Healthy materials are an increasingly top-of-mind issue in affordable housing. Affordable housing developers do not simply provide shelter – they seek to improve health and well-being, economic prospects, and the overall quality of life for residents. Choosing Red List Free materials is a critical component of providing a healthy indoor environment and ensuring that the built environment does not exacerbate existing health challenges, but rather provides positive benefits. The International Living Future Institute is committed to increasing access to Red List Free materials for affordable housing teams and is working with the Affordable Housing Pilot Projects and manufacturer partners to build a complete Materials List for Affordable Housing in order to reduce research time and effort by project teams. This list includes products that have been used by past affordable housing teams, products in our Declare database, and products that were independently researched by ILFI staff for compliance. (Note that any products not in Declare will still need to be vetted by project teams, but this list points the way with where to start, greatly reducing research time.)

In June 2020, ILFI published the first version of the Materials List for Affordable Housing. The Materials List, organized in spreadsheet form, includes information on each product’s status related to the Red List, CDPH, Declare, Living Product Challenge, and final point of assembly to help achieve Imperatives within the Materials Petal and the Health + Happiness Petal. The spreadsheet also includes a column indicating whether each product has committed to price parity for affordable housing projects under the Equity Petal of the Living Product Challenge, meaning these manufacturers typically will be willing to provide a discounted price in order to facilitate the use of healthier products in affordable housing. 

The list also includes a column indicating whether the product will allow your project to earn additional points under Enterprise Green Communities and whether it is cross-listed on Housing Partnership Network’s (HPN) Select Eco-Guide, which is a resource that can assist with sourcing by aggregating purchases among various affordable housing entities. 

This first version of  the Materials List for Affordable Housing includes the following product categories: 

  • Insulation
  • Sealants
  • Aluminum Storefront 
  • Windows
  • Gypsum Board
  • Tile
  • Resilient Flooring
  • Carpet
  • Paints + Coatings
  • Casework
  • Countertops

These categories were selected based on our work with affordable housing project teams. The categories are a mix of product types that have many cost-efficient Red List Free products (see the Top Five: First Steps Towards Red List Free Materials below) and product types that have typically been challenging for teams, such as windows and countertops. 

This Materials List for Affordable Housing will be updated regularly and expanded over time to include additional product categories, as well as information on cost and durability.

ILFI’s Affordable Housing Pilot Projects have made great strides towards healthy materials. Projects like BLOCK Project, the Projects at Mill Creek, and Othello Square led by pioneering architects and owners (including BLOCK Architects, Architectural Nexus, Community Rebuilds, Sundberg Kennedy Ly-Au Young Architects, and Homesight) provided a wealth of information on materials that are being utilized to help their projects provide the healthiest environment possible for their residents. ILFI is in the process of organizing the next group of affordable housing pilot projects. In the upcoming phase of our affordable housing work, all project teams are committed to investigating a Red List Free materials scope for their projects. For example, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, one of the largest developers in San Francisco, is in the process of registering multiple projects and is striving towards eliminating Red List materials from their specifications and encouraging project teams to work together on this effort. These partnerships will continue to inform the Materials List for Affordable Housing and to transform the marketplace of available products. Check back on our Affordable Housing website regularly for updates to the list!

Written By

Susan Puri

As Affordable Housing Director, Susan helps affordable housing projects achieve Living Building Certification through the Institute’s pilot program. She also helps develop resources and educational materials. Originally from the Atlanta area, Susan attended Georgia Tech where she received a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of City and Regional Planning, with a focus on Affordable Housing Development. She has worked in urban planning in Georgia and in Beijing, China. Susan also worked as a LEED Reviewer with Epsten Group for five years, reviewing LEED applications from more than 30 countries and five rating systems. Susan is very much looking forward to exploring the intersection of affordable housing and sustainability at the International Living Future Institute. When not working, Susan loves traveling and is currently learning Hindi.