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For years, the Chicago River has turned green on St. Patrick’s Day. Now, one of the city’s oldest, biggest buildings is also turning green, only this green has benefits for the planet. The Merchandise Mart, an 80-year-old, 4.2 million-square-foot landmark, is preparing to become an official green building with an improved recycling program, installation of green roofs and solar panels and an indoor air-quality management plan.

How fitting, then, that the Merchandise Mart is the site of NeoCon, the annual contract furnishings trade show that has been devoting increased space and attention to new green initiatives in materials, resources and flooring.

With rising demands for sustainable options, manufacturers are developing flooring materials that are aesthetically pleasing, eco-friendly and cost-effective. “I remember when bamboo flooring was $8 a square foot,” says Bob Welty, director of integrated prototype solutions for WD Partners (Dublin, Ohio). “Now, as demand grows higher, it’s at the $3 range.” He says the variety of green flooring products has also increased and retailers are starting to incorporate more materials into their stores.

But, cautions Charles Sparks, president and ceo of Charles Sparks + Co. (Westchester, Ill.), the increased awareness of the environment hasn’t sufficiently increased the level of knowledge. “Everyone wants to go green, but some aren’t doing it right,” he says. “It’s up to designers and manufacturers to keep feeding retailers information about new sustainable products.”

At NeoCon in June, vendors tried to fill that knowledge gap, exhibiting more sustainable flooring than ever, including carpeting, concrete, cork, vinyl, bamboo and reclaimed wood. Lonseal, a Carson, Calif.-based designer and manufacturer of resilient flooring, presented its GreenVinyl™ initiative, which has reformulated most of its flooring products with 20 percent reclaimed, recycled content and low VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Mohawk Group, The (Kennesaw, Ga.) added planet-friendly carpet backing to its repertoire.

 

EcoDomo LLC (Rockville, Md.) exhibited a collection of recycled leather tiles that feature scraps bound together using natural rubber and Acacia tree bark. Antron Lumena®, a solution-dyed nylon fiber from Wichita, Kansas-based Invista (the former DuPont textiles and interiors division), qualifies for LEED certification with a recycled content of about 90 percent.

 

Carpet manufacturer (Cartersville, Ga.) is also pushing the green envelope. Its new line of handmade carpet tile, “Touch,” is constructed from recycled and recyclable Eco Solution® Q fiber and EcoWorx® backing. The company even features a LEED calculator on its web site to help users figure their qualifying points.

Sustainable hard flooring is also using reclaimed materials, such as wood, tile and concrete. “It used to be that designers shied away from reclaimed materials because of the cost,” says WD’s Welty. “But manufacturers are developing new ways to reclaim the wood and costs have gone down.”

TerraMai (McCloud, Calif.) sources reclaimed wood from around the world: old teak houses from Asia, redwood wine tanks from California. It features a “World Mix” flooring of hardwoods taken from old packing crate material. “It has a great aesthetic quality and it’s eco-friendly,” Welty says.

Sparks notes that obtaining wood flooring materials from sustainably managed forests that are controlled to meet regulations also contributes to the green initiative. “We have to take a holistic view of a product,” he says. “We should be aware of where it came from and if there have been any activities that may pollute or destroy natural habitats to get it.”

The jargon is all still a little confusing. But Sparks maintains that eco-friendly materials are becoming more understandable, more available and more affordable. “Eventually,” he says, “the day will come when using green materials will be a given.”

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