Fireclay Tile’s handmade tile serves as the design inspiration inside a 1960s kitchen whose sustainable renovation pays homage to its modernist roots.
Environmentally Friendly Flooring
What makes a floor “green”? There are many factors to consider when choosing the best flooring for your home.
Sustainably Sourced Flooring
For many, the most obvious answer is that the material used to make the flooring was sustainably sourced. That would include hardwood flooring sourced from FSC certified forests, or wool carpet from ethically raised sheep, or cork which can be recycled or harvested from trees without harming them, or tile made using recycled materials.
Non Toxic Flooring
For the health of your family, you will want to choose a flooring which was not manufactured using harmful chemicals such as volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). You can find information on low chemical choices in trustworthy green databases. Be sure that you also look at how it is installed with underlayment and adhesives.
Durable Flooring
To be sustainable, flooring needs to be durable. You don’t want to have a long useful life. High quality sustainable flooring will ensure that you enjoy your selection for many years to come. Be sure to look for products which can be easily and safely cleaned and refinished.
Embodied Carbon
Because there is so much volume in the flooring in your house, you will want flooring which is manufactured in a way which makes conscientious use of energy and water. Think about transportation costs to get it to your site as well. Your floors are also a good opportunity to look at opportunities to sequester carbon in your home. For instance, cork which is harvested and minimally processed holds carbon and then the tree pulls more carbon out of the air to make the next generation.
End of Life
You need to consider the entire lifecycle of your flooring. In a ideal case, your flooring would be cradle to cradle certified and be up-cycled into another product? If not, is it recyclable? biodegradable?
Ask a Pro
When choosing your flooring, be sure to purchase from a reputable dealer who understands the health benefits of green flooring. If you don’t feel that you are getting a straight answer, look elsewhere. A room full of toxicity will cost you more that short term savings.
For beautiful and sustainable flooring options, check out our
Eco-Friendly Flooring Product Showcase
Fireclay Tile Proves Good Design Can Also Do Some Good
Fireclay is unique from anyone else in that they hand-make every tile to order using recycled materials and sustainable manufacturing practices. They come in tons of shapes and colors using a natural VOC-free pigmenting process.
Casa Zero: A Home Where (Microscopic) Life Flourishes
Focusing on craftsmanship, salvaged materials, and biophilia, CarbonShack’s first branded home achieved LEED Platinum with a West Coast–shingle mashup style.
#EcoRenovate Reveal: Two Bathrooms Undergo A Green Makeover
Handmade tiles and nontoxic paint marry to give the main and guest bathrooms inside a 1960s penthouse a green makeover, pulling color cues from the surrounding Chicago scenery.
Fernwood Demonstrates Affordable Net-Positive Eco-Renovation
A modest, Arts and Crafts–style home was lovingly renovated to the highest green standards. Today it’s healthy, beautiful, and budget-friendly.
Home Textiles Industry Calls for Eco-Friendly Fabrics
Home textiles touch our lives every day, and all night. The industry has issued a collective call to sustainability, showing innovation in eco-friendly fabrics.
Italian Masters of Style Champion Sustainable Tile
Here are some of the Italian brands of sustainable tile, making a difference as they lead the way in home decor trends.
Non-Toxic Rugs Anchor Your Room in Health and Sustainability
We’re so pleased to share brands that pride themselves on their ethics, sustainability, creativity, and design in producing eco-friendly, non-toxic rugs.
Elemental Green Founder Sheridan Foster Dishes on #EcoRenovate
Are you planning to renovate your home? The product choices you make can have a huge impact on your health and the planet. Elemental Green’s Founder and CEO Sheridan Foster gives us some such examples as she walks us through our first branded renovation in Chicago’s Hyde Park.
Cosentino Surfaces Were ‘Going Green’ Ahead Of Their Time
Built on a foundation of innovative technology and forward-thinking manufacturing, surface giant Cosentino has been considering the planet since its inception.
#EcoRenovate Reveal: A Sustainable Living Room Comes To Life
Mindful materials, eco-friendly manufacturing processes, and responsible business practices ruled our selections for #EcoRenovate as a sustainable living room took shape.
Trend USA Recycled Mosaic And Tiling
Long before it became fashionable, the Trend Group declared a commitment to implementing real-world processes that protect and preserve the planet’s resources.
Teragren Non-Toxic Bamboo Products for Your Home
Teragren bamboo products reduce dependence on dwindling timber resources. They’re sustainably sourced, promote green building, and are LEED compatible.
7 Green Building Trends Home Buyers Are Helping To Set
“Eco-friendly” is getting a chic makeover. From innovation in materials to major curb appeal to biophilia and bringing the outdoors in, these sustainable trends are leading the charge when home buyers are hunting for their next home.
Sustainable Home Gyms: How to Set Up Your Own
Setting up your own sustainable home gym lets you keep fit while staying environmentally friendly. Focus on where your equipment and furnishings came from; what’s in them; and flexibility and efficiency in how they’re used. You’ll be surprised at how great you can feel about feeling great.
#EcoRenovate Breathes New Life Into an Architectural Icon
Step inside a 1960s historical gem in Chicago, originally designed by I.M. Pei and Araldo Cossutta, as Elemental Green sustainably renovates a penthouse unit.
Eco Friendly Flooring Product Showcase
As a discerning green homeowner, every choice you make involves a variety of factors. And floors are no exception. You have to love how it looks, like how it feels on your feet, trust that it cleans up without too much effort and lasts a long time – and since you care about the planet that we live on….it needs to be healthy and eco-friendly, too.
Nature’s Carpet Environmentally Friendly Wool Carpet
Nature’s Carpet’s line of carpets has been tailored to the consumer who wishes to make a flooring purchase decision with consideration to its environmental impact, but does not wish to sacrifice quality and style in doing so.
The Pros and Cons of Using Reclaimed Wood
Reclaimed wood is really on trend now. But is it right for your home? Learn the Pros and Cons of reclaimed flooring and how to select what is best for you.
Tesoro Woods Sustainable Flooring
Tesoro Woods is a certified advocate of sourcing sustainable materials and using eco-friendly, low- VOC finishes and glues to minimize the impact on indoor air quality and health.
Daltile Tile & Stone Walls and Floors
Daltile specializes in wall & floor tiling for any style and any room. Ninety-eight percent of the products contain post-consumer recycled materials, and many of their products can help you earn LEED credits.
The Habitus Collection Sustainable Floor and Wall Materials
Fine and sustainable architectural finish materials Habitus Finishes LLC is proud to offer this curated collection of fine architectural finish materials. Their products and services are offered to both the trade and private customers. Habitus' team of experienced...
APC Cork Sustainable Flooring
APC Cork is one of the top North American distributors of cork flooring, offering a variety of floating floors, residential and commercial glue down tiles, cork underlayments and flooring accessories.
Kirei USA Sustainable Bamboo and Wood Substitutes
Since 2003 Kirei has been dedicated to providing beautiful, sustainable, functional design materials to help innovative interior designers and architects design elegant, creative interiors. Kirei’s goal is continual introduction of new materials for you to design with, while improving business practices to be as sustainable as possible.
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