Wood floors declared eco friendly
Wood flooring has now received a great boost in the fight to be considered as an eco friendly floor choice by consumers.
The Obama Administration has given its support to wood as an environmentally friendly building material and the endorsement will be used to promote wooden floors across America.
Jamey French, president of Northland Forest Products, told the website FloorBiz: “This has been a long time coming and recognition of our industry is well-deserved.”
“For too long wood has been discriminated against in green building standards or ignored by environmentally-conscious consumers.”
Many customers prefer to choose bamboo or cork flooring as these products are known for their eco-friendly credentials and cutting trees down for wood floors does not suggest that these are sustainable floors.
In most countries, however, wood flooring is constructed with timber which is sourced from sustainable forests where trees are constantly being replanted.
As sustainability was less of an issue historically wood flooring would have been detrimental to the environment but as society has become more eco-conscious, so have wooden floors.
The US Department of Agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, said: “Studies show wood compares favourably to competing materials.”
This will be a welcome announcement for those within the wood flooring industry and with consumers because wood floors have a timeless popularity which suffered when sustainability became a higher priority.
