Sustainability

We believe that ‘sustainability’ in the flooring realm should encompass 2 main points:

1) using natural materials that have sourcing and carbon sequestering advantages over competing products, and when adhesives and finishes are used, they are low-VOC and non-toxic, and

2) using products that are extremely durable, and therefore last a long time without the need for continual upkeep and/or replacement.

Our goal in our product selection and sourcing is to ensure all our flooring products epitomize these aspects. We ultimately see value in rapidly renewable species and real wood.

The bamboo used in our products grows up to 80’ in height in a span of 5 years, and then the material is harvested, processed, and used in our products.  And, then from the same root, another shoot pops up, and the cycle continues.  This continual growth and use ensure high levels of carbon capture and sequestration. 

The cork used in our products is grown on cork plantations in the Mediterranean, where centuries of cork growth have occurred.  Though cork is considered rapidly renewable, it is a tree unlike any other.  Once a tree reaches maturity (25-30 years in), the bark is peeled off the tree(s) every 9 years.  Once peeled, the bark is left to regrow, where it regenerates until it is harvested again in another 9 years.  This cycle, for each tree, can continue for hundreds of years.  The bark, with its captured carbon, is used in multiple ways in several of our flooring products.

Wood, like bamboo and cork, is a natural and carbon-sequestering material that we value.  Though it sequesters less carbon than an equivalent stand of either bamboo or cork trees over its’ life, it is completely natural, is extremely long-lasting, is bio-degradable, and provides climate buffering value.  When you compare it to other commonly used materials for flooring like PVC (toxic, high polluting, a landfill nightmare), tiles (mining-intensive), and carpet (typically non-recyclable, a throw-away commodity with short use cycle before it goes to the landfill), it becomes obvious that ‘natural’ materials provide greater environmental value and help us chart the path towards sustainability. 

It is our goal to bring sustainability under your feet (w/ commercial durability)!