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HomeFree is Healthy Building Network’s national initiative helping leaders in the affordable housing sector improve human and environmental health by using less toxic building materials.

HomeFree’s work is driven by the disproportionate impact of toxic exposures on the health of low-income families, Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Demanding and specifying healthier materials makes a difference in the entire system – from extraction, to manufacture, installation, occupancy, maintenance, and end of life. By beginning with affordable housing, HBN hopes to ensure that solutions are affordable and scalable for any project or application.

HomeFree’s approach

  • Partner with affordable housing leaders to identify healthier material solutions that meet cost and performance criteria for the affordable housing sector.
  • Co-create resources and tools that facilitate healthier material selection and make these freely available through the HomeFree website.
  • Scale solutions by working with affordable housing associations, leading green building certifications, and partners in the policy arena, to increase the demand and requirements for transparency and healthier material specification.

HomeFree’s material guidance

HomeFree’s healthier material guidance is available for 10 product categories (flooring, paint, drywall, countertops, cabinetry & millwork, doors, insulation, flooring installation, sealants, and turf) and includes:

  • HomeFree’s Hazard Spectrum, a tool that facilitates comparing materials within product categories based on their typical content and associated hazards
  • Templates you can use to request transparency from manufacturers
  • Resources to help you achieve Enterprise Green Communities materials credits
  • Specification language ready to use in your own healthier material specifications
  • Case studies of affordable housing projects where healthier products have been used
  • Self-paced online courses and webinars about building materials, their hazards, and healthier alternatives
  • And more

Visit HomeFree today and start your journey to selecting safer materials.