The Third Edition of ILFI’s Affordable Housing Materials List is now available! Based on feedback from dedicated users, we implemented several updates to make it more expedient to find and source Red List Free products. Manufacturer’s contact information, including contact name, email, and phone number, has been included so that those researching and specifying products know who to reach out to within a manufacturing company. Links to the product page on the manufacturer’s website have also been included, as well as links to Declare labels, where applicable. These updates were specifically requested by users to streamline the product research process. In addition to the above, the list continues to include information on the product’s Red List status, final assembly location, and alignment with other programs including California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Living Product Challenge (LPC), and Enterprise Green Communities. Lastly, notes from project teams, manufacturers, and ILFI are also included to report information such as cost premiums, sourcing of the product, and availability.
The updated list also includes ten new CSI sections as well as new products in 51 previously included CSI divisions. In all 149 new individual products were added. The ten new CSI sections are:
- Metal Roof Panels
- Metal Wall Panels
- Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Siding Panels
- Wood Siding
- Thermoplastic Membrane Roofing
- Fluid-Applied Roofing
- Exterior Sun Control Devices
- Rolling Exterior Shades
- Horizontal Aluminum Blinds
- Window Roller Shades and Drapes
While researching known Red List Free products within these CSI sections, we found a few manufacturers had extensive product declarations and information on their website for other products as well. After further research, we were able to add all of their other products to the list. For example, Henry Company now includes health product declarations (HPD) on their website for most of their products. We found 13 Red List Free fluid-applied waterproofing products and 10 Red List Free adhesive products that have now been added to the list; both of these CSI sections previously had very few options. Since the last update to this list, Knauf Insulation has 12 new Red List Free insulation products, all of which have Declare labels. Additionally, several manufacturers of storefront windows – Allegion, Arcadia, Kawneer, Omega Windows and Doors, and Tubelite – have published Declare labels since the last update, more than doubling the number of products in that CSI section, which has historically proven challenging for teams to find cost-effective products. Several new products were also added in the acoustical ceiling tile, resilient flooring, carpet, and various paint categories, further increasing the number of options available in these divisions.
The Materials List for Affordable Housing now includes a total of 409 products in 51 CSI sections. The products have been drawn from Declare and from the tremendous research efforts of several affordable housing pilot project teams, as well as additional research by ILFI staff. The list is intended to both serve as a quick resource for those specifying products for affordable housing (and other project types) and to provide insight into the categories of products that are easiest and those that need more collective advocacy. Generally, categories that include a large number of compliant products (i.e., insulation, gypsum wall board, paint, acoustic ceiling tile, etc.) also include many products that are cost-effective. Those with more limited options often are also more difficult to specify due to cost premiums. This gives project teams a hint as to the categories they may want to prioritize, depending on if the goals are to move the market or to more easily include healthier products in their projects. ILFI plans to continue updating this list and building out new and existing product categories. Please contact affordablehousing@living-future.org if you have any feedback on this materials list or suggestions for products or CSI sections to add to the next update.
