SOME of Winnipeg's biggest flooring stores have seen the future. And the future is green.
Recycled flooring materials and sustainable hardwood products such as engineered hardwood -- which uses less old-growth hardwood per square foot -- or bamboo, which grows like grass because it is grass -- are increasing in demand as customers try to reduce the environmental footprint of their footprints.
The Floor Show's Dan Rosenblat sees environmentally sensitive flooring as a growth market.
"We started pushing the 'green' concept this past summer," says Dan Rosenblat, The Floor Show's specialist in all products green. "The reason for that was simple -- we wanted to be a leader in the green market. Our slogan is 'First to the future.' We're here to help people make easy, sensible green choices. So far, the response has been excellent."
Flooring mogul Bill Knight agrees that major flooring manufacturers are definitely getting on board the green bandwagon.
"They really are," he says. "Just recently, one of our major area rug suppliers came out with a totally environment-friendly line that has 75 colours and patterns. These days, it seems that everybody's trying to find ways to make their products green."
Curtis Carpets' Wayne Curtis agrees.
"It's very exciting -- one of the largest manufacturers, Shaw (backed by none other than Wall Street tycoon Warren Buffet) is very serious about going green -- they just sent us six samples of their new product, and they're all green," he says. "There are already carpet pickup spots in places like Minneapolis, and I hear that two or three spots will be coming to Canada fairly soon."
Both Knight and Curtis agree that while green flooring products are in their infancy, that won't be the case five years from now.
"It's not a huge issue now, but five years from now, we'll probably be having a different conversation," Knight says. "With companies like Shaw and Dupont spending millions on research to develop products that meet new standards, I think you'll see green products gradually take over as time goes on. In two to five years, they'll be the hot product. Now, the manufacturers have to get the message out to consumers."
Making those choices is becoming easier with each passing day as flooring manufacturers respond to the public demand for more green products, Rosenblat adds.
"That's why one-third of our store is dedicated to green products -- there's now so much more flooring products to choose from than say, six months or a year ago," Rosenblat explains. "With market leaders like Shaw and Mohawk putting green programs in place, other manufacturers are following suit. The result is that there's more green flooring products -- carpeting and hardwood flooring -- than ever before."
Little wonder that manufacturers are producing broader, deeper lines of green flooring products: with 135 million square feet of carpet being deposited in landfills around North America each week and more than five billion pounds of carpet going to those landfills every year -- and 90,000 acres of forest lost every week -- going green makes sense.
"For example, ordinary nylon carpeting won't biodegrade for about 400 years -- that's why manufacturers now will pick up carpet instead of letting it pile up in landfills," he says. "It's then taken to a special plant where the carpet is broken down into its original state. Once that is accomplished, the manufacturing process starts all over again; this process can be repeated an infinite number of times."
The by-product of this recycling process are green carpeting products, some of which are made up of 100 per cent recycled material (P.E.T. polyester), while others are at the 25 per cent mark (type 6 nylon).
"Even in the last six months, big strides have been made in that area. Products that were made up of 10 per cent recycled material are now at the 25 per cent level, which will continue to rise. Those products then can be recycled again, and again."
As far as hardwood flooring products are concerned, an increasing number of manufacturers of green hardwoods are abiding by Forest Stewardship standards. That means that their hardwood products use waste end pieces to create new plank flooring. Incorporating this manufacturing process means that hardwood products with high density cores can use up to 66 per cent less wood -- or trees -- to make the same square footage. That translates into using only four trees for green products, versus 10 for traditional ones.
"The great thing about those products is that there isn't as much space in the high density cores, so you get a harder, more durable floor," Rosenblat says.
Of course, natural products such as cork and bamboo remain excellent choices because they are naturally sustainable.
"With cork, you just strip the bark from a cork oak tree -- no trees are cut down to harvest the material. The great thing about cork is that it will grow back in about five to seven years, and can then be harvested again," he says. "Bamboo is another great sustainable product. It's actually a grass that can grow one to four feet a day, and it's that fast growth that makes it a highly sustainable product. It's durability is also excellent. A horizontal fibre pattern gives you a more traditional look, while a vertical pattern produces a floor surface that can be much harder than oak."
What about two key concerns: price, and durability?
"Top manufacturers wouldn't be putting their muscle behind these products if they didn't perform to a high level, so when it comes to green flooring products, you're not giving up anything durability-wise. And now that more manufacturers have come out with lines, there's no price premium. Green products aren't inferior, or more expensive; you're not giving up anything," Rosenblat says.
With increasing numbers of consumers jumping on the green bandwagon, he adds that he expects the demand for green flooring products to skyrocket in coming years.
"Now that people are being made aware of its availability and benefits, I fully expect the demand for the products to increase exponentially, especially because younger buyers are very aware of environmental issues," he says. "As long as you can get the quality of traditional products at the right price -- and today's green flooring products have both -- there's no reason not to go to it. Just ask, and it's available."
lewys@mts.net
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