Bradco Kitchens and Baths: A Leader in Healthy Design.

Austrian-born native Michael Kienzl said he wants to take his company, Southern California-based Bradco Kitchens and Baths, in a direction that most benefits his customers. As one of the first stores to ever use PureBond®, a formaldehyde-free manufacturing system designed by Columbia Forest Products, he's looking to educate as many people as he can on the healthy rewards of purchasing environmentally-friendly household amenities.

Bradco supplies a large selection of eco-friendly products including cabinets, sinks, fixtures and faucets, and vanities and tiles. Not only does Kienzl, who is the president, want to offer his customers healthy options, but he also wants to lead by example, which is why he said he chose to incorporate the PureBond® product. On top of that, he went the extra mile to get his company certified by The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

"Columbia adheres to our philosophy of providing products with the safest materials," Kienzl said about incorporating PureBond into its offerings. "We practice what we preach. We are an environmentally-friendly, family business. At home, we've been recycling for many, many years, and are very strict to switch off the lights, close off the running water. It's not just to save money, but its a way to prevent pollution. When we say we are environmentally friendly, we mean it."

Having the option of purchasing products without formaldehyde gases embedded in them is viable to Kienzl for many reasons, especially personal ones. Telling a customer about the advantages of formaldehyde-free products, Kienzl said he is somewhat passionate about the topic.

"A lot of education still needs to be done," Kienzl said. "When I explain it to a customer, I compare breathing in years of subtle formaldehyde to parking a little car in your kitchen, turning it on and letting it run. Formaldehyde, at the least, can cause runny eyes and a scratchy throat, and at the most it can cause cancer; like the kind you could get from second-hand smoke."

Emphasized in his childhood memories are the advantages of clean living. Growing up on a farm, "I grew up very, very healthy," he said.

"Unfortunately, when we moved to the city, I lost my dad to melanoma cancer and my mother has beat breast cancer twice," Kienzl said. Because of that, he has made it a personal mission to sell the cleanest products possible.

Another way to offer the "cleanest products possible" is by becoming FSC certified. The process incorporates a system of checks and balances that makes sure wood is only from responsibly managed forests. It took more than two months to complete the improvement process that includes annual audits and provides Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) points (a transparent rating system that supports the U.S. Green Building Council).

"I feel that we are playing a little part to make the world a better place," Kienzl said. "I'm a soldier of healthy living."