Sustainable Flooring
There are numerous criteria to consider in determining whether a flooring product is “green” and sustainable.
Understanding the manufacturing process, the materials used to make the product, and the expected lifespan of a product, are just a few points among various criteria that determines how green a product is.
All of the following factors should be taken into consideration when selecting sustainable flooring products:
- Products with post-consumer recycled content are the most likely materials to be diverted from landfill.
- Products with pre-consumer/post industrial recycled content are typically industrial by-products and are preferable especially where there are no materials available that have already been in consumer use.
- Products that conserve natural resources such as certified wood, cork and bamboo flooring, which are rapidly renewable materials in that they regenerate in a period of ten years or less. Certified products tend to come from sources that are methodically replaced, which all avoids the practice of clear-cutting.
- Products that avoid toxic or other emissions are naturally or minimally processed, or products that facilitate a reduction in polluting emissions from building maintenance.
Other sustainable flooring considerations include product durability, recycling alternatives, local content and transportation, and a comprehensive approach to life-cycle costs.
Once a flooring product is specified, we can also provide installation, maintenance, and finally reclamation at the end of the product's life-cycle.
