What Healthy Materials Lab does

Healthy Materials Lab (HML) is a non-profit design research lab established in 2015 and housed within Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York City. The organization is dedicated to reducing human and environmental exposure to toxic chemicals in the built environment by providing architects, interior designers, affordable housing developers, design educators, and consumers with curated resources on healthier building materials. Its core technology offering is the Material Collections Portal — a searchable database of vetted healthier building products featuring ingredient disclosures and a wide array of certifications (Health Product Declaration, Declare Label, Environmental Product Declaration, USDA Biobased, Cradle to Cradle Material Health, GREENGUARD Gold, FSC, Living Building Challenge Red List Free, and others). Complementary offerings include CEU-accredited on-demand Master Classes (delivered via Thinkific), the free Academic Network for design educators (gated by .edu email), the open Building Healthy Homes database mapping affordable housing implementations across the US, the Donghia Healthier Materials Library (a physical sample library at Parsons), and the Trace Material educational podcast. HML also conducts applied research, most notably on HempLime construction systems, and has executed demonstration projects including the PA Hemp Home (2020-2022) and The Rose mixed-income housing case study in Minneapolis.

HML's business model is a hybrid non-profit structure. Primary support comes from foundation and government grants (including a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 2020 and a Ramboll Foundation + Henning Larsen grant in November 2024), individual donations collected via GiveCampus, and institutional backing from Parsons School of Design and supporters including MOD-Lab. Modest earned revenue is generated through affordable paid masterclasses on the Thinkific platform, each conferring 1.5 CEUs. Go-to-market is community-led: HML leverages academic networks, design industry exhibitions (ICFF, NYCxDESIGN, Ambiente), media coverage in publications such as Architectural Digest, Metropolis, and Architectural Record, and direct partnerships with affordable housing developers (First Community Housing, Foundation Communities, DON Enterprise, Aeon, Hope Community) to drive awareness and adoption. Distribution is primarily digital and self-serve globally, with field engagement at exhibitions targeting enterprise audiences.

Name

Healthy Materials Lab

Legal name

Healthy Materials Lab

Website

https://healthymaterialslab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Healthy Materials Lab is a non-profit design research lab at Parsons School of Design that provides architects, affordable housing developers, design educators, and consumers with curated databases, CEU courses, and educational resources on healthier building materials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Healthy Materials Lab is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from individuals and organizations to fund operations and expand resources for healthy materials education.
2. Foundation and Grant Support: Supported by grants from foundations including Ramboll Foundation and others. The organization is generously supported by foundations and supporters for ongoing research and education programs.
3. Educational Courses: Masterclasses offered through Thinkific platform at affordable prices, offering CEUs (1.5 per masterclass) for professionals in design and architecture fields.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Healthy Materials Lab is a non-profit design research lab at Parsons School of Design that curates and disseminates resources on healthier building materials. It operates a vetted Material Collections database, delivers CEU-accredited masterclasses, maintains the Academic Network for design educators, runs the Building Healthy Homes database of healthier affordable housing projects, and conducts applied research such as the HempLime construction program.

Product overview

Healthy Materials Lab is a design research lab at Parsons School of Design offering educational resources and databases focused on healthy and sustainable building materials. The core offerings consist of the Material Collections Portal (a searchable database of vetted healthier building products), Master Classes (on-demand online courses on material health topics), the Building Healthy Homes Database (an open map of healthy affordable housing projects), the Academic Network (free membership for design educators with syllabi and teaching tools), the Donghia Healthier Materials Library (physical sample library for Parsons community), and the Trace Material Podcast (educational audio series). These products collectively support architects, designers, builders, and educators in making healthier material choices for the built environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Donghia Healthier Materials Library: A materials library at Parsons School of Design offering access to vetted healthier building products for students and faculty.
• Trace Material
• HML Master Classes
• Building Healthy Homes
• Healthy Futures Fund

Products and services

• Material Collections Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• ~700,000 occupants now live in healthier housing developed through HML partnerships
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DON EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020DON Enterprise is a consumer-controlled nonprofit in Western Pennsylvania that empowers people with disabilities. They led the collaborative PA Hemp Home project with HML, using HempLime insulation for healthy affordable housing renovation in New Castle, PA.
• Determined by Design (DbD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Interior design firm specializing in affordable housing for 15+ years. HML and DbD collaborate to identify healthier materials, create material matrices, and transform affordable housing across the US with elevated, equitable design approaches.
• Aeon and Hope CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Developers of The Rose mixed-income housing project in Minneapolis. HML conducted case study research on healthier material specification and procurement processes for this sustainable housing development.
• Parsons School of Design / The New SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthy Materials Lab is an integral design research lab within Parsons School of Design at The New School. The institution provides academic infrastructure, student access, and institutional support for HML's research and educational initiatives.
• MOD-LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMOD-Lab is listed as a supporter of Healthy Materials Lab, providing support for the organization's operations and mission.
• AmerichanvrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for HempLime building materials, providing expertise in hemp hurd and HempLime construction. Expert HempLime builder Cameron McIntosh from Americhanvre participated in the PA Hemp Home project.
• UK HempcretecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based expert HempLime builder Alex Sparrow from UK Hempcrete provided expertise for the PA Hemp Home project, contributing international knowledge to US affordable housing applications.
• Pennsylvania Housing Research Center (Penn State)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducts energy and performance testing on HempLime applications, analyzing thermal and insulative properties. Research findings are disseminated to Pennsylvania businesses and residents.
• First Community HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAward-winning nonprofit Public Benefit Housing Development Corporation in San Jose, CA. HML collaborated on healthier material specifications for their affordable housing developments serving low-income residents.
• Foundation CommunitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit affordable housing developer in Austin, TX integrating education and healthy living. HML supported their pursuit of Enterprise Green Communities certification and LEED Platinum criteria.
• Well-DesignedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in Ambassadors of Healthy Materials program, supporting HML's mission to promote healthier building environments.
• Columbia Forest ProductsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturer providing PureBond hardwood plywood products (NAUF/f formaldehyde-free) for healthier affordable housing projects including PA Hemp Home.
• DaltileminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTile manufacturer providing products including Keystones and Articulo lines for healthier affordable housing implementations.
• Forbo Flooring SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlooring manufacturer providing Marmoleum linoleum products (phthalate-free, low carbon footprint) for healthier building projects.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC): Operates the LEED green building rating system, which is the dominant incumbent certification framework that incorporates material health credits. Broader and more established than HML, with overlapping influence on specification decisions in commercial and affordable housing.
• UL Solutions: Global safety science company offering testing, inspection, and certification services including UL GREENGUARD for low-emitting products and material health validation. A broad incumbent that overlaps with HML on the certification/transparency side but operates at much larger scale across many product categories.

Direct peers

• Architecture 2030: Non-profit organization working to transform the built environment from a major carbon emitter to a solution for the climate crisis, with strong focus on materials and product specifications. Comparable to HML on advocacy, education, and material-related research for the built environment.
• Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute: Operates the Cradle to Cradle Certified Material Health certification program for building and consumer products. Directly comparable to HML on material health assessment, ingredient transparency, and serving as a reference for specifiers seeking healthier products.
• Material ConneXion: Materials library and consulting service curating innovative and sustainable materials for designers, architects, and product developers. Closely analogous to HML's Material Collections Portal and the Donghia Healthier Materials Library — both are curated, specifier-facing material libraries.
• Healthy Building Network: Non-profit research organization focused on reducing toxic chemical exposures in building materials; operates the Pharos material health database. Highly comparable to HML on mission (healthier building products), output type (curated material transparency database), and target users (architects, developers, specifiers).
• International Living Future Institute: Non-profit that runs the Living Building Challenge, Declare Labels, and Just Program — all centered on material health, transparency, and regenerative design. Comparable to HML as a standard-setting and education-focused non-profit in the healthy-materials space.

Emerging players

• New Buildings Institute: Non-profit working to improve building performance and decarbonization through codes, policies, and programs. Comparable to HML on the policy/code-change pathway (e.g., HML's IRC HempLime adoption parallels NBI's zero-energy code work) and on serving as a non-profit resource hub.
• Building Transparency: Non-profit that operates the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool, providing transparency on building product environmental impacts. Comparable to HML as a mission-driven database serving specifiers, though focused on carbon rather than chemical health.

Others

• ASTM International: International standards organization that develops technical standards for materials, products, and systems — many of which are referenced in HML's Material Collections. Enabling/ecosystem role rather than direct competitor, but shapes the same specification ecosystem HML operates in.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/parsons_hml
• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://healthymaterialslab.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://healthymaterialslab.org

Compliance16 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Healthy Materials Lab