Sustainability is in the Mix: Lessons from the Paint Can

Kitchen Conference speaker, Viginia Young, co-founder of Yolo Colorhouse, deems Yolo paint the "organic milk of green building" as it's the gateway for the consumer into the green building industry. And what a colorful gateway it is. Whether Yolo consumers are interior designers or homeowners, the company reaches their audience through a simple and beautiful aesthetic and approachable product.

Yolo's products and practices would appeal to any consumer, no matter what shade of green they may be - the company offers zeroVOC paint, soy based inks, 100% post consumer paper, bio-diesel and rail shipping, among other things. However, creative and sustainable solutions is not their leading message - providing exceptional paints that meet their customers' needs has always been their first priority. Being a consumer of Yolo means you get an amazing product that just happens to be sustainable.

In my opinion, Yolo is a great example of sustainability being a product of function. In a market saturated with messages of sustainability and green practices, we should look to Yolo as an example of what's next: a company whose design is inherently green and sustainability is at the core of it all.

- Molly

posted on April 25, 2008