It’s my understanding that in places like Malawi, the paints are oil based and can be manufactured without advanced equipment, whereas in developed countries the paints are latex based and require more complicated equipment to produce the proper emulsion. I’m curious if the manufacturers that you are working with are simply replacing the pigments and continuing with oil-based manufacturing?
Thanks Ruth! It’s true that oil-based paints are much more common in Malawi relative to water-based paints (aka latex or emulsion) compared to more industrialised countries. Our best guess is that 60% of decorative paints sold are oil-based in Malawi. And yes, so far the manufacturers we’ve been speaking to are planning on replacing the lead pigments in their oil-based paints. As far as I know, it’s also possible to make water-based paints without complicated/expensive equipment. Some reasons we’ve heard for why oil-based paints are popular are they’re easier to clean, cheaper, longer-lasting, and people having aesthetic preferences for the gloss.
Water-based paint is much less likely to contain lead so it would probably be good if it was used more, but I think it would be harder to change the buying habits of large numbers of people than for manufacturers to replace lead ingredients.
It’s my understanding that in places like Malawi, the paints are oil based and can be manufactured without advanced equipment, whereas in developed countries the paints are latex based and require more complicated equipment to produce the proper emulsion. I’m curious if the manufacturers that you are working with are simply replacing the pigments and continuing with oil-based manufacturing?
Thanks Ruth! It’s true that oil-based paints are much more common in Malawi relative to water-based paints (aka latex or emulsion) compared to more industrialised countries. Our best guess is that 60% of decorative paints sold are oil-based in Malawi. And yes, so far the manufacturers we’ve been speaking to are planning on replacing the lead pigments in their oil-based paints. As far as I know, it’s also possible to make water-based paints without complicated/expensive equipment. Some reasons we’ve heard for why oil-based paints are popular are they’re easier to clean, cheaper, longer-lasting, and people having aesthetic preferences for the gloss.
Water-based paint is much less likely to contain lead so it would probably be good if it was used more, but I think it would be harder to change the buying habits of large numbers of people than for manufacturers to replace lead ingredients.