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Hardwood

Hardwood is a great green flooring choice because of its natural, renewable, and recyclable properties. Not all hardwoods, however, are automatically environmentally friendly. Hardwoods that are harvested without replanting the forest can lead to an adverse impact on the environment. There are a variety of programs that certify which hardwood products are environmentally friendly. The key is to look for the certification label or materials to verify that a product meets green standards. The most common product certification programs are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) that certify wood from specially-managed forests.

Purchase hardwood floors. It is recommend that hardwood flooring be certified as environmentally friendly to ensure that the wood is not “clear cut[cm1] ” (is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in a forest sector are cut down) but harvested in a sustainable fashion. Only 4% of the nation’s own native, old-growth forests are still standing. The U.S. is the world’s largest importer and consumer of timber woods and products.

Benefits of Hardwood:

• Natural Resource
• Enduring lifecycle
• Renewable
• Recyclable
• Suitable for a “healthy home” environment
• Forests are managed for replanting