RE: DESIGN
Stepping out
In today’s marketplace, even flooring aesthetics can go a long way towards giving a retail outlet a competitive edge; forming a lasting impression on the consumer, encouraging them to browse or even to make a purchase. But if the image isn’t backed with environmental credentials, are aesthetics enough? Retail Environment reports
If a customer knew the flooring they were walking on contained toxic chemicals that create emissions that could lead to weakened immunity, disrupt hormones and reproductive organs, cause cancer or come from a supply chain that was actively contributing to deforestation would they continue to shop? Fortunately times are changing and the amount of harmful substances and unsustainably sourced materials found in flooring is diminishing rapidly – partly due to laws; partly due to customer pressure. Increasingly environmentally-savvy retailers, for one, are more often than not selecting flooring products made from biodegradable raw materials or free from harmful chemicals as part an overarching pursuit for sustainability. Speaking on his experience of working with retailers, Allan
Rennison, strategic accounts manager at UK flooring company Amtico says: “For every project, retail customers do need to be assured of our environmental and sustainability policy, from production, post production to recycling. It is this, along with other factors such as product choice, durability, design aesthetics, maintenance which will influence the flooring specification.” Marks & Spencer, for instance, has searched for a flooring which
meets the criteria laid down in its ‘Plan A’ sustainability strategy. The retail giant chose and co-created with UK firm Nora rubber floorings a new type of flooring based on natural as well as industrial rubbers. The materials are mixed with minerals from natural resources and further components, drawn into blanks, pressed and then vulcanised under heat and pressure. They are also classified as flame-retardant and do not contain any PVC, plasticisers (phthalates) or halogens, such as chlorine.
“All of our floorings are environmentally compatible and are given
the Blue Angel Award which is the oldest environmental standard in the world and is only given to products with low VOC’s [volatile organic compounds]. We now offer a complete system (nora system blue) which contributes and promotes clean air in buildings,” says Nora.
Home grown Another factor dictating flooring choice is local manufacturing, which is becoming a bigger selling point for retailers, according to Rennison. “Being a UK manufacturer, with a factory in Coventry, has been a factor with retail customers in choosing its flooring over competitive products often sourced in from the Far East,” he argues. “We pride ourselves on our in-house design and local manufacturing capabilities – it is what sets us apart from our competitors. We continue to innovate and invest in production and have consistently increased manufacturing capacity in our Coventry and Atlanta, US factories.
52 RETAIL ENVIRONMENT | JUNE 2013
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