Reply by Douglas Bordner

Shellac is very eco-friendly. You eat some every time you take coated pharmaceuticals, fancy chocolates. Alcohol is the only solvent.

The water-borne finishes are sure to be more friendly than lacquer, or oil-based products which utilize drying agents.
You should look over Jeff Jewitt's website, as well as Target Coatings. I swear by the Oxford Ultima spray acyrlic lacquer. So much less toxic and fuel-air bomb scary than shooting Magnalac, Deft, etc.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.