Carpet Network Blog - "What's Under Foot" » wood http://blog.carpetnetwork.com Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:51:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Raw Materials http://blog.carpetnetwork.com/2009/03/09/raw-materials/ http://blog.carpetnetwork.com/2009/03/09/raw-materials/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:22:27 +0000 Christine Rankin http://blog.aboutgreenfloors.com/?p=17 What factors determine if floor coverings are green?  Green flooring includes any flooring that is sustainable, eco-friendly, contains recycled content, is recyclable, leaves a small carbon footprint or has low VOC’s (volatile organic compounds).  There are different degrees of green associated with different types of flooring.

Raw Materials:

Consider categories of flooring that begin as a natural product such as WOOL, WOOD and CORK; or are made from RECYCLED MATERIALS.

  • Soda bottles can be melted down and recycled into carpet fiber.
  • Some carpet manufacturers have the ability to take post consumer carpet and break it down to its original raw material.  The new material can be manufactured back into carpet without any degradation of quality to performance or styling.
  • How products are harvested is critical – legal logging and chain of custody certification for example.  Sustainably harvested products should always be selected.
  • Salvaged products are a great choice.  Many hardwood flooring manufacturers are reclaiming raw materials from riverbeds and dilapidated buildings.
  • Choose products that are certified as environmentally friendly.  There are a number of third-party organizations that provide certification.  These would include the Scientific Certification Systems, Forest Stewardship Council, GreenGuard Environmental Institute, Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
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