Philadelphia Weekly

LEED-ers of the pack: Greenable founder Angelo Anastasio and design director Lynne Templeton offer green building products that are all certifiably sustainable.

A few years ago the term "green building" meant little to anyone outside environmental or architectural circles. At best it evoked images of bulky solar panels, dim lighting or dribbling showerheads. But with the upsurge of interest in environmentalism, more and more companies are beginning to offer green building products as an alternative for consumers--it's now possible to construct and decorate your entire home using nothing but sustainable, nontoxic materials.

But what does "green" really mean? And how can you ensure the products you're buying are actually as environmentally friendly as they claim to be?

The answer: Go to the specialists.

Three green building stores have opened in Philadelphia in the last three months, all of them offering certified green building materials and information for making the best choices when building green.

"Home Depot is labeling its fiberglass formaldehyde insulation as 'green' because it insulates and naturally saves energy. So people are going around thinking, 'Oh, this is what green means,' and that's absolutely not true," says Angelo Anastasio, founder and CEO of Greenable, a green building design and supply store that opened near Second and Market streets earlier this month.

After graduating from University of the Arts last year, Anastasio, 29, started the company "in response to a lack of resources in the Philadelphia area--a really bad recycling program, air problems, water problems and a lack of green building resources."

In addition to selling all the materials necessary to build a green home--countertops, paint, lumber, roofing, etc.--Greenable provides a comprehensive, educational approach to green living, offering consultation from interior designers and architects, as well as organic cleaning supplies. To Anastasio, the term "green" indicates a deeper set of beliefs based on sustainable living, valuing resources and working to reduce our impact on the planet in every way possible.

"We're here to help [clients] through every step of the process," Anastasio says. "Not only building but maintaining the home--energy, cleaning, etc. You know, why is Windex bad, and what should I be using instead? What works?"

Since opening in its Old City location, Greenable, says Anastasio, has been approached by all kinds of clients, from contractors and developers wanting to build LEED-certified structures to private homeowners looking to create cleaner, healthier homes.First implemented in 1998, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is based on standards for green building, assessing areas such as water and energy efficiency as well as indoor air quality and use of eco-friendly materials. Buildings can qualify for four levels of certification, which can bring tax breaks for developers.

"I think in general the awareness [of green building] is getting better," he says. "Business has been great."

On the other side of the green-building spectrum is the GreenDepot, which opened in July off of State Road in Tacony. The store is an offshoot of Brooklyn-based MarJam construction supply company. Mark Buller opened the store after buying a small environmental building company, ECO, to offer a green alternative to his clients.

"When we first started, most customers were residential, but now, with the inception of LEED and the U.S. Green Building Council, states and municipalities want to go green. They want better working environments for people, better air quality," says Jennifer Frantino, manager of GreenDepot's Philadelphia store.

"I'm working on multiple LEED projects in New York and New Jersey," she says. "I'm trying to do some in Philadelphia, but it hasn't caught on here yet. It's coming south."

Like Greenable, GreenDepot also markets itself as a "one-stop shop" for green building needs, but its emphasis is more on commodities than design. The Depot's location in the back of a MarJam supply warehouse near I-95 also seems more equipped to handle the needs of general contractors and developers working on large-scale projects, though they do sell cleaning supplies and other household products onsite.

Both Frantino and Anastasio say the cost of green building supplies depends on the product. Nontoxic paint, for instance, is roughly the same price as high-end Benjamin Moore, but cotton insulation can cost anywhere from 30 percent more to double the price of fiberglass. But with green building, the savings is found not only in the environmental and health benefits, but over the long run.

"The cost is really not that much higher if you look at your energy savings. Like your lightbulbs," explains Frantino. "Yes, they're $5 a bulb, but they'll last 10 years."

"The myth was that you're going to be spending 20 to 25 percent more for your materials to build green, but what we've found on average is that it's only about 2 or 3 percent in reality," says Anastasio.

With price differences that small, it's hard not to think green building will eventually become the norm. Earlier this month the Environmental Home Store opened a new location at Carpenter Lane and Greene Street in Mt. Airy, offering building products with an emphasis on finished materials such as countertops, wall treatments and floors. Like Greenable and GreenDepot, EHS offers products accompanied by LEED documentation and material safety date sheets that guarantee authenticity.