Flooring & Floor Coverings

It’s what you walk on, so you want it to be tough: a floor that lasts 40 years is twice as green as one that only lasts for 20, all else being equal, because it uses up only half as many resources. For similar reasons, you probably care about how easily your flooring can be repaired or replaced. Carpet tiles are a great example, because you can replace the tiles in the high-traffic areas without having to replace the entire floor carpet.

Besides that, the primary green issue for flooring relates to its chemical make-up— does the material have a significant recycled content, and can it be easily recycled? If you visited the factory where it’s made, would you find a lot of smelly chemicals lying on the ground, or being dumped into rivers or air? You want to know what’s in that flooring or carpeting, and what chemicals it will be releasing into your home and lungs.

Helpful resource: Healthy Building Network www.healthybuilding.net