biocomposites, salvaged woods, and AFM safecoat finishes.
Sustainabuilt is based in Boise, Idaho and uses a wide variety of sustainable building materials in their cabinets, including Plyboo and FSC Certified hardwoods.
Neil Kelly Cabinets is a leader in the field and uses FSC certified woods, formaldehyde-free agriboard case/drawer material, and low VOC glues/adhesives/finishes.
Woodshanti is a wood-working cooperative based in San Francisco. They do gorgeous work in FSC hardwoods, and/or reclaimed woods.
CitiLog, based in New Jersey, reclaimed wood for use in their cabinets and other products. They also use non-toxic bonders and sealants.
Green Leaf Cabinetry, based in Cleveland, OH, manufactures cabinets using FSC certified woods, formaldehyde-free bonding agents, and low-VOC finishes.
Fiddle Head Designs, based in Brunswick, Maine, uses locally-milled, sustainable woods, and non-toxic glues and sealants. They also purchase 100% of the shop’s electricity from wind power!
Green Forest Kitchens & Baths builds cabinets from 100% reclaimed woods. They are based in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Humabuilt creates a line of cabinets from their Wheatcore product, a LEED certified wheat-board.
Breathe Easy Cabinetry uses responsibly harvested solid woods which are formaldehyde-free and non-toxic water-based glues and finishes. They are based on the East Coast but have reps across the country.
Case Green Cabinetry is based in Denver, CO, and builds cabinets out of wheat board composites or Medite II.
John C. Duval Designs offers custom casework using sustainable materials. They are located in White Post, Virginia.  (Also a green builder.)
GreenTech Cabinety offers a variety of sustainable materials and finishes. They have dealers across the country.
Blue Plum Design offers a variety of eco-friendly cabinet options. Based in San Francisco.

We have eco-friendly cabinet resources listed across the country– search your area by visiting our cabinet category.

Also be sure to check our green retail outlets across the country as many of these stores carry mutliple lines of eco-friendly cabinets: search your area by visiting our green retail category.

Are you a green cabinet maker and would like to be added to this list? Please send an email to info@lowimpactliving.com.

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