Floor covering manufacturers have made considerable progress in developing coverings, both hard and soft, that are healthier for building users because they have less impact on the environment. However, just because a floor covering is considered “green” or more environmentally preferable does not mean it will continue to have less impact on the environment and the health of building users once installed.
This was brought to light several years ago through research conducted by Greg Norris, Ph.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health. Norris studied a variety of hard surface flooring materials and concluded that because of some of the chemical ingredients found in conventional, non-green floor care products that were used to clean and maintain the floors, “the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from a single waxing is comparable to the amount of VOCs emitted from [a green] floor over its entire lifetime.”