Creating the World’s Best Paint, Naturally

For over a decade, Natural Earth Paint has been quietly reshaping what sustainability can look like in the art world. Founded with the belief that artists should never have to choose between their health, their creativity, and the planet, the company has built a loyal community around truly non-toxic, thoughtfully made art supplies.

We sat down with the Natural Earth Paint team to talk about how their mission has evolved, the challenges of developing eco-friendly formulations, and what they wish more artists understood about sustainability and safety. From breakthrough innovations to hard-earned lessons, this conversation offers an honest look into what it really takes to create art materials that are better for people and the planet.

How has the Natural Earth Paint mission evolved since the early days of the company?

Our mission has mostly stayed the same over the past 14 years. Our outward-facing mission is "Creating the World's Best Paint, Naturally" and inwardly, we talk about a second part - "and having the best jobs ever while doing it!".

Leah always wanted to make it easy for people to paint safely, and she was always focused on bringing new, truly non-toxic products to market - products that didn't exist elsewhere and are greatly needed in the world. We are still chasing this same north star, almost 14 years later. When we started we mostly focused on de-toxifying the oil painting experience but as we've grown our customers continuously tell us what they want in daily emails and comments - which is most commonly non-toxic options for acrylic paints and mediums and varnishes. So we keep changing our plans based on what's in the most demand and what supply is causing the most toxicity to humans and the planet and needs an alternative to be made.

If you could change one thing about how the art world approaches sustainability, what would it be?

It's hard to choose just one. I think what I've encountered a lot of, though, is the way many artists and makers turn a blind eye to sustainability and safety. Many people know how unsustainable and hazardous the industry is, but pretend it's not a problem. Many artists tell us that they think their art supplies are non-toxic because they've never had any health problems so far. Unfortunately they don't realize that they are adding to their toxic load every time they use their supplies and the health issues will eventually turn up. For me, they all mostly arrived at age 40 after using toxic supplies from age 15-34. Many artists say their supplies are non-toxic because they are water-soluble and can be washed with water. There's a lot of mis-information out there and basic education needed about what is in supplies and what we are breathing in or absorbing into our skin. As for other paint manufacturers, we hope they will also start looking for alternatives to hazardous ingredients and additionally look at their packaging - which is predominantly plastic, virgin paper and made in China.

What is a piece of meaningful feedback that Natural Earth Paint has received?

Well the first thing that comes to mind is just how often we get thanked for making our products. We are told constantly by customers of their immense gratitude that we do what we do - that they are able to paint again, many times after years spent missing it or after a major illness or allergy prevented it. In terms of constructive feedback - we were told by some marketing professionals that we needed to do a better job of educating the public.

It kind of goes back to the last question. There's so much greenwashing in the industry that so many people don't realize there are real problems with it. We have endeavored in the last 2 years to make much more content (videos and social media posts, blogs, etc.) to address this.

What future products or innovations are you most excited about right now?

We JUST released our new Natural Acrylik Paint Sets - 5 different options. These are sets of 4 tubes of acrylik paint tubes in various colors at a lower price point than our current set of 8, so people who are curious about the paint can try it for a lower cost. We are also planning to launch Natural Acrylik Matte Medium, Natural Acrylik Modeling Paste, and a liquid Eco Gesso next year. We continue to work diligently on our current acrylik paint recipe to make it resistant to freezing. This is commonly achieved with a toxic chemical additive in mainstream paints. Right now the formula is such that if the paints go below 32 degrees, they are ruined. We have been doing tons of testing with natural materials and are getting close to the solution!

Are there any surprising challenges or breakthroughs you have experienced while being part of this community and developing eco-friendly formulations?

Coming up with new products is super challenging. With each product launch in the last 14 years, we've encountered various issues. Our acrylik paint took over 6 years now to perfect because of continuous issues and challenges in trying to replace every toxic ingredient used in conventional paint.

Every product formulation entailed years of trying and failing until the magic formulation was finally achieved.As we grow, we are also learning every week about what it means to do so. As we pack larger and larger orders to ship to stores all over the world, we learn, we fail, we adapt, we change.

None of it is surprising. We know we make mistakes. We just always go forward with as much heart as possible. We always just try to do the right thing, and we trust that as long as we are doing that, we will be ok.

What advice would you give to students or aspiring artists who want to make a change?

Slow down and enjoy the entire process as much as possible. If you want to start making your own paint, remember that this is a brand new endeavor. Any time you take on something new, it may not feel easy or straightforward at first.

With time, it becomes better, easier, more enjoyable, and more efficient. Artists do not need to change their entire studio in one weekend. Small changes compound over time.

Continue researching how to be as eco-friendly as possible. There are many great resources that teach simple systems for handling wastewater and materials or for making paint efficiently and affordably. We encourage people to check out our Resources section for a wealth of information, inspiration, tips, and recipes.