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Most recently, WELL also introduced an equity rating to advance inclusion in the built environment and ensure all individuals not only feel safer, but welcome, seen and heard.

The Living Building Challenge (LBC), which was introduced in 2006 by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), is a green building certification program and sustainable design framework. The program addresses buildings, landscapes and infrastructure projects of all scales, and it is structured around seven petals:

• Place

• Water

• Energy

• Health and happiness

• Materials

• Equity

• Beauty

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Fitwel, originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the General

Services Administration (GSA), is a commercial building rating system that provides guidelines on designing and operating healthier buildings. It includes 55+ evidence-based policy and design strategies that address various health behaviors and risks. These strategies aim to impact Fitwel’s “Health Impact Categories” which include:

• Impacts community health

• Reduces morbidity & absenteeism

• Supports social equity for vulnerable populations

• Instills feelings of well-being

• Provides healthy food options

• Promotes occupant safety

• Increases physical activity

Each of these frameworks and systems include strategies for achieving the various standards. While many will require collaboration with architects, contractors, facilities managers and even human resources (for commercial spaces), interior designers have an integral role in incorporating many of the strategies. Broadly, some of these include: source elimination or reduction; active and passive building design; material specification; sound and light design; and operation strategies and human behavior interventions.

The impacts of materials and overcoming barriers

It’s no coincidence that there is overlap between each of these systems and standards. Access to clean air and water, nourishment, nature, physical activity, and beautiful surroundings are all core to human health. But this is nothing new to interior designers. Many have been incorporating biophilic design, ergonomics and optimal lighting into their programming for decades.

But how closely are we examining the materials going into these environments? And not just from a sustainability standpoint, but from a human health standpoint. What toxins could we unknowingly be introducing into our spaces?

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There are more than 85,000 chemicals registered on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) inventory of substances that fall under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and more are introduced every year. While some chemicals and materials have contributed positive and necessary qualities to the built environment, life expectancy, health and living conditions, many come with tradeoffs. These chemicals are making their way into common materials like adhesives, caulking, fabrics, furnishings, floor and wall coverings, and the list goes on. And over the course of a material’s lifecycle, chemicals can leach and off-gas, ending up in indoor air, dust and the human body. In fact, the CDC conducted two studies, one in 2009 in which they discovered 219 chemicals in the human body, and a follow up in 2015 that found an additional 46 chemicals in the samples collected. These are entering the system through three avenues: ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption. Some of these toxicants are known carcinogens, mutagens (instigating changes in the DNA of cells), and endocrine disruptors. While some have been banned, others are still in use in everyday materials. Some chemicals to be on the lookout for include:

• Diisocyanates –– found in polyurethane products like upholstery and certain types of commercial paints

• Phthalates –– found in plasticizers used in PVC and other plastics

• Toxic metals –– used in wire insulation, solder, dyes, and pigments, and may be present in older construction

• VOCs –– found in some paint, adhesives, insulation, and carpet, among other products

• Flame retardants such as PBDEs –– found in fabrics

• Urea-formaldehyde –– used in particleboard, plywood, or fiberboard

• Chromated copper arsenic (CCA) –– used as an anti-rot treatment for wood

Unearthing the chemical or ingredient makeup of certain products and materials can be a challenge, but many vendors and manufacturers have shifted toward transparency. Charlie Cichetti, LEED Fellow + WELL AP, and CEO and co-founder of Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) in

Atlanta, suggests having a conversation with vendors to suss out their commitment to health and sustainability.

“If you’re talking to a vendor, provider or business, you might get the pandemic question out of the way first,” he said. Ask, ‘How did the pandemic affect your product or your supply chain or how you produce what you produce?’. Be curious if any healthy attributes came out as a result of the pandemic. From there, ask if their facilities are LEED certified or if they’re familiar with programs like LEED, WELL and Fitwel. It’s ok to ask if they can point out where they feel they support a healthy building or a green building project.”

As you’re specifying materials, you can check to see if the product has a Declare label or Healthy Product Declaration (HPD). Both disclose the ingredient composition of a product or building material and more brands are starting to provide them.

Of course, major movements are rarely without challenges. Beyond sourcing healthy materials, the other most common challenge––and opportunity––is educating clients and getting them on board.

“There is a lack of understanding especially when we get into the residential sector around what well-being really is for the most part,” said Dr. Scott. “But when you can bring it to their level of understanding, meaning how it can directly impact their health, that switches a light on for people. The programming phase is a perfect time to educate the clients. It’s the perfect time to understand what health issues they may have or what they’re concerned with and what goals they have for the project.”

“Steve Jobs once said, ‘People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.’ I think we have a little bit of that going on here,” said Cichetti. “It’s going to require implementing some of these healthy features, telling the story around it, letting someone experience it. Don’t just tell them the benefits. Let them experience the benefits of a healthier space.”

Interior designers play a powerful role in shaping human health, but making sure we’re creating spaces that positively impact all aspects of wellbeing––physical, mental, emotional and social––is going to require peeling back the layers on the way things have always been done. It’s going to require accountability, getting curious, challenging assumptions, learning new tools and asking questions––and who better to take on this role than interior designers?