From vinyl to linoleum to rubber, when it comes to flooring the resilient category is probably the most diverse in terms of the kinds of products offered. While products may vary in terms of construction and usage, each offers its own environmental friendly benefits, in addition to the category as a whole having a positive green story.
Following are just some of the benefits offered within the resilient category as well as within some of the specific subcategories:
• The click technology on today’s tile and plank products are completely glueless, eliminating possible volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that negatively affect indoor air quality (IAQ).
• By eliminating the use of glue in these types of products, less resources are needed.
• Many of today’s resilient floors utilize sustainable and rapidly renewable materials, including biobased components.
• Vinyl flooring contains increasingly high amounts of preconsumer and postconsumer recycled content. Some of this is from old floors and some comes from other sources, such as used drywall and other types of plastics.
• Maintenance and care is minimal, reducing the need for cleaners that could contain hazardous VOCs.
• New technology in sheet products has reduced the need to use adhesive under the entire surface of the floor. Today, many resilient floors can be laid using little to no glue. Some require using glue on just the perimeter, while others, such as glass-back floors, can be simply be laid down.
• Floors utilizing a click system are moveable without causing any damage to the subfloor or product. Meaning, these floating floors can be repurposed multiple times, thus extending the product’s lifecycle while reducing the need to use more resources to create new products.
• Most resilient floors don’t produce any off-gassing and help maintain healthy IAQ in the space.
• Linoleum floors are made of cork powder from the bark of the quercus suber, which is harvested by stripping the bark off the tree and leaving the flesh unharmed.
• Linoleum also contains linseed oil, made from flax (RRP) which takes around 100 days to mature for harvest. In addition, it could contain pine rosin and limestone.
• Linoleum does not require a finish and eliminates the need for further materials to manufacture sealants. The absence also ensures improved IAQ.
• The lifecycle of linoleum is nearly unparalleled in the floor covering industry. The famous Rockettes of New York City have been dancing on the same linoleum stage in Radio City Music Hall for decades.
• Floors made with natural rubber are made from the sap (latex) of the hevea brasiliensis, or rubber tree. The older the tree, the more latex is produced.
• Rubber tiles are recyclable at the end of life and can be used for other rubber products.
• Manufacturers are starting to incorporate more postconsumer recycled content in their rubber floors.
• Rubber flooring is eligible for LEED credits across categories such as materials and resources, IAQ, energy and atmosphere, and innovation and design.
• During manufacture, vinyl is mixed with flame retardants so it is safe for the home or commercial environments.
• Resilient flooring has been a mainstay in hospitals and other healthcare environments because they are easy to maintain by keeping medical spills on the surface.
• Resilient products are eligible for third-party FloorScore certification for indoor air quality from Scientific Certification Systems, as well as sustainable attributes under NSF 332.
• Technological advances have allowed production of resilient floors to include natural materials, such as limestone.
• Designs in luxury vinyl tile (LVT) products are actually printed. Advances in this area have allowed manufacturers to realistically mimic natural products such as exotic wood species without harvesting a single tree.
