Forbo is the world’s leading supplier of linoleum, a floor covering which has been made from natural materials such as linseed oil, rosin, wood flour and jute. A perfect fit with sustainable building projects, the company’s market leading linoleum brand, Marmoleum, has 97% natural raw materials, 72% of which are rapidly renewable and 43% recycled content. Marmoleum boasts 12 independently awarded eco-labels, including the Nature Plus, Nordic Swan and Blue Angel marks and Cradle to Cradle accreditation.
Eco-Worx from the Shaw Contact Group uses 100% PVC-free materials with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) ensuring safety for human health and the environment. The flooring weighs 40% less than traditional carpet tile backing for easier installation and more efficient shipping; has a superior performance to traditional PVC tile backing with 8x greater tear strength, 5x greater tensile strength, and 2x greater delamination strength; contains 44% (8% post- consumer | 36% preconsumer) recycled content; contributes to LEED credits for recycled content, low emitting materials and innovation in design; uses low VOCs meeting CRI Green Label and Green Label Plus Certification.
“Over the past five years alone, output and profits have risen by over 50%. Learning from Far East competition has let us get in-house costs down to the “China price”. This has then let us re-shore production back to the West, add local manufacturing jobs, and build exports. In 2013 there will be further expansion and recruitment in Coventry and Atlanta, with the installation of extra production lines. We are therefore playing our part in the wider national goals of rebalancing national economies and building export led growth,” he says.
Laws
Without doubt legislation has played a pivotal role in the last five years or so in sustainable flooring manufacturing as well as disposal. New laws, particularly out of Brussels, are boosting the manufacturing of better products by restricting harmful substances and making the reuse or recycling of flooring easier than throwing it in to landfill sites,
for example. Such measures are making sustainable flooring products far more commonplace and within easy reach of retailers even on smaller budgets. One of the biggest pieces of legislation to affect the industry is REACH, the EU’s six year old chemicals regulation. REACH gradually restricts the use of intentional and unintentional release of substances from preparations and articles and has had a significant impact on the flooring sector by banning use of substances such as the plasticiser dioctyle phthalate (DOP). Some manufactures maintain they were already ahead of the curve in this respect. Amtico, for instance, says it “actually removed DOP from [its] products well before this chemical was identified by REACH”. “We do have to meet legislation and regulations for Amtico Vinyl
flooring, and any other product category that we will introduce in the future. We operate very stringent testing to ensure we meet regulations,” says the company, which has an established technical
JUNE 2013 | RETAIL ENVIRONMENT 53
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