Eco-Friendly Flooring Options for a Greener Home

Flooring manufacturers are continually innovating new processes and materials that combine aesthetic appeal with eco-friendliness. From classic wood designs to trendy concrete options, there are eco-friendly flooring choices for every look and taste available today.

They believe in the concept of a triple bottom line – prioritizing people, planet, and profits equally – while also emphasizing transparency, creating a healthy work environment and investing in their community.

Concrete

Concrete floors have become an increasingly trendy eco-friendly flooring choice. Their durability helps improve indoor air quality by absorbing pollutants and toxins, while they can also be stained using eco-friendly concrete stains that come in an array of colors.

Reclaimed wood flooring can also be an eco-friendly flooring choice, made from pre-loved materials that might otherwise end up in landfills. Furthermore, local sources provide more sustainable options by shortening distance between forest and home.

Or consider bamboo flooring: this renewable resource boasts a much shorter harvest cycle than traditional hardwood, making it more eco-friendly than its hardwood counterparts. When shopping for hardwood floors, make sure they are FSC-certified – this signifies they were harvested from forests which adhere to sustainable and ethical forest management practices and guarantee you’re purchasing truly eco-friendly product.

Stone

Integrating eco-friendly options into your home doesn’t need to be an inconvenience in style. From Scandinavian minimalism to rustic farmhouse aesthetics, there are flooring solutions that fit seamlessly with an environmentally-conscious lifestyle.

Concrete flooring is one of the most eco-friendly choices, constructed from renewable sources and recyclable after its life cycle has concluded. Installing eco-friendly concrete floors in your living spaces can reduce its carbon footprint while adding sophistication.

Natural stone tiles offer another eco-friendly choice that are both beautiful and long-term durable, perfect for any room in your home and are available in an array of styles to complement any aesthetic. Just be sure to purchase locally-sourced stones to limit carbon emissions during transportation processes. Linoleum flooring can also make a home more sustainable – composed of renewable ingredients such as linseed oil, cork dust, jute fibers and wood flour; this natural product can easily biodegrade over time!

Cork

Eco-friendly home renovations are on the rise. Solar panel installation and zero VOC paint use are two popular examples, while flooring upgrades such as bamboo, cork or linoleum flooring provide natural insulation benefits that lower heating costs while decreasing your carbon footprint.

Cork can be harvested without harming trees, and its growth cycle reoccurs every 8-10 years, making it an incredibly sustainable material. Some manufacturers even utilize recycled wine bottle caps from their production process as flooring to reduce environmental footprint.

Cork provides a soft, comfortable surface underfoot while being hypoallergenic and resistant to mold and mildew, while simultaneously absorbing sound for insulation purposes and offering sound absorption capabilities. Furthermore, many products available today are both water resistant and fire retardant.

Hardwood

When designing a green home, images of dull earth tones and recycled materials may come to mind. But thanks to innovative technology and manufacturing processes, environmentally-friendly flooring options have never been more stylish or appealing.

Wood floors are one of the most environmentally-friendly choices available to you when selecting flooring for your home. Their production requires less natural resources and energy consumption while emitting less toxic emissions during production.

Virgin wood scores lower than reclaimed hardwood because its harvest and transport require more energy and resources. When searching for companies offering virgin wood products, make sure they source it from forests certified by Forest Stewardship Council to ensure sustainability.

Bamboo flooring is another outstanding choice for wood floors. It grows rapidly (to maturity in five years as opposed to 20 years for most hardwoods) and doesn’t need chemical treatments like most hardwoods do; hence making it suitable for high traffic areas as its durability makes it hardwearing enough.