Truitt and White spearheads Bay Area Build It Green booth at local festival.

What started out a few years ago as a niche festival for green and earth-friendly products has blossomed into one of the Bay Area’s pre-eminent green showcases. The Green Festival, the two-day event held this past November, showcased everything from hemp rope, to organic foods, to eco-fashion wear.

One noticeable difference this year, though, was an increased awareness and passion for green building.

Ground zero for the green building buzz was at the Bay Area Build It Green booth, organized and spearheaded by Truitt and White, who collaborated with key green building players from the area.

Green allies

Participants partnering with Truitt and White and BABIG from the green building arena included architects and builders from the Green Remodelers Guild who helped staff the booth and provided photos of their projects along with real-world advice. Berkeley’s Green Resource Center was also on hand offering valuable information and expertise to participants, from choosing the right materials to advice on making their home more green.

Manufacturers such as Johns Manville, Tyvek, and James Hardie, among others, also staffed the booth, displaying their products and answering questions.

Several notable Bay Area builders and architects helped in the design and construction as well as staffing the booth. Architect Sean Culman from Solutions and Canyon Construction’s Sustainability Coordinator Jeremy Fischer worked with Truitt and White on building the booth, which was made from sustainable materials, including FSC certified wood.

“This is the kind of collaboration that moves green building forward,” says Judi Ettlinger of Truitt and White. “It’s an important part of what we do to support our builders and green building as a whole,” she adds.

Growing interest

Dennis McCullah, owner of Odin’s Hammer and a long-time Truitt and White customer, saw many changes from previous shows while staffing the booth. “I went to the same show three years ago and there were very few booths that had anything to do with building,” he says.  “And the few green building booths that existed people shunned. They just didn’t get it.”

This year was a different story. The booth was consistently jammed with curious attendees—some coming from as far away as Utah and Wisconsin.

People that came to the Build It Green booth asked numerous questions and are starting to understand that there are more healthy, durable, and overall better ways to remodel or build new homes. Questions ranged from what is indoor air quality; how does one make a home more green; and what are the cost and health benefits of building green.

Dennis DuPont, a Truitt and White representative, said interest was huge for projects of all sizes. “People wanted to know how to build as green as possible—even small projects like additions or closets,” he says. “They also asked whether there were green builders in their area,” he adds.

There were plenty of builders at the show all wanting to know how they could tap into the green market. 

The builders DuPont spoke with were looking to get into the green building niche and wanting to know who to talk to, how to become a green builder, and how to get involved in relevant organizations. “They know it’s growing and they want to be a part of it. They don’t want to be left out,” says DuPont.

Some builders have been reading about green building, and their clients have been bringing it up. These builders “felt like they’ve been missing out. They wanted to know more and become more involved,” adds McCullah.

Truitt and White prides itself on being at the forefront of the green building movement in the Bay Area. Sponsoring and collaborating to get the word out about green building is just one of many ways they support and encourage both builders and homeowners to choose their building materials wisely.

For more information on the organizations, manufacturers, builders, architects, and others who worked at the booth, go to the Build It Green website at www.green-build.org.