We live in a time, where thankfully a lot of people care about the environment and care about the products they use or buy and the effects on the environment. When it comes to flooring it is no different. Today flooring manufacturers are stewards of our environment, leading manufacturing standards and initiatives to protect our natural resources.Here are some eco-friendly and sustainable flooring options:
- Wood flooring that’s obviously and always natural and renewable, now with tough finishes for endless wear (think hundreds of years). It begins with forest stewardship and ends with complete natural recyclability. How about cork, an eminently renewable, wood-based material that lasts indefinitely and features natural characteristics which contribute to our own healthy environments, like moisture, mold, bacteria and insect resistance? Bamboo too! This is a very fast-growing material which, like cork, is being discovered and rediscovered as manufacturers push the boundaries of what can be done to enhance their looks and colors.
- Tile, ceramic, porcelain and stone that are made of natural materials and can last thousands of years; just look at early Roman examples still in use today!
- Area rugs made of natural materials like wool, silk, cotton and plant fibers…
- Even laminate that is made with a scoreboard of reclaimed wood fibers and is designed to last decades before needing replacement.
Carpet and resilient flooring are also good choices for eco-friendly and sustainable flooring.
One of the beauties of the new green flooring – and it is indeed beautiful – is that one can have a green floor based on one’s own definition of green and how one needs to establish a green environment.
Perhaps you want a material that is green form the get-go, like wood or stone or wool for rugs and carpet. But, it may just be as likely that you want your floor to last a long, long time to reduce pressure on resources and materials. Or, you may need a floor that is comprised partly of natural and manmade materials but requires little maintenance and certainly no harmful chemicals, just natural cleaners.
And by the way, these new green floors are not only a responsible, but a practical choice. If you are into saving green along with the planet, they are also quite affordable.
