Eco-Friendly Flooring Products

Eco-friendly flooring products are becoming increasingly popular as both builders and homeowners are becoming more aware of the impact that their flooring decisions have on our environment.  The flooring industry has taken a pro-active stand when it comes to offering green choices and alternatives for our residential flooring and commercial flooring spaces.

Here are some of the labels you might want to watch for when selecting your next style of flooring:

LEED® Certification

What does this mean? LEED® Certification is defined as follows:

“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design.”

Since 2004, the CaGBC (The Canadian Green Building Council) has certified over 2,800 LEED® buildings in Canada, and registered over 5000.  This is the second highest number of LEED® projects anywhere in the world. What this tells us is that Canadians are focused and innovative in their search to provide products that are friendlier to the environment than in years past.

At Atmosphere Flooring in Chilliwack, we are finding that Canadians are becoming more interested in purchasing environmentally-friendly flooring products. While not every project is going to be LEED® certified, there are many ways to reduce your impact and keep it green, especially when it comes to flooring.

Floorscore® Certification

What is FloorScore® Certification?

FloorScore® is the most recognized indoor air quality (IAQ) certification standard for hard surface flooring materials, adhesives and underlayments.  FloorScore® qualifies for many green building schemes including LEED v4, WELL, BREEAM and CHPS. Flooring types include luxury vinyl tile, luxury vinyl planks, sheet vinyl, vinyl composite tile, solid vinyl tile, rubber and linoleum.

Green Label Plus

Green Label Plus certification proves that the product has been tested and certified by an independent laboratory and has met stringent criteria for low VOC (volatile organic compounds) emissions.  This is especially important for people with environmental issues such as allergies or asthma. Check the data on your carpet selection for their seal.

Many flooring products are made of recycled components, or are recyclable at the end of their usage. Some types of flooring can also be re-installed in a different space (laminate, floating sheet vinyl or vinyl plank).  Check with your local Habitat for Humanity or other stores that sell used building supplies. The manufacturer of your selected flooring will be able to tell you whether their flooring utilizes recycled components or is recyclable at disposal.

At Atmosphere Flooring in Chilliwack, our flooring experts are here to answer your questions and assist you in making any kind of environmentally responsible selections you need. We provide various types of flooring including hardwood flooring, vinyl flooring, carpet flooring and more. Contact us today to speak with one of our flooring experts.