Flooring is one of the major indoor air pollutants of your home's interior space. Choosing GREEN and eco-friendly flooring options is key to improving your indoor air quality. Bamboo and cork are two of the most popular eco-friendly choices for flooring, but buyer beware! Here are some considerations to keep in mind.

• It's key to research where the bamboo is coming from. If it ships from afar, you might want to consider a more local resource, one that doesn't have such a high transportation cost associated with it.

• Understand how your flooring is manufactured. Pick the more eco-friendly options and avoid products that don't have a good story to tell consumers.

• Durability needs to also be researched as not all products are made alike or come from the same sources. Read the manufacturer's literature to ensure that their flooring will hold up as long as wood or linoleum options.

Look into PlybooPure (pictured in this dining room) as one of a few highly-regarded bamboo flooring options.

If you choose to go with a wood floor, look for locally reclaimed wood for the least impact on the environment. If you're looking at new wood flooring, make sure the wood is harvested from a domestic source to reduce energy expended in transportation costs. Wood from an FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) forest ensures that the foresters maintain sustainable growing and culling practices; look for their products first!

Laminate or engineered flooring uses younger trees in a process that gives you a highly durable floor with a plywood base and pre-finished wood top. If this is your favorite option, look for products that use no- or low-VOC adhesive products in the manufacturing and application process. Look for laminate flooring made with linseed oil and other natural materials; Marmoleum from Forbo (pictured in this bathroom) gives you many flooring options for any home design schemeand the eco-friendly material will be a good deed for both the environment and your family.

By DeAnna Radaj

DeAnna Radaj, owner of Bante Design LLC and its production division Eden Place Productions, is a designer who specializes in Integrative Lifestyle Design (the fusion of Eastern and Western interior design philosophies incorporating feng shui and healthy home principles).

Emer Schlosser
		About the author:
		Always a fan of words in various glorious forms – novels, dialogue, lyrics, etc – Emer translated her passion into a writing career in 2005. She has since supplied gossip on celebrities to Canadian Press, interviewed individuals from the arts for Inside Entertainment, expressed her fondness for food for Cheese Boutique’s blog, & co-founded, edited and contributed to iheartthemusic.com. At the moment she’s taking the mystery out of Green Living and providing some great tips on Home Renovation, Decorating & Design and Curb Appeal to the members of casaGURU.com. casaGURU, “the homeowner’s home online”, is a free web community that connects homeowners and local house experts.
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