By Kent Clauson, Marketing manager/Armstrong Floors
Your customer wants a green floor for her home. What do you say? Don’t answer! At least not before you ask your customer a question: “What exactly do you mean by green”?

You may be surprised by the variety of responses. Of course, most people will still focus on product quality and price when buying a floor or any product, but they also may be interested where the product is made and what it is made from.

There’s no question that the flooring industry, like so many others, is being affected by the desire to be green. Overall, our industry is responding positively, with products like hardwood, laminate and natural linoleum, each offering different attributes that respond to the desire for a green floor.

But there is no one answer because there is no one perfect green product. Some floors may contain recycled content or rapidly renewal resources but may not be made domestically and have to be transported from far away.

An industry colleague, Paul Shahriari, founder of the green building consulting firm GreenMind, likes to say, “Sustainability is a journey.” He says it helps to think of products as being “greener” than one another, but there is no straight route from start to finish. It’s a path of continual exploration.

Consumer research tells us that there are six key factors people consider in making environmentally responsible and healthful flooring choices: Indoor Air Quality, Raw Materials, Product Lifecycle, Installation, Manufacturing Processes and Maintenance. While no product can meet all these criteria, almost every one of our floors will address one or two of these areas. But, be careful not to overstate the environmental attributes of any one product; be honest and informational–and invite your customers to come on the journey along with you.

Today, retailers need to acquaint themselves with what their customers really want when they ask for green and guide them through the product choices, easily and responsibly. Look for the facts. Avoid greenwashing. Help your customers make well-informed decisions.

Consumers need a reason to purchase a floor from you. Few of us have extra money to spend, so we need a real reason to buy. While there’s a lot today that shoppers cannot control–like gas prices and mortgage rates–we do control our emotions and values. That means being greener, healthier and looking for products that are long lasting and well made, whether you’re buying a car or a floor. While consumers are watching their wallets now more than ever, they will spend with retailers who are knowledgeable and helpful, and they’ll rely on brands they trust.

So, keep asking questions. Educate yourself and your salespeople and be prepared to answer questions from your customers. In fact, we’ve tried to anticipate a few…

Q: I have a customer who is concerned about indoor air quality. What are some hard surface floors that I could recommend?

It is widely recognized that reducing the VOC emissions from building products helps to promote a healthy indoor environment. Many products meet or exceed very strict indoor air-quality standards such as CA 01350 and are FloorScore Certified for low VOC emissions. Flooring products that bear the FloorScore seal can include both vinyl and non-vinyl resilient tile and sheet and linoleum. Solid hardwood does not emit appreciable levels of VOCs; far lower levels than most kinds of carpet. In addition, solid hardwood is available prefinished by the factory: no dust from sanding, no fumes from chemicals, no waiting for the finish to dry. Factory applied urethane finishes also are much tougher and longer lasting than site-applied finishes.

Q: I have a customer who is asking about the raw materials used in flooring products. Another wants a floor that is made from renewable resources. What can I recommend?

Whenever possible, Armstrong makes its products with renewable or highly abundant natural resources, such as wood, limestone and clay, as well as recycled materials. For example, use of recycled content is integrated into composition tile manufacture, diverting more than seven million pounds of waste from landfills each year and sparing the use of equivalent virgin materials. Solid and engineered hardwood, of course, is a renewable resource, as is bamboo and linoleum. Make sure to tell your customers that solid wood is extremely durable and long-lasting; it can be refinished many times; its disposal impacts are minimal; and it’s a 100% renewable resource. And, not to be outdone, laminate flooring makes highly efficient use of renewable resources. It is made with 83% pre-consumer recycled content. In fact, it uses 95% of the tree, minimizing production waste, which is then used as fuel or in a variety of other products.

Q: My customer is concerned about the longevity of the floor and the impact on the environment. What floors may outlast the mortgage payment?

The longer a floor product lasts, the less impact it has on the environment, since less raw materials, transportation and embodied energy are used. Most hard surface products have very long lifetimes. In fact, some resilient flooring can be reused if installed using the loose-lay option. And hardwood and ceramic normally last the lifetime of the home.

Q: One of my customers is concerned about using adhesives when installing the floor. Are there any other options?

Many flooring products can be installed without using adhesives. When they are needed, look for adhesives that meet the strictest indoor air quality standards. Some products like locking hardwood and laminate, and StrataMax sheet vinyl don’t require any adhesive at all. Engineered wood and bamboo can be installed without adhesives using lock, staple and float techniques.

Q: My customer wants to know how she can clean her floors in a green way.

Some enhanced wear layers minimize the need for cleaning by protecting against stains. There’s no need to wax or strip most types of floors today, including prefinished hardwood floors. Now even some linoleum features a no-wax, high-performance UV coating so there’s no longer the need to wax or strip linoleum, too. Solid wood floors can be sanded and refinished if needed every 15 to 20 years. All urethane-coated floors can be recoated as needed to renew the surface.