Select stylish sustainable flooring
for its durability and beauty

Gary Carnivele
Special to FineLife Home
Photo by Ryan Lely

The home industry has begun to tap into the sizable market of ecologically friendly products. There are now myriad carpets and flooring options available to contractors, homeowners and interior designers. The variety includes: recycled and recyclable nylon carpeting; all wool carpeting, some of which uses only natural materials; cushy cork flooring; and lustrous bamboo flooring.
“More and more of our customers are interested in purchasing products that are free of harsh chemicals and made of natural materials, and insist that their flooring was forested in an ecologically, economically and socially responsible way,” said John Charvat, owner of Carneros Flooring in Sonoma. “In fact I’m attending a home show in Las Vegas in search of more styles of wool carpets.”
Most nylon carpeting is a petroleum product, and the rising price of oil has created a narrowing price gap between synthetic carpeting and wool carpeting. Charvat revealed that wool carpeting currently makes up nearly 20 percent of his wall-to-wall business. Wool, which is shorn from sheep and thus highly sustainable, is available in a rainbow of colors and a wide variety of textures. Most wool is imported from Australia, Europe, India and New Zealand. Prices start at $3.64 per square foot for carpets by Couristan, Fiberworks and J-Mish and others.
Nylon carpets are certainly more durable and stain-resistant, but that gap is also closing. The Natural Reflections line of Shaw Carpets is made from existing Anso nylon carpets and is completely recyclable. Many types of textures, piles and colors make this the frontrunner in environmentally friendly synthetic carpeting. Many manufacturers of nylon carpeting are beginning to delve into the relatively new world of sustainable materials.
The most impressively green wool carpet available today is Bio-Floor by EarthWeave. The product is completely biodegradable because it is made only with natural raw materials. The company uses only naturally pigmented wool fibers instead of relying on harsh dyes. No stain protections or moth proofing are used. Other natural materials used are cotton, hemp and jute. The bonding is made of natural rubber from the rubber tree. Prices start at $5.80 per square foot.
Carpets and area rugs consisting of natural materials like sisal and either mountaingrass or seagrass reeds are woven into a distinctive array of organic textures. Manufacturers in Brazil, Greece, Kenya, Mexico and other countries put their cultural stamp on the flooring. It is very durable, but does need to be treated with a stain-proofing product. Chavarat urges customers to pay attention to manufacturers cleaning instructions. He said that the use of a vacuum with a beater brush can catch loose ends and cause serious damage to the weave. Prices begin at $1.77 per square foot.
Cork flooring, once more popular in commercial spaces, is gaining ground as sustainable flooring in homes. Cork trees grow in coastal regions of the Mediterranean where harsh conditions and depleted soil support little else of value. Cork is obtained from the bark of the tree, rather than the trunk. Living here in wine country, we can appreciate the fact that cork flooring is the post-industrial byproduct of the bottle stopper industry.
“Cork has become very popular in kitchens, because of the cushion and comfort it provides underfoot, and in wine cellars, because it really adds to the look,” said Charvat. “The millions of air-filled cells, per cubic inch, make cork great insulation, both acoustically and thermally.”
Cork flooring by manufacturers like Natural Cork, We Cork and Wicanders offer floating floor installation systems and residential warranties up to 25 years. The shades, stains and textures may come as a surprise to those who can only picture the dark brown squares found on bulletin boards. Bamstar offers vibrant colors like milky white, pretty pink, warm gray and chartreuse green. Square-foot sections of cork start at $6.13.
All bamboo flooring is not created equal. Consumers should look for Moso (Phyllostachys pubescens) bamboo, which is not a food source for pandas. All bamboo is technically sustainable, but buyers should beware when prices seem much lower than those of reputable manufacturers (starting at $5 per square foot). The increase in demand for bamboo has created farming of the plants.
“I’ve done a lot of research and I’ve found that Teragren, based in Washington state, is the best source for bamboo because the product isn’t farm-raised and they are very concerned about fair trade,” added Charvat. “The plants are harvested at maturity at about six years, leaving behind a thriving plant and new shoots.”
The Carneros Flooring Company, 254 First St. E., Sonoma; 707.939.1010; www.carnerosflooring.com