When it comes to built-in green qualities for a highly technical product, not many can compete on the same level as laminate flooring. Throw in the various ecofriendly characteristics added by individual manufacturers and it becomes an easy choice for anyone purchasing or specifying a hard surface floor.

The following are just some of these traits as well as some of the more general initiatives individual mills are undertaking to make the laminate flooring as green as can be:

• Laminate is made from wood chips/fiber. Mills can use any type of easily renewable species—pine, oak, Eucalyptus and so on.

• Everything but bark and leaf are used so close to 90% of the tree is utilized, making for less waste. The little waste that is generated is usually used as a bio-mass fuel to help heat and operate manufacturing facilities.

• Laminate floors can effectively imitate any type of material, no matter how scarce or ineffective a flooring material the real thing is. From exotic and endangered hardwoods to rare stones, not a single tree is felled or rock mined. Why? Laminate’s visual is actually a photograph of the real thing. Using the latest in HD imaging, manufacturers can replicate the slightest details of an object.

• The decorative paper layer is generally printed using water-based, low-VOC inks.

• Laminate flooring requires minimal maintenance. This means no harsh chemicals are needed to clean the product. Plus, many cleaning products specified for laminate are 100% biodegradable and VOC-free.

• Most of the product’s cores are produced using recycled materials, with some ranging between 75% and 100%.

• Just about all laminate floors now utilize some type of mechanical locking system. This means there are fewer materials and resources needed to install it.

• In cases where glue is needed, there are adhesives that are third-party certified to meet the country’s most stringent IAQ standards.

• Because of these locking systems, laminate can be easily repaired without lifting or replacing the whole floor. Single planks can be removed and new ones “clicked” in.

• Laminate can be installed with little need for any power tools, which means less energy, less noise and less waste.

• Laminate flooring is a very durable and long-lasting product. How durable? Laminate floors have been used in bowling alleys, racquetball courts and even the decks of ships. This results in less need for replacement and thus, less material being discarded and sent to landfills.

• Many laminate manufactures no longer use adhesives in the manufacturing process—products are created using only heat and pressure.

• Many mills now package their laminate products in cartons that are made from recycled cardboard.

• Because of its mechanical locking system, laminate floors can be reused so they can be donated to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity instead of being thrown into the landfill.

• Similar to the carpet and resilient sectors, the North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) is working on a nationally recognized sustainability standard through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).