All cabinets available to US consumers today are coated in plastic: polyurethane, acrylic, epoxy, pvc, or other composite. Manufacturers and cabinet makers call it “finish”, “UV stain resistant sealed”, “proprietary topcoat”, “paint”, “protective varnish”, and other euphemisms, but it’s all just plastic. As the plastic degrades—like all physical materials—it breaks down into microplastic and nanoplastic dust, contributing to the existing dust load of our kitchens: settling into cups and silverware drawers, onto food prep surfaces, and unavoidably into our food and bodies.

 

Scientists are finding microplastic bioaccumulation in human organs including the lungs, liver, and even the placenta. Studies suggest that the microplastic burden can cause fertility issues, immune and endocrine system disruption, gut microbiome disruption and inflammation, organ damage, neurotoxicity, and cancer.

 

Talking to people in the industry, I’ve come to understand that manufacturers won’t sell plastic-free cabinets for liability and warranty reasons. If manufacturers coat their cabinets entirely in waterproof plastic before they send them out the door, then they’re following the industry standard, and this limits their exposure to damage and warranty claims down the road.

 

Theoretically, it seems like a good idea to coat your kitchen cabinets in a waterproof coating. Spills are inevitable, and “water resistant” (natural finishes) isn’t as good as “waterproof” (plastic). However, a plastic coated cabinet is like a modern boat hull: great for keeping water out, but exceedingly difficult to drain once water gets in. And water—as they say—always finds a way.

 

Spills will eventually find their way into the cabinet through punctures caused by wear & tear, or through the exposed, hidden edges of the panels, which are never treated, and which will wick water into themselves. Once wet, the panels won’t be able to easily dry out (being mostly covered in what is essentially an unbreathable plastic bag) and the wood begins to rot from the inside out. What you get is a cabinet that’s less vulnerable to water stains, but far more vulnerable to mold and structural failure over the long haul.

In contrast, Studio Ecotopia’s natural finishes are like a bison hide tipi: good at keeping water out for a while, and great at drying out when they get wet, but not meant to be persistently waterproof (and carcinogenic) for a thousand years like PVC. Like a bison hide, if you were to let tomato sauce sit on the surface of a naturally-finished cabinet for long enough, it would stain. On the other hand, if you wiped it up in a timely manner, you’d never know it was ever there. This ability to keep bulk water out (for a time) while also allowing the free passage of water vapor is called “vapor permeability” aka “vapor openness”. The best houses being built today (natural buildings and passive houses) are all “vapor open” like Studio Ecotopia’s cabinets. This is because moisture is an inevitable part of the life of humans, and of wooden constructions. Wood and humans need to breathe, and coating wood in plastic is a recipe for causing long term harm to both.

​