The Environmental Benefits of Wood Flooring

Environmental Benefits of Wood Flooring

Hardwood floors are a great choice because they’re made from trees which are a renewable resource, highly durable, good for people with allergies, and won’t harm the environment. Let’s look at what specifically makes hardwood flooring environmentally friendly.

Abundant and Renewable resources

Trees are one of the most abundant resources that we have on our planet, in fact, they’re all around us. To preserve this fact, when 1 cubic feet of forestry is cut down, 1.66 cubic feet is replanted. That means there’s more trees growing then there are being cut down.

Indoor Air Quality

In order to grow, trees use the carbon in the air and replace it with oxygen. Even after you have installed the floor or wall paneling, the wood will continue to store carbon, making the flooring carbon-neutral and better for air quality. Additionally, unlike carpet, wood does not trap dust particles. If you suffer from asthma or allergies wood flooring is a great option for you, and keeping your space free of allergens becomes easy and inexpensive.

Less energy

Wood uses less energy to harvest and produce unlike other construction materials like concrete or tile. It also requires less energy to rejuvenate a tired wood floor by sanding and refinishing rather than pulling up an old floor, taking the materials to a landfill, and replacing it.

Wood Floors can Last Hundreds of Years

Wood floors can typically last decades or even a century in your home which is good for the environment and will save you money. Unlike carpet, tile, or other flooring options, when wood starts to dull or look worn, it can be sanded and refinished to look good as new.

Can be reused/recycled

In contrast to old carpet, for example, that must be ripped out and taken to a landfill after its useful life, hardwood floors can be recycled and/or reused. Once the floors can no longer be reused, they can also be used as firewood for fuel.

WoodCo is FSC certified

SCS Global Services leads in environmental and sustainability certification. The SCS program recognizes achievements in green building, manufacturing, forestry and more. FSC is the most rigorous international standard for responsible forestry granted by SCS. Being certified means that WoodCo is an environmentally responsible manufacturing company. It is a chain of custody to certify WoodCo for production of wood flooring made from responsible sources. This certificate provides assurance to you that the wood used in WoodCo’s FSC Certified flooring comes from forests that meet stringent environmental, social, and economic standards. The FSC Chain of Custody certification ensures certified wood products are tracked from certified forests and responsible sources to final product (and if applicable, that qualified recycled materials are used). Read more about our FSC certification here.

One step further - Reclaimed

In addition to all these benefits listed above, using wood reclaimed from old buildings is even better for the environment because no additional trees need to be harvested. With reclaimed, you also get a great look and unique history that comes with the wood. Check out a few of our most popular reclaimed products: Wheaton Wallboard, Galera (engineered plank flooring), Edinburg (solid plank flooring).

As always, if you’re interested in learning more about the environmental benefits of wood flooring, more about wood in general, or more about WoodCo, reach out to our wood experts today! We are happy to answer all of your wood related questions.