Make no mistake about it: The green movement is real and here to stay. This is not a trend; in fact, the concept of the 3Rs— reusing, recycling and reducing—has been practiced for decades. But these days environmental consciousness is at a fevered pitch.
Awareness began to pick up steam at the height of the Industrial Revolution, when environmental concerns came in the form of water and air pollution, endangered species and mounds of waste. (According to the U.S. Census, by the mid-1990s, Americans were creating 4.3 pounds of trash per person per day.) The highest hill around a typical U.S. city would often be a landfill. But once it was determined that we, as individuals, families and corporations, could do something to better the world’s future existence, the green movement flourished.
It all has to do with the fact that the world has a fixed amount of natural resources— some of which are already depleted. And the population growth is straining those resources. If we intend to leave our children and grandchildren with a better world, we must do our part. Everything we buy, what we do or do not conserve, and what we recycle has an impact on the planet, positive or negative.
That vision of an eco-sensitive life as a series of choices about what to buy appeals to millions of consumers. Homes are equipped with solar panels and remodeled with reclaimed hardwood flooring. The garage is lighted by fluorescent bulbs, which use a fraction of the energy and have a much longer usable life than incandescents. That same garage may house a hybrid vehicle, which is in vogue not necessarily for its better gas mileage but for its lower emissions. Front-loading washing machines are among today’s hottest purchases because they save as much as 7,000 gallons of water a year and have lower operating costs.
Some 35 million Americans regularly buy products that claim to be earth-friendly, according to one report—everything from organic beeswax lipstick, that comes from the west Zambian rain forest, to the Toyota Prius. With baby steps, more and more shoppers browse among the 2,500 products available under Home Depot’s new Eco Options program.
Yes, with millions of consumers now actively trying to greenify their lives, manufacturers are entering this “eco-sphere” with an increased focus on green products. Consumers look for companies that are making an effort to “Make it green, make it effortless and make it visible.”
The flooring industry is no different. In fact, every segment is kicking it up a notch, and many companies have major environmental platforms. Every day the carpet mills move closer to their dream of a closed loop system. Cradle to cradle is the primary focus. Words like recycling—or derivatives thereof—reclaim, reuse and responsible creep into every mill’s vernacular. In the past two years, companies like Mohawk and Armstrong have introduced products that replace a portion of fossil fuel reliance with that of corn. Hardwood suppliers are taking great strides to ensure the timber they source is done responsibly.
With this in mind, the flooring retailer must be armed with as much information as possible to address the green-conscious consumer’s concerns, queries and needs. Hence,
FCNews’ industry-first Green Guide, whose goal is to put all that is green in one place. In these 84 pages, you will find articles from the FCNews staff as well as those from the suppliers themselves, including information on what they are doing as companies to be eco-friendly.
FCNews is doing its part, too. For every page of advertising in this issue, we are planting 500 trees in various forests around the country in the name of each sponsor. Hey, it’s a start.
