What are VOCs?
Volatile Organic Compounds are materials which evaporate readily from commonly occurring sources such as vehicle exhausts, cleaning agents, furniture polish and fabric softeners. These also include solvents used in coatings, as well as thinners and brush cleaners.

In the presence of sunlight, these VOCs can react with nitrogen oxides to create ground level ozone and photochemical smogs. These in turn can contribute to pollution of the atmosphere. The UK government and the coatings industry are committed to reducing VOC emissions under international conventions. ( See "What is the Industry doing about reducing the environmental impact of paints and varnishes?".)

Although the impact of household coatings on atmospheric pollution is very small (less than 2% of the total amount of VOCs emitted), manufacturers believe the amount of VOC s in decorative coatings should be reduced and consumers given the choice of using lower VOC-containing products.

Coatings suppliers have introduced a labelling system to inform you of the VOC content of each decorative coating product – a 5-band classification shows the VOC content as Minimal; Low; Medium; High or Very High