Hanover, MD, November 5th, 2008--The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) has recently awarded five product lines of Wicanders Cork Oak Floors with its prestigious GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® product performance certification. GEI is an industry-independent, non-profit organization that oversees the GREENGUARD Certification ProgramSM and establishes acceptable indoor air standards for indoor products, environments and buildings.

"We are pleased to welcome Amorim Revestimentos, as a participating manufacturer in the GREENGUARD Certification Program," stated Marilyn Black, Founder of GEI. "With the Wincanders Cork Oak Floor product achieving this certification, Amorim Revestimentos continues to show its commitment to good indoor air quality."

Amorim Revestimentos has been the environmentally conscious world leader in the cork industry for over 130 years, and is the proud manufacturer of Wicanders Cork Oak Floors. As world leaders, they are in a position to have a powerful impact on the preservation of our environment.

Amorim's cork products represent a unique balance between the creation of wealth and the protection of the environment. The cork industry is remarkably sustainable; it takes a natural raw material, extracted cyclically from trees without ever harming them, and turns it into high value-added products. The cork industry continues to promote the economic and social sustainability of areas that are at risk of desertification. The world's cork oak forests' role in reducing CO2, by preserving biodiversity and in fighting desertification, is now recognized as both fundamental to, and a unique example of, true sustainable development. Wicanders products retain the CO2 that would otherwise be contributing to global warming. The CO2 retention capabilities of Portugal's cork forests are estimated to be as high as 5%, or 4.8 million tons, of the country's annual emissions per year.

Paulo Nogueira, Managing Director for the North American division of Amorim, says: "It's important to choose materials that are good for the environment and good for the people who will be living in them every day. Healthy flooring choices can significantly impact the quality of the air people breathe."

The GREENGUARD Certification Program is voluntary and identifies specific products that have been tested to ensure that their chemical and particle emissions meet acceptable indoor air quality pollutant guidelines and standards. Amorim products were tested for over 2,000 potential chemicals in state of the art stainless steel environmental chambers, following global ISO standards. As a result and extension of Amorim's existing environmental commitment, they are able to offer the most environmentally sensitive products on the market--a true value-add!

According to Mr. Nogueira: "GREENGUARD Certification is another validation that Wicanders Cork Floors continue to meet and exceed some of the strictest guidelines for indoor air quality."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association, the World Health Organization, and other public health and environmental organizations view indoor air pollution as one of the greatest risks to human health. Poor indoor air quality can lead to allergies, asthma, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, and other health related issues. At a time when people spend over 90% of their time indoors, the GREENGUARD Certification mark is a valuable tool for architects, designers, product specifiers, and purchasing organizations that want to identify, locate, specify, and purchase off-the-shelf, low-emitting products for indoor environments.

In keeping with their commitment to environmental protection, health, and innovation, Amorim, in an exclusive partnership with BASF--the world's leading chemical company--have launched a new generation of cork flooring using Acrodur®, a purely water-based eco-friendly binder that contains no solvents such as the often used phenol-formaldehyde or urea-formaldehyde resins that give off emissions. Acrodur®, which significantly reduces off gassing, is now available in all Wicanders products.

As an ANSI Authorized Standards Developer, the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) establishes acceptable indoor air standards for indoor products, environments, and buildings. GEI's mission is to improve public health and quality of life through programs that improve indoor air. A GEI Advisory Board consisting of independent volunteers, who are renowned experts in the areas of indoor air quality, public and environmental health, building design and construction, and public policy, provides guidance and leadership to GEI.

A free, easy to use, online directory of GREENGUARD Certified products can be found at www.greenguard.org.

Amorim's North American Headquarters is located in Hanover, Maryland. For more information about Wicanders Cork Oak Flooring, please contact Amorim Flooring, N.A. at 410.553.6062, or visit Wicanders' Website: www.Wicanders.com or Blog: www.WicandersCorkOakBlog.com.