This wasn’t a great concern in the good old days of the American frontier, when Nature’s bounty was there for the taking, and there were endless tracts of trees to use for dwellings and sustenance. However, rapid industrialization and explosive population growth have taken their toll – 400 years ago, half of the territory of the lower 48 states was covered in old-growth (also known as primary-growth), virgin forests. Today, only a tenth of those remain, and even they are threatened – 4 out of 5 acres of old forest in the Pacific Northwest are cleared for logging activities. Most of America’s remaining primary-growth forests are in national reserves and on public lands; while this provides a measure of protection, there are many business interests that constantly lobby for access to these resources, both the trees themselves and the minerals underneath; nature conservancy groups are engaged in a constant battle for preservation. Furthermore, protected forest enclaves are often cut off by man-made infrastructure, making it often very difficult or impossible for wildlife to cross from one patch of forest to the other, disrupting natural migration patterns, as well as reproduction.

Fortunately, deforestation both in the United States and other developed countries has stabilized, and even reversed in some cases. Second-growth forests that have risen in place of cleared-out primary forests don’t have the same soil profile and ecological complexity, but they do help fight climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon, and provide shelter for many species of birds, animals and insects.

The most severe deforestation today occurs in the developing world, such as South America, central Africa and South-East Asia, where large tracts of forest are cleared out to make way for agriculture, or to provide consumers in developed countries with cheap and abundant exotic woods. Indonesia, Brazil and the Congo are particularly afflicted by this problem, with tens of millions of acres of trees felled annually; weak and corrupt governments make it difficult to enact and enforce protections. In total, over 2 billion tons of carbon are added to the atmosphere due to deforestation – more than the combined contribution of all forms of transportation put together.

This is why flooring manufacturers and environmentalists alike have come together to find sustainable solutions for flooring. Recycled particle-board and laminate floors are one way to avoid an impact on forests, but most people don’t find this type of cover nearly as appealing as real wood. For customers who insist on actual hardwood flooring, logging companies have selected and bred species of trees that make for a long-lasting and visually-appealing product, while also growing quickly and being easy to harvest.

Bamboo flooring is a champion in this regard – while technically a grass, bamboo is a very tough and fibrous material, and has been used in East Asia for thousands of years, in housing construction, furniture, everyday items, and even writing implements. Bamboo grows thin and hollow, and can’t be made into a solid plank, but with current technologies, it can be glued together in strips to create engineered floors that last for a very long time. The best-known advantage of bamboo is that it’s also probably the fastest-growing flooring material in existence – up to an astonishing 2 inches an hour, under the right conditions. Compare that with an oak tree, which can take over a century to reach maturity, and bamboo turns out to be the gift that keeps on giving.

Another fast-growing source for flooring is eucalyptus. In truth, “Eucalyptus” is a rather large and diverse genus of trees in the Myrtaceae family, with most people being familiar with only a couple of species. The most widely-used eucalyptus product – the fragrant essential oil – is mostly produced from the leaves of Eucalyptus globulus; while used for timber, this species has poor lumber qualities and is difficult to process. However, logging companies have, in recent years, developed Lyptus – a hybrid of two eucalyptus species (E. grandis and E. urophylla) – which is a flooring manufacturer’s dream. It grows extremely fast, for a tree – in the right conditions, a Lyptus plantation turns over in 5-6 years. The wood is dense, uniform and close-grained; it’s versatile, easy to process and is, in many ways, superior to mahogany. Lyptus is a great innovation that can satisfy customer demand for low-cost, quality hardwood floors, while helping preserve rainforests.

There are many second-growth forests that can be safely harvested for flooring in the United States, as well – Appalachia boasts large swaths of hardwood forest, with a prevalence of relatively fast-growing Red Oak (Quercus rubra); many flooring companies are based in states such as Kentucky, and control both the logging aspect and manufacture of flooring, in order to make the process easy and cost-effective. The website Wikiflooring.com goes into great detail about the various wood species used to make hardwood floors, their properties, ease of care and sustainability rating.

There is a number of non-governmental organizations that help track logging to make sure that old-growth, unsustainably harvested wood isn’t being passed off as environmentally-friendly. The most prominent of these groups is the Forest Stewardship Council; founded in 1993, the group incorporates both environmental advocates and industry representatives, and attempts to use market-friendly methods in order to promote sustainable logging. FSC runs a certification program for organizations that conduct inspections; FSC floors are guaranteed to be grown, logged and sourced without causing loss of primary-growth forests worldwide.

After the wood is logged, it is then shipped to be processed at a plant. This is another area where the customer can research their impact on the environment. Most fast-growing wood is raised on plantations in warm climates, with South America being one of the leading producers. Wood sourced in North America typically comes from slower-growing species. However, costs and carbon emissions incurred during transportation are also an important factor. Many American flooring companies, such as Somerset, also control the entire chain of production – they’re headquartered near forests where timber is logged, and have manufacturing and milling facilities nearby, so the logs only need to be transported a short distance before they can be processed. Since timber is mostly processed as close to the logging site as possible, in order to avoid shipping material that will be sawed off and discarded anyway, domestically-sourced wood indirectly provides jobs for American mill workers.

Modern technology has made it possible to saw a log extremely efficiently, using every part of the round to make various construction materials. The photo that accompanies this article is a sculpture by Swiss artist Vincent Kohler, showing all the different profiles and thicknesses of boards that are obtained by sawing a typical round log. The boards can then either be machined down to a solid hardwood plank, or be cut into strips to make engineered floorboards. One of the advantages of engineered boards is that the multi-layered construction varies the direction of the wood grain, which in turn makes the boards more resilient and resistant to deformation from the effects of heat or water.

The flooring market has recently seen another revolution – the advent of Internet marketing. Previously, the customer would need to go to a brick-and-mortar store to buy flooring, but today, they can browse much larger selections online without leaving their home. Online retailers can also provide great deals on engineered and solid hardwood floors, due to their lack of overhead costs associated with maintaining a physical store. On the Internet, it’s also much easier to instantly find information about the provenance of any given hardwood flooring line, its sustainability and environmental credentials. For example, Floormall.com has an entire section, Floormall University, which explains the difference between hardwood engineered and solid flooring, as well as a primer on “green flooring” and some of the alternatives to hardwood.

With myriad options available to today’s consumer, it’s possible to buy hardwood floors that are cheaper and more environmentally-friendly than ever before.

 It could be your innermost desire to get a literally green floor by St. Patrick’s Day (thin green paint or stain over an old hardwood floor, for instance), but by green we mean a new floor that is environmentally friendly and renewable.  These days, getting a wonderful new floor installed or perhaps making it a DIY project, is easier than ever.  Floormall.com has great resources like a university (full of knowledge about flooring), a blog, and an online mall where there are hundreds of flooring options available.  Spring is  the season of renewal.  Why not let it apply to the flooring, or even one room, of your home?

Green Flooring at Floormall.com

A hot and very green flooring resource these days is bamboo.  This is a fantastic product in the looks department, and knowing that it is made from an extremely fast growing variety of grass, and produced by farmers on land in China (therefore enabling many people to get jobs), is a real A plus in the flooring material arena.  Floormall.com can show you photos of the planks and installations, in the several colors that bamboo flooring comes in.  The natural light color is super in an urban loft type of room and the caramelized variations offer a warmer and yet somewhat darker option.  There are even types of bamboo planks that have strip variations and these may offer a designer touch, and an exotic one as well.  Bamboo needs a certain type of glue to stick it down on concrete and although it does snap together, there are more complicated installation methods than laminate, with this flooring.  You can do it yourself but it takes elbow grease and flooring pros may be called for.  It depends on what you’d like to do. 

Green Floors at Floormall.com

Any type of recycled flooring is a green option of course.  Barn wood makes superior and antique looking flooring.  If you are so lucky as to be close to or friends with a farmer who has an aged barn that needs removing, then that’s a good source for these beautiful planks.  It all needs planing down, sanding then sealing to a uniform thickness and length.  Some places specialize in this if you don’t have the expertise or time to do it.  Floormall.com can give you more info on recycled lumber and also some places to look for it, and possible installers as well.  Real hardwood flooring is a bit harder to install than laminate, but it lasts a long time and depending on thickness, can be re-sanded and refinished several times.

Perhaps the best thing about shopping online at Floormall.com for your “green” flooring needs is the fact that you are not polluting the environment by driving all over town (or even the next city) to look at samples of flooring in various retail outlets.  You can compare looks and use and prices online.  No gas usage, no wearing out of shoe soles, no stress and no need to buy a disappointing lunch at a food court somewhere.  This mall will only help you, not hurt your wallet or waistline.

 Buy Flooring Online at Floormall.com

When something is hypo-allergenic it simply means that the product is manufactured with as few ingredients as possible — and it doesn’t cause reactions in most people who may suffer from various forms of allergies. In the industrial environment we live in today, many people develop allergies to a multitude of things. They can be allergies to chemicals used in the manufacture of flooring. They can be emissions put into the air by vehicles and machinery. People can be allergic to things they touch or put on

Green Flooring

Do You Have Allergies?

If you sneeze when you walk down the detergent aisle in a supermarket, or after following someone who is wearing perfume, or if you sneeze when there’s a lot of dust blowing around, then you are allergic to airborne particles. If you eat certain things (perhaps you are allergic to gluten — mostly in wheat products) or other foods like milk or berries or peanuts or shrimp, then those items may cause a rash or cough. Other things that can cause reactions are chemicals in unwashed clothing fabric or textile area rugs or upholstery, or formaldehyde or other chemicals used in the manufacture of some types of flooring. All of these reactions can be controlled by washing or avoidance or in the case of flooring products, looking at the labels and buying those that will be hypo-allergenic for you, personally.

Products That Are Hypo-Allergenic

Many products are made with the eye to help people who are sensitive to some substances. This benefits the consumer, and the aware manufacturer as that person will be grateful that there are many alternatives. Also, if you want to use laminate flooring to make yourself a spiffy new area in the family room, for instance, then unpack the planks (wear a light facemask if you are very allergic) and after disposing of the packing material, let the planks air out where a breeze can blow over them. Avoid moisture. It will help to buy laminates that are marked hypo-allergenic or “green” and that will give you a big head start.

You may find Hypo-Allergenic flooring at Floormall.com and Hardwoodbrokers.com