SUSTAINABILITY & RECYCLING Low-Impa


The Prestige Flooring Co., a luxury flooring specialist based in Surrey, offers its adv options for the


As each year passes, it seems we become more and more environmentally concerned, leading to an increasing number of buyers prioritising the planet in their choices.


With the news blasting doom, gloom and environmental crisis, it’s no surprise that, for many buyers, comfort is becoming just as much about a clean conscience as it is a high-end feel. Eco- conscious consumers are making more informed buying choices at all levels- from swapping dairy for plant milk, right up to the big investments like new flooring. As retailers, we need to know how to keep up with this trend when supplying the residential sector.


It’s important to know what options are out there so that, when you start discussions with a new client, you’ve got the information, options and suppliers ready to hand. When talking with a client, make sure to assess what kind of eco choices they are looking to make. Are they wanting completely zero-impact eco flooring, or simply more environmentally-friendly alternatives to particularly impactful luxury items? We’ll run through a few options for customers at various points in their eco- luxe journey. Carbon footprint, resource consumption and use of chemicals that can impact waterways are all different factors to consider and different buyers will have slightly different priorities.


Use Natural Materials


When using natural materials, the less processed the better. Looking beyond just wooden and natural stone floors, there are many woven natural textures that deliver an unexpectedly rich, earthy atmosphere; such as sisal, coir, seagrass and jute. These materials often have a much lower carbon footprint than wood or stone, as they come from more easily renewable resources and involve less intensive processing. Clean, bright and hardwearing, these natural fibre floorcoverings work well as rugs, stair runners or full floor coverings in high-traffic spaces. The natural warmer


24 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors


tones of these floorcoverings work well to breathe life into a minimalist design.


Swap out Silk


Sometimes doing better isn’t about wanting to be perfect, but about making better choices. Silk carpets are a staple of luxury homes but, with 3,000 silkworm pupae needing to be stifled to make just one pound of silk, they’re far from eco-friendly. Luckily, quality silk alternatives have come a long way. The carpet and rug in the image are both made with Sylka Nusilk- with no silkworms harmed in the process. Not only this, but the fibres are incredibly hardwearing, unlike silk, allowing them to be laid in areas where silk would not be possible with a much longer lifespan.


Restore, Don’t Replace


One of the most eco-friendly options your customer can take is to invest in restoring flooring. Older British homes quite often have an original parquet flooring hidden underneath their current flooring. A wood flooring that is exposed will need to be refinished only every 20 years, and can be refinished up to eight times, meaning it could last up to 160 years. A floor that has been covered by a second layer will obviously have an even longer life expectancy. A core advantage of quality flooring over cheap alternatives is the lifespan. Swathes of material can be saved simply by doing a job right the first time.


In general, homeowners are looking ahead and favouring higher quality products built to last. This is not just from a purely environmental perspective, but due to the rising age of first-time buyers. In the UK, 21% of first-time buyers were aged between 35 and 44 years in 2015- 16, (up from 16% in 2005-06) and, in the past 10 years, the proportion of first- time buyer households with dependent children increased from 23% to 37%. When people are buying homes, they’re making long-term decisions about their flooring because they are buying a home to live in rather than a starter home. As


these buyers have income to invest in their properties, they don’t want to settle for cork or bamboo eco-flooring options for their whole home, and are seeking a splash of luxury. In offering a wider variety of lower impact flooring, you can easily tap into this growing market demand for eco-luxe materials.


www.theprestigeflooringco.com


Sylka Luxury NuSilk styled by The Prestige Flooring Co.


www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com


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