Dal-Tile Corp. is making a bold impact on the environment and in the industry with its Daltile Greenworks and American Olean Greenworks programs that help architects, designers and builders easily research eco-friendly attributes of each brands’ manufactured products and obtain data necessary for achieving green credits and building certifications for their projects.
When Delaware’s Brandywine School District set out to complete the largest renovation project in the state’s history -- a two-year, $44 million renovation of P.S. duPont Elementary School -- education was the first priority. “But preserving the history that surrounds us was a close second,” said John Read, Brandywine’s construction manager.
Motel 6, known for offering a clean, comfortable room for the lowest price of any national chain, is saying “sayonara” to carpet and “hello” to a clean, green, wood-effect laminate flooring in its new Phoenix Prototype and property renovations.
A collective sigh of relief may best describe the sentiments of the cork flooring industry these days. At a time when many areas of flooring are struggling, cork is finally shedding its niche product image and stepping squarely into the mainstream. Manufacturers say the rise in popularity can be explained with one word: Green.
Very few products have stood the test of time as well as linoleum flooring. It’s no small feat to still be around after 100 years. Look what happened to the Ford Model T, which was also introduced in 1909. It’s even more remarkable that Armstrong linoleum is essentially the same product now as it was then -- made from renewable raw materials and recycled content.
We have passed the tipping point. The market has shifted so that sustainable flooring materials are readily available for clients at every budget level. Though there’s still room for improvement, we no longer have to compromise goals for performance, aesthetics or cost when specifying environmentally friendly flooring materials.
The amount of recycled content, while undoubtedly important, should not be the first — and certainly not the only — green criteria when choosing carpet. An important step should be considered before even thinking about new floor covering: What’s going to happen to the existing carpet?
