hat does green flooring really mean?
This question can be answered in several different ways actually. Each way refers directly to the impact that a product's production, refining, or maintenance may have on the environment as a whole. Let's take a look at some of the options that make a flooring product "green".
The first and somewhat obvious choice to observe would be hardwood flooring. Hardwood flooring has existed for centuries - probably a lot longer - and has always been the prime choice for flooring. Unfortunately, up until recently, this industry was potentially causing a lot of harm to the world's supply of free-growing trees. However, with the growing awareness of our planet's limited resources and ability to reproduce some of those resources has brought attention to our needs as individuals and as a society as a whole to conserve.
So we come to how hardwood is green. Many different things can make hardwood "greener" than the next. The most important is probably the method of harvesting and controlled growth. Around the world, various companies have devoted large plantations to the preservation and strict controlled harvesting of their products.
Another method to make hardwood more "green" is the engineered wood process. Hardwood generally comes in two constructions: solid, and engineered. A solid product is just what it says, a chunk of wood milled into plank or strip form. It uses much more actual wood than the alternate. The more environmentally friendly engineered products consist of a veneer of the actual wood over a sturdy construction of lesser wood, such as plywood. At times, a second wood layer is added to the bottom as well.
A small portion of hardwood flooring's green factor is included into the maintenance suggestions. Chemicals are generally controlled by local or federal laws, but some of those that pass can still be harmful to the atmosphere. It is important to investigate which substances put out problematic fumes.
Green Cork Flooring
A highly popular form of green flooring currently on the market is cork flooring. While technically a wood, the harvesting process leaves the tree still alive and can be repeated many times during the trees 240 year lifespan. In this method, the bark is carefully removed from the Cork Oak tree and left to dry for some months before being sent into production. This entire process - of not cutting down the tree at all - is one of the most effective "green" methods available today.
For most other flooring products, the limitations begin to grow at this point. For linoleum and vinyl, harmful VOCs must be limited with the creation and recycling of these products. Newer products have safer, more environmentally sound methods and better recycling procedures to ensure the controlled and reduced amount of harmful toxins released.
Green Tile Flooring
Tile flooring - and wall tiles, roofing tiles, and any other kind of tile, for that matter - has long been an environmental form of flooring not given much acclaim. Tile is a great choice for the environment because of its simple manufacturing process. For thousands of years the methods have only become more efficient, but never changed. Mud, clay, dirt, and other natural components are heated in an oven - often multiple times - to create the sturdy product we are all familiar with.
