We believe that the extra step of mixing the powdered paint is well worth the peace of mind of knowing you are using the safest and most sustainable paint on the market. Our Natural Earth Paint for children contains only three ingredients, and the Earth & Mineral Pigments contain only one ingredient. Most pre-made paints on the market contain a variety of toxic chemical stabilizers, petrochemicals, fillers, and preservatives. Natural pigments provide an unsurpassed luminosity, depth of color, UV resistance, humidity resistance, and archival qualities. Conventional paints are the "fast food" approach that the mainstream paint industry thinks consumers demand, but we believe our customers deserve better.
- Our Ingredients: We source our pigments and natural ingredients from businesses across the globe, but they have plenty in common—each one is small, family-owned, and harvests its ingredients sustainably.
- Our Safety Testing: Our paints, pigments, and supplies have been tested by government-certified labs and are third party tested. They are labeled in accordance with ASTM D4236-94(2021). We take every precaution in selecting safer alternative ingredients when formulating our paints.
- Our Packaging: We use 100% post-consumer recycled packaging, home-compostable pigment pouches, and recyclable glass and aluminum bottles for our products.
- Our Facilities: We operate out of a solar-powered facility in Southern Oregon that also serves as a community drop-off site to reuse packaging materials. Additionally, all our kit boxes are created in a wind-powered facility.
- Our Certifications: We’re committed to a truly eco-friendly business model as reflected by our prestigious Gold certification from Green America, the highest rank for a green business.
- Our Contributions: We believe being eco-friendly means not only creating a sustainable business, but also a sustainable world. That’s why we give a portion of our profits from each purchase to organizations like One Tree Planted, Rogue Climate, Rogue River Keeper, Green America, and many more.
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We offer full refunds on any defective or damaged products. We also offer full refunds (less shipping costs) on elective returns if the product is in re-sellable condition and the return has been made within 3 months of the purchase.
Orders containing in-stock items are typically processed within 2 business days from when we receive the order during operating hours. If a purchase contains out-of-stock or pre-order items, we will ship the order once ALL items are available and it can be fulfilled completely. Once an order is shipped, you will receive a confirmation email with tracking information; please save this email in case of any issues with your order.
After a package leaves our facility, it becomes the responsibility of the contracted carrier to get it to you. Any issues or problems that arise must be resolved with them directly. For USPS orders in particular, we've be instructed that it is best for the recipient to first speak with their local post office regarding any concerns.
Additionally, you can monitor your shipment or file a claim for lost mail with each of the carriers we use: U.S. Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx.
We work hard to ensure orders are processed and received as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, we're unable to locate lost or delayed packages. We recognize errors happen and ask for your patience in those circumstances, but we will not ship replacement items or issue refunds until a formal determination is made by the carrier. Please use the resources outlined above to seek resolution if needed.
Yes! If you’re ordering from Europe, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, please click the appropriate link to visit the distributor for your region. We normally ship USPS International for international orders, and the order typically takes 2-3 weeks for delivery. Due to global constraints as a result of Covid-19, shipping times may vary, and additional delays can occur due to customs inspections. Since we never know if a package will be held at customs, any import fees or taxes applied to the delivery must be paid by the recipient.
We purchase our pigments from small quarries in countries across the world, including the USA, France, and Italy, depending on where that color pigment is prevalent in the ground. We manufacture our paints in Ashland, Oregon.
Our Natural Earth Paints contain corn starch, gum arabic, and natural earth & mineral pigments. Our Earth & Mineral Pigments contain only one ingredient—natural earth & mineral pigment! Check the Technical data tab on product pages of every product to see ingredients listed.
Our Natural Face Paint contains distilled water, natural clay & mineral pigments, organic castor seed oil, Certified Organic beeswax, Certified Organic Shea Nilotica (Fair-trade Shea butter), glycerin (from coconut oil), cetearyl alcohol (from natural vegetable oils), carrageenan seaweed, olive-mulse (olive-based emulsifier), and 1% Optiphen (a formaldehyde-free and paraben-free preservative).
We use 100% post-consumer recycled packaging, home-compostable pigment pouches, and recyclable glass and aluminum bottles for our products.
Our Natural Earth Paints are suitable for all ages 3+, while our Complete Eco-Friendly Oil Paint Kit and our Earth & Mineral Pigments are best suited for teens through adult artists.
Our paints are not intended for consumption. However, our Natural Egg Dye Kits are FDA approved for use in food! Our paints are great to use on children's toys and can be sealed with our Natural Varnish or Natural Acrylic Medium, but care should be taken to limit exposure in one's mouth.
All of our products are vegan-friendly except for the Natural Face Paint, which contains organic beeswax.
All of our products are free of gluten and dairy. Our only product containing nuts is our Refined Walnut Oil, but it is not processed in our facility.
Absolutely! None of our products are ever tested on animals.
The blue and purple pigments are our only pigments that have been fired and manipulated to get their vibrant color. Each is composed of 90% natural earthen clay and 10% man-made minerals (which are heated in an oven to a high temperature to create their vibrant color.) Throughout history, blues in nature were very rare and usually made with precious stones like Lapis Lazuli. These stones are now unsustainably harvested in Afghanistan, so we have found a beautiful and eco-friendly alternative.
Titanium dioxide occurs in nature as the well-known mineral, Rutile. Rutile is the second most abundant mineral in sand. It has been processed to extract the pure white mineral that we use in our paint kits.
To ensure the products meet our strict safety standards, each product is third party tested for heavy metals and bacterial contamination. Our customer's safety is our #1 priority.
It’s not healthy to breathe any type of dust into your lungs, even if it is eco-friendly (like our pigments). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems." When mixing paint, use caution to avoid creating clouds of pigment dust when possible. If you gently scoop the pigment onto a palette and carefully mix it with binder, it should keep the dust down. We recommend you wear a mask when mixing in dry form. People who are sensitive or concerned about dust should consider using a greater degree of protection. You can see specifics on how to mix your paints safely here.
Our Natural Earth Paints wash off of skin and other surfaces very easily with water. For help cleaning oil paint from your hands and body, our Pinerite Natural Hand Cleaner is the perfect all-natural solution. Our Eco-Solve can be used to clear oil paints off of hard surfaces, clothing, carpet, or fabric.
You can use the Natural Earth Paint Kit, the Complete Eco-friendly Oil Paint Kit, or the Natural Acrylic Medium on wood. The children’s Natural Earth Paint Kit is a water-soluble paint that dries quickly—it’s not a professional-grade paint, but it’s still beautiful and opaque. With this method, you should seal the wood with our Natural Varnish or Acrylic Medium to make it waterproof since the paint will rub off if it gets wet. Another option is using the oil paint from our Complete Eco-friendly Oil Paint Kit (pigment mixed with walnut oil)—it makes an archival, beautiful, professional, eco-friendly paint! This paint is oil-based, so it takes 4-7 days to dry to the touch. Using the Natural Acrylic Medium, you can mix the medium with our Earth & Mineral Pigments for a vibrant acrylic paint that dries faster than oil paints.
Yes! You can check our recipe for naturally colored air dry clay here.
On average, it takes about 4-7 days for oil paint to dry, but it may take shorter or longer depending on your surrounding conditions and the thickness of paint layers.
Earth pigments have been used by most indigenous cultures to paint their faces and bodies for thousands of years. Our Natural Face Paints are made with cosmetic-grade pigments and organic ingredients and are perfect for any kind of body painting. However, the children's paints contain gum arabic and cornstarch, which are safe ingredients but can be drying or irritating to some individuals’ skin with prolonged contact. We recommend using our Natural Face Paints instead because they’ve been specifically formulated to nourish the skin while providing vibrant, skin-safe color.
Yes! Earth & Mineral Pigments can dye fabric along with a mordant to set the color to the fabric. Most commercially-available mordants are potentially toxic, but we have tutorials for making permanent, eco-friendly, and natural fabric paint and fabric dye from soybeans. Alternatively, you can use our Natural Acrylic Medium to create permanent fabric paint by mixing it with any of our Earth & Mineral Pigments!
Yes! You can paint murals or decorative art on your walls with either the Natural Earth Paint Kit (water-based) or the Complete Eco-Friendly Oil Paint Kit (pigment mixed with walnut oil). You can also follow our wall mural earth paint tutorial and mix the Earth & Mineral Pigments with wheat paste as a binder, or use our clay house paint tutorial.
For metal and concrete, you should use an oil-based primer on the surface first—there are many online resources on the topic. Our paints are not intended for exterior surfaces or heavy exposure to harsh weather unless sealed with our Natural Varnish or Natural Acrylic Medium
The children’s paints in the Natural Earth Paint Kit are best used fresh. We recommend that you only mix as much as you need for one painting session, but the paints will stay good for several weeks if kept refrigerated. The oil paints in the Complete Eco-friendly Oil Paint Kit usually stay wet on the palette for up to a week, but any extra paint can be stored in aluminum foil, air-tight glass jars, or aluminum tubes. For more information on storing oil paints, visit our blog.
Yes! Please go to this page to learn more about our wholesale purchasing options. Complete the form at the top of the page and we will contact you within 2 business days.
Because we are a small, eco-friendly business that uses all-natural, sustainably sourced ingredients and materials, we are limited in what we can donate. However, we would be happy to offer 50% off all Natural Earth Paint products (shipping not included) and coupon cards for fundraisers. For more information, please email us at info@naturalearthpaint.com.
The Natural Earth Paint Kit is water-soluble (the powders are mixed with water to create tempera-like paint) and these clean up easily with water. This kit is intended for children of all ages, along with adults who enjoy craft projects. The Complete Eco-friendly Oil Paint Kit is for oil painters teenage and older. Artists mix these pure, powdered Earth & Mineral Pigments with Refined Walnut Oil to create oil paint with the same method used by the Old Masters of the Renaissance.
- Oil painters who are sensitive to or simply want to avoid exposure to solvents (white spirit, mineral spirits, turpentine), heavy metal toxins, petroleum-based pigments, and toxic preservatives.
- Students and teachers in schools and colleges where the practice of oil painting is prohibited because of the toxic solvents and the heavy metal toxins notorious in conventional paints such as lead white or any of the cadmium or cobalt colors.
- Artists working in shared studio space where the buildup of solvent fumes could lead to an acutely dangerous concentration of vapors.
- Artists who work within a small home environment and wish to reduce the odor of oil painting.
- Artists who want more vibrancy and luminosity in their paintings without fillers and preservatives to dull the color.
- Artists on-the-go who frequently travel by air and need a painting option that’s easy and safe to carry with them.
- Earth-conscious artists who want to protect the planet, take control of their materials, or mix their own paints like the Old Masters of the Renaissance.
Yes! Our Earth & Mineral Pigments are available in up to 1 lb. quantities, and our Natural Earth Paints come in large bags as well.