By Bob Kilbury
Considering building or remodeling with eco-friendly flooring? Now it’s easy to be green without any added inconvenience and little or no cost penalty.

Environmentally compatible products are as affordable and as readily available as the products most people have always used, and now there are many socially responsible flooring products from which to choose.

For wood floors, cork is considered to be eco-friendly because it’s harvested from sustainable resources. The cork tree itself is not harmed since only the bark is harvested. It is not unusual to have a 200-year-old tree still producing cork bark. Just the bark is taken, causing no damage to the tree, which re-grows new bark.

Bamboo is another eco-friendly flooring material that is catching on in popularity. It is tough, attractive and has an exotic appeal. Bamboo is actually a fast-growing grass rather than a tree. Farms nourish a small shoot into a mature plant in just a few years. Environmentally, it’s hard to find fault with a wood-substitute that matures in three years, regenerates without replanting and needs minimal fertilization.

Durable, classic hardwood flooring is also experiencing resurgence in popularity. Manufacturers have been looking at a number of ways to bring homeowners a rich looking, yet affordable material that is environmentally responsible.

From barns to floors

Reclaimed wood—recycled lumber from old, existing buildings, naturally fallen trees and other sources—has come into play.

One more plus for hardwood is the often-overlooked fact that most wood suppliers continue to plant anywhere from four to eight new trees for every one they harvest. This responsible way of doing business has been standard practice for decades.

Linoleum is another category of environmentally preferred floor covering. Linoleum has been around for years. It is less resilient than vinyl, but it’s produced from renewable materials, such as linseed oil, rosins, wood flour, jute and pigments that are ecologically responsible. Composed of all natural ingredients, this biodegradable product is truly a low-toxic flooring option.

Carpet manufacturers have really stepped up to the eco-friendly plate. The major companies are embracing green initiatives, and they are showing exciting progress in their efforts to make floor coverings become more environmentally friendly.

Where the green movement may have once been considered trendy and flamboyant, it has quickly become a common practice simply because it is the right thing to do.

Bob Kilbury is director of marketing for Floor To Ceiling. He has over 30 years of building products industry experience, including top marketing positions with companies such as KraftMaid and Aristokraft Cabinetry, Formica, Juno Lighting and CYRO Industries. To contact him, call 952.890.8979.