Eco-Friendly Flooring Products

Make a green choice for your home by choosing eco-friendly options.

Recycled Products

Consider installing reclaimed flooring. Environmentally friendly, recycled materials are often of better quality than new materials, and use less energy. For example, in 2010, researchers calculated that producing new wood flooring consumed 13 times the energy used in reclaiming wood floors (See References 3, page 8).

Wood

Wood is a renewable resource; it is the practices foresters use to produce the wood that determines its eco-friendliness, however. Forest certification programs oversee sustainable forest management; some provide databases of retailers that sell products they certify, including flooring (see References 4).

Cork

Cork parquet flooring, according to a 2009 study using the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Building for Energy and Environmental Sustainability life-cycle assessment process, was the flooring product with the least environmental impact (see References 5, page 4). Made from recycled cork waste, this flooring has a lifespan of up to 50 years (see References 5, page 3).

Linoleum

Natural linoleum, made from renewable materials such as wood flour and linseed oil, is biodegradable and nontoxic, and requires almost no maintenance. It will last up to 30 years. In the BEES analysis, linoleum was second to cork parquet in environmental impact. (See References 5, page 3 through 9).

Bamboo

Bamboo is a hardwood-like grass; growers produce species used for flooring in three to six years, without the need for much fertilizer or pesticide. Many of the flooring products made with bamboo, however, use potentially toxic and polluting chemicals in their manufacture and are shipped long distances. Forest certification is now available for some bamboo flooring products. (See References 4 and 6)

Considerations

All bio-based, certified flooring choices are eco-friendly. Factors such as local availability, cost and maintenance requirements determine which materials are best. Note that researchers using the BEES analysis found carpet, particularly wool carpet, to have the greatest environmental impact. (References 5, page 8)