If a vinyl siding manufacturer is interested in being featured in a
Habitat project so might another industry. In an independent living
project I did where the construction budget was small but where the
occupants health required special consideration of materials - I created
specifications for materials that I thought were appropriate from
suppliers that I thought might be interested in being involved in the
project. I made one budget based on market value of the materials and
another on what we could afford to spend on it and then approached
different suppliers with the lower cost offer. A lot of time was spento
on this as suppliers often came back with different solutions, but it
was an interesting experience.
Generally a products cost is not based on the cost of production but on
market criteria ie. what the majority of the public is willing to pay at
any given time. In other words the responsibility of providing heathy
materials at a reasonable cost should, if the demand is there, be an
industry responsibility.
Although I personally don't like the use of a lot of metal on buildings
- metal (steel not alum.) siding with a baked enamel finish might be an
appropriate choice and a willing sponsor.
John
TERRAIN E.D.S.
terrain@seaside.net
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