Where Do You Buy Sustainable Building Materials (21 Shops)?

A collage of a person working at a desk with sustainable symbols overlain, such as recycling arrows, water dripping from a tap and an energy-saving lightbulb. Along the bottom of the main image are three smaller images showing solar panels being installed, a sustainably-managed forest and a wind farm. Across the top are the words "Sustainable Building Materials."

Building with sustainable materials can save you money on utility bills and boost your home’s resale value, besides protecting the environment.

While some green building products are widely available, others have limited distribution.

If you’re aiming to build an eco-friendly building, it helps to know where to buy the right materials.

Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon are the best places to buy sustainable building materials. They sell a range of green construction products, including framing materials obtained from renewable resources and plumbing fixtures that minimize water consumption.

This guide will show you companies where you can purchase sustainable building materials for new construction and renovation projects.

Let’s get started.

1. Home Depot: Framing Lumber

Framing lumber used to build a timber frame for a house. The image is taken from the inside of the building.
Timber framing is a popular method of construction. If you’re using lumber for the frame of your building, ensuring that it is sourced from sustainably-managed forests is key.

Compared to steel and concrete, wood is a much more sustainable construction material, especially if it is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

As wood can be grown and harvested on the same patch of land multiple times, it’s a highly renewable resource.

Also, off-cuts produced during construction and other wood waste can be transformed into other valuable products.

If unusable for construction purposes, wood waste is biodegradable, leaving little lasting legacy and reducing environmental pollution. As a building material, wood is more energy-efficient and has a lower carbon footprint than common alternatives.

You can buy framing lumber and other construction wood products for new building and remodeling projects from Home Depot.

2. Lowe’s: Clay Bricks

A stack of clay bricks ready for use. It looks a bit like a wall but the bricks aren't regularly laid and there is no mortar.
Clay brick are a traditional building material that uses abundant resources available locally in most parts of the world. Their main drawback is their high embodied energy resulting from the firing process.

Clay brick is an ancient construction material with many outstanding properties. The bricks are primarily made of clay, an abundant resource.

Moreover, clay for making these types of bricks can come from mining and construction sites, reducing the wastage of natural resources. Additionally, clay bricks are recyclable at the end of their service life in a building.

In addition to being a material made from abundant natural resources, clay brick enhances a building’s thermal storage and noise insulation properties.

Lowe’s sells clay bricks that can be used to build walls, foundations, and fences. This retailer also stocks various clay-based flooring products, including ceramic tiles.

3. Amazon: Low-Flow Plumbing Fixtures

A water-saving faucet with an aeration gauze. The faucet is flowing and the whole image has a blueish tinge.
Water-saving plumbing fixtures can save a surprising amount of water during the course of a year. Well worth installing if you’re on a metered supply.

Water is a precious but limited resource. As a result, conserving water is central to sustainability efforts. Amazon sells an array of plumbing fixtures that help curb water wastage and save money.

You’ll find low-flow toilets, showerheads, and sink faucets that can reduce your green home’s water consumption by as much as 60% compared to standard fixtures.

4. US Engineered Wood: Tstud for Framed Building

A frame for a building made from engineered wood. The frame is partially built and set against the background of a blue sky.
Engineered wood is a great choice for building a woden frame. Not only is it eco-friendly, but it is often stronger than normal lumber.

US Engineered Wood’s Tstud is designed to replace standard lumber members in frame constructions.

This engineered wood green building material is more energy-efficient than traditional studs. It also has sound insulation properties, saving the cost of soundproofing your house.

5. Standard Panel: SIP Panels

An aerial view of a part-built SIP-construction house. There is no roof or second floor so the cross-section of the SIP panels is clearly visible with the insulation sandwiched between two sheets of engineered 
wood.
SIP panels are very energy efficient. The panels are made in a factory and assembled at the construction site.

Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) are engineered building materials that provide excellent insulation and improve the energy efficiency of your green home.

The panels come predesigned and only need to be assembled on the construction site.  The material can be used on roofs, walls, and ceilings, giving highly energy-efficient homes.

Building with SIP panels requires less labor and reduces on-site waste. You can purchase SIP panels from Standard Panel.

6. Plastic Lumber Yard: Recycled Plastic Lumber

A recycled plastic lumber pergola with paving slabs beneath and a bench.
Recycled plastic lumber can be a great, low-maintenance option for uses such as building a pergola.

Plastic Lumber looks like wood lumber, except it’s made from plastic waste that would otherwise be in oceans or landfills.

Stronger and more durable than wood lumber, plastic lumber can be used as a structural or decorative material in construction.

Plastic Lumber Yard sells plastic lumber products suitable for various sustainable building projects.

7. Elmwood Reclaimed Timber:  Reclaimed Wood Materials

An image of a floor made from planks of reclaimed  wood taken from different reclamation sites. The planks are different ages and colors.
Using reclaimed wood is eco-friendly and can add character to your project. It’s also cheaper, so a triple-win.

Although hardwood harvesting can adversely affect the environment because of deforestation, building with reclaimed wood products can help the environment.

Elmwood Reclaimed Timber sells reclaimed wood beams, shelves, and other products.

8. Material Warehouse: Hemp Insulation

A piece of hemp insulation. The piece is square in shape and the individual strands of hemp fiber are clearly visible.
Industrial hemp can be used to make effective insulation. It is fire resistant and doesn’t contain any THC, which means it’s completely different to the hemp that is used as a drug. Christian Gahle, nova-Institut GmbH, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

An excellent insulation solution should contribute to making your home sustainable. The insulation lowers your property’s carbon footprint by reducing heating and cooling energy consumption.

The problem is that many insulation materials are sourced unsustainably. Hemp insulation is a sustainable alternative because it is made of the hemp plant, making it a renewable material.

Moreover, hemp insulation performs better than many other insulation solutions, including cellulose and fiberglass. It also sequesters carbon from the atmosphere in the plant itself, helping to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Material Warehouse sells HempWool, a sustainably sourced and non-toxic insulation material. The product is available in various thickness options.

Hemp is great option for sustainable building, we’ve written an article about some of hemp’s uses in construction here if you’d like to find out more.

9. GAF Energy: Solar Shingles For Green Building

A row of solar shingles in a roof.
Solar shingles are a good way to reduce your electric bills and help the environment at the same time. Image By ben west – Link, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

GAF Energy’s Timberline Solar is a roofing product that performs the double task of covering the roof and generating solar power. You can use a single installer for the roofing and the solar electricity system.

Besides saving you money on power bills and reducing your home’s carbon emissions, GAF Energy’s solar shingles also give you a beautiful roof.

10. ByFusion: ByBlocks (Sustainable Building Materials)

A picture of a man building a demonstration wall with ByBlocks made from plastic waste. The blocks are multicolored thanks to their composition consisting of recycled plastic. The blocks are held together by metal rods running vertically between the joins.
ByBlocks take waste plastic and recycle it into a sustainable building material. Image courtesy of ByFusion Global Inc..

ByBlocks are made from plastic waste. They can be used in place of concrete blocks to build walls.

Apart from helping reduce plastics going to landfills, ByBlocks produce durable walls that are water and cracking resistant.

Moreover, ByBlocks have significantly lower carbon emissions than conventional concrete. You can buy ByBlocks from ByFusion.

11. Cali Bamboo: Bamboo Flooring

A dark stained bamboo floor with the culms and nodes clearly visible in the finished product.
Bamboo flooring can be stained any color to bring out the beauty of this natural building material. The culms and nodes can clearly be seen in this example.

Bamboo is a strong, durable, and beautiful natural material with broad application potential in the construction industry. It can be used as a structural or finishing material in construction.

The bamboo tree grows rapidly, and its harvesting has a minimal environmental impact, earning products made from bamboo the right to call themselves green building materials.

Moreover, processing bamboo products produces little waste, which minimizes environmental impact.

Cali Bamboo supplies a broad array of bamboo flooring materials.

Cali Bamboo’s bamboo products boast twice the density of conventional hardwood flooring. Moreover, many featured products on the company’s website come with a 50-year warranty.

More information is available on bamboo in construction in our other article here.

12. iCorkFloor: Cork Flooring and Soundproofing

A roll of cork flooring partially unrolled with a roll of tape sitting on top. In the bottom left corner of the image, there is a pile of corks from wine bottles.
Waste cork can be used to create cork insulation, flooring and soundproofing. This natural material looks great and is warm to the touch, making it ideal for bathroom floors.

Cork is a natural material obtained from tree bark harvested from the cork oak tree. It can be harvested without cutting down the tree, making it highly renewable.

The material has many desirable properties in the construction industry. For example, it’s lightweight, durable, water-resistant, and affordable. Moreover, cork has thermal and sound insulation properties.

In pursuing sustainable flooring solutions, many homeowners are turning to cork tiles. iCorkFloor supplies cork tiles for floors and walls. The products are available in a large range of colors, textures, and design options.

With cork tiles, you achieve thermal insulation, soundproofing, and waterproofing with a single product. Cork tiles can be ideal for studio environments.

13. SmartLam: Mass Timber Construction Materials

A wooden frame made from mass timber. The frame is glazed and a blue sky with white clouds is clearly visible above.
SmartLam produce mass timber products that can be used in a host of structural applications.

Mass timber is a new category of green building materials. The manufacturing process bonds multiple wood pieces, including those that would otherwise be wasted.

Mass timber products can be used in construction as alternatives to concrete and steel. Except in the case of recycled steel, mass timber products have a lower carbon footprint and reduce on-site waste.

SmartLam manufactures various mass timber products ideal for floors, roofs, and walls.

14. Smart Glass Country: Smart Glass Windows

A wall of smart glass windows with aluminum frames.
Smart glass windows adjust their opacity to reflect solar energy during the summer and allow more solar gain during the winter. This helps to keep HVAC costs down.

Installing smart glass on your windows can reduce your heating and cooling power bills. Smart glass turns your windows translucent in summer months to block the sun’s heat, reducing cooling electricity consumption and making your home more energy efficient.

The glass turns the window transparent in winter, letting in more sunlight to boost indoor heating and cut down on energy use.

Smart Glass Country sells smart glass products for new windows and smart films that can be installed on existing windows.

15. Cemex: Ashcrete for Cement Replacement

Ashcrete being smoothed out by a worker with a float on top of a high building. The worker is wearing a hard hat and high viz clothing. There is a city scape behind against a blue sky.
Ashcrete uses fly ash from coal fired power stations as a substitute for Portland cement. This reduces the amount of embodied carbon in the concrete and prevents the ash from going to landfill.

Ashcrete is made from byproducts of coal power plants. It can be used to replace or complement cement in the concrete mix.

Ashcrete is stronger and more durable than conventional concrete. Moreover, ashcrete consumes less water in the curing process and produces structures that are more resistant to fire and acid.

Cemex is a leading fly ash supplier, the coal industry byproduct used to make ashcrete.

16. Andersen: Eco-Friendly Windows and Doors

A closeup of an aluminum door from the side and showing the handle.
Aluminum doors and windows have a long life expectancy and can avoid you having to replace frames, which costs money and uses natural resources, including carbon.

The materials you choose for your windows and doors can greatly impact your home’s environmental impact. Aluminum windows and doors can last longer than wood because the material is resistant to many weather and insect-degrading factors.

Moreover, aluminum metal is recyclable, which reduces waste. Andersen is a leading manufacturer of aluminum windows and doors.

17. Stark: Wool Carpet

A colorful wool carpet with a corrugated pattern along the edges and block-like spiral patterns in the middle. The main colors are yellow, cream, red and blue.
A woolen carpet is the height of luxury. Warm to the touch and beautiful to look at, a wool carpet or rug can make your living room feel warm and cozy.

Wool is a beautiful, comfortable, durable, and renewable material. Wool carpets can transform your floor’s appearance and require little maintenance.

Stark provides a variety of wool carpets and rugs made from natural materials. Homeowners can also order custom wool products from Stark.

18. Tile Estate: Recycled Glass Flooring Tiles

A composition of beautiful turquoise and blue recycled glass tiles made by TileEstate. The tiles have varying colors and shades and uneven surfaces that allow the light to play off their surfaces in a pleasing effect.
TileEstate makes wonderful tiles from recycled glass. Image courtesy of TileEstate.

Glass is renewable, making it a sustainable building material to consider. Tile Estate sells glass tiles made from broken glass products.

You can use these tiles for pool interiors and bathroom and kitchen walls. Since glass reflects light, glass tiles can also help you to use less energy and reduce your lighting electricity bills.

19. American Floor Mats: Recycled Rubber Tiles

A rubber tile with molded raised circles covering its surface to improve grip.
Recycled rubber can be used to make tiles like the one in the picture. Recycling rubber in this way avoids rubber waste having to be disposed of and keeps its value cycling in the economy for longer.

Reducing waste is a central part of sustainability. American Floor Mats sells rubber tiles made from recycled materials, such as truck and aircraft tires.

As a result, flooring with rubber tiles reduces waste that goes to landfill. Rubber tiles are easy to install and ideal for high-traffic areas. American Floor Mats tiles are available in a variety of colors.

20. Ecotile: Recycled Plastic Flooring Tiles

A PVC floor tile being laid on the floor by a worker kneeling down next to it. The tile being laid is flexible and darker in color than the subfloor.
Plastic tiles can be made to be fully recyclable, reducing waste and reducing their environmental impact.

An industry leader, Ecotile makes a broad array of plastic tiles for flooring. The products include recycled plastic material. Moreover, Ecotile plastic tiles are fully recyclable at the end of their life.

Aside from reducing plastic waste, plastic tiles are more durable than many standard options.

21. Sustainable Materials: Flexible Concrete Panels

A stylish room with dark sofa and rug, two coffee tables made from crates. On the wall behind is a flexible concrete wall covering made of Concrete Flex by Sustainable Materials.
Concrete Flex is a clever material made from concrete held together with an acrylic binder. It is capable of being wrapped around tight columns but looks great as a flat wall covering, too. Image courtesy of Sustainable Materials.

Bendable or flexible concrete materials may be the future of the construction industry.

They offer breakthrough solutions to many flaws of traditional concrete.

For example, they’re up to 500 times more resistant to cracking than traditional concrete, even compared with precast concrete slabs made under controlled conditions in a factory.

Moreover, flexible concrete construction materials have self-healing capability in case they crack.

Some bendable concrete materials can also help with temperature control. As a result, these materials are durable and can significantly reduce repair costs.

Sustainable Materials’ Concrete Flex is a type of bendable concrete in the form of a panel. The Concrete Flex panels are resistant to fire, moisture, insects, microbes, and high impact.

The panels are ideal for exterior and interior wall finishing.  They can also be applied to floors and are available in more than ten color options.

Bendable concrete has broad application potential in construction, including in precast concrete slabs. The problem is that these construction materials aren’t broadly available on the market yet.

Final Thoughts On Eco-Friendly Building Materials

There is plenty of choice of green building products these days, although not all will necessarily be available locally from your favorite builder’s merchant.

Shopping around for the best deals on the most environmentally friendly building products is worth doing.

Hopefully, the list in this article will point you in the right direction.

If you’d like to find out more about sustainable building materials, why not read our article “23 Sustainable Building Materials You Can Use Today?”

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