Shades of Green

Plenty of retailers are trotting out their green credentials lately, but the building-products supplier Green Depot—which opened a new flagship store in Manhattan two months ago—distinguishes itself with its rigorous transparency. Each item in its diverse stock is labeled with detailed environmental information. And since there frequently isn’t a single perfect choice for a given product, informed customers can select from a range of solutions. Paintbrushes are a good example. “There’s really no green option for brushes,” says Warren Fox-Jackson, a buyer for the company. Here we touch on the eco-advantages and -disadvantages of the Depot’s four current brush offerings.