Resilient Flooring: Mindfully Manufactured for Less Environmental Impact

As concern grows for the environment, consumers are considering the environmental impact of their purchases. From clothing and cars to flooring, more people are looking for products that are made with the environment in mind.

The “Shoptivism” report, from sustainability consultancy Shelton Group, reveals that about 33% of Americans say they have chosen or stopped purchasing a product because of the environmental record of its manufacturer — and 26% can name the brand.

If you’re on the hunt for more sustainable flooring for your home, you’re not alone. Let’s take a closer look at how Beautifully Responsible® resilient flooring manufacturers are answering consumer demands and creating a big collective impact in the realm of sustainability.

Learn more about:

Third-party certified for good indoor air quality

When products emit volatile organic compound (VOC) in high enough levels, they can have negative impacts on our well-being. Many of our resilient flooring partners, however, have attained a variety of independent certifications that ensure products meet strict air quality standards for your home.

FloorScore® is the most recognized indoor air quality certification standard for hard surface flooring. Certification ensures your resilient flooring has met stringent standards limiting VOCs. That means healthier air and more space to breathe in the day.

Durability and high performance by design

The longer a floor can be maintained without having to be replaced, the less environmental impact it will have. Resilient flooring is known for enhanced durability and its ease to clean, with water-resistant and waterproof varieties.

Many of our mindful manufacturers offer robust performance guarantees for their resilient flooring products. Check out the Floor Your Floor page to view all Beautifully Responsible® manufacturers and click through to each of their websites.

Transparency across the whole life cycle

Mindful manufacturers set new standards for product transparency. Many of our resilient flooring partners use voluntary disclosure tools to give you insight into product ingredients, anticipated lifecycle, and emissions.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) show a manufacturer’s voluntary commitment to measuring, reducing, and reporting the environmental impact of products that have undergone life cycle assessments. Many resilient flooring manufacturers offer EPDs for some or all products, and the Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI) offers industry-wide EPDs.

Health Product Declarations (HPDs) are another voluntary way for manufacturers to disclose the impact of product material health on people and the environment.

Finally, ASSURE CERTIFIED for rigid core resilient flooring includes third-party verified performance requirements in areas like indoor air quality, heavy metal content and ortho-phthalate content.

Additional reading materials

As part of transparency efforts, our resilient flooring partners are all working towards reducing their impact through initiatives like powering operations with renewable energy and reducing their water use, and more. Below are links to more information for each Beautifully Responsible® manufacturer’s actions:

Feeling inspired?

Then it’s time to start stepping into you with floors that are tailored to your values, style, and budget. Find the right floor for you today.

How to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Your Home

The average American spends 90% of their time indoors, where we take for granted that our air is clean and pure. But while we may check the weather forecast for smog and pollen count to find out the status of outdoor air, many homeowners haven’t thought about air quality inside their homes.

People have, however, gotten more concerned about indoor air quality since the pandemic. According to Shelton Group Pulse research, 37% of respondents are more concerned about indoor air quality now as compared to before the pandemic. And that’s a good thing, because the concentration of certain pollutants can be up to 2-5% worse indoors than outdoors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This can be influenced by the products you choose for your home

Indoor air quality: a solvable problem

First, it’s important to identify what affects the indoor air quality of our homes.

Common pollutants include dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, and chemicals of concern like volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Allergy triggers like pollen, smoke, and ozone can leak indoors from outside. Those who suffer from seasonal allergies or allergic asthma already know the struggle. But there’s one major culprit impacting indoor air quality we may not suspect: Ourselves.

That’s right: We are sometimes responsible for bringing allergens and pollutants unknowingly into our own homes. For example, we may bring pollen inside on our shoes or clothes. We may also buy products that we don’t realize contribute to poor indoor air quality that slowly releases toxic chemicals into the air.

Of course, all homes will have some degree of infiltration. Though you can’t get rid of all factors that can harm indoor air quality, you can take steps to reduce indoor allergens.

dog shaking off water with young girl in kitchen, oak croissant wood grain flooring

Three ways to support indoor air quality

The EPA offers 3 main strategies — source control, increased ventilation, and air cleaners — to improve air quality. When used together, they give you the best chance of breathing easy in your home.

Source control

Source control is the most effective way for you to reduce the indoor allergens present in your home. It means fundamentally reducing your exposure to air pollution; for example, by introducing products that are certified to promote good indoor air quality.

When flooring is the foundation of your home, you want it to contain as few chemicals of concern as possible!

Not only do Beautifully Responsible® resilient floors come in water-resistant varieties that are easy to keep clean of allergens without harsh chemicals, many of our partners offer flooring that is independently certified to comply with high standards for indoor air quality.

The third-party FloorScore® certifies hard surface flooring, adhesives, and underlayments for low levels of VOCs and other chemicals of concern. Information on FloorScore® can be found here.

young boy in entryway with dog at the doorway with sandstone colored flooring

Increased ventilation

Ventilating your home regularly makes it less likely that allergens will accumulate and cause harm.

Let fresh air into your home regularly by opening the windows.

You can also use mechanical ventilation, like electric or ceiling fans, to increase air circulation in your home. This is a good option for times when you don’t want to open windows, or in addition to opening windows.

If you need to paint something, do it outside whenever possible. Keep windows open when using harsh cleaning products.

Air cleaners

Air purifiers are a great way to filter indoor air without too much extra effort. This device combines an internal filter and fan to capture airborne particles from pet dander, pollen, and dust, and circulate purified air back into the room.

The EPA recommends air purifiers with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. You can look at the air cleaners recommended by a program like asthma & allergy friendly® to minimize triggers of asthma and allergy. Be sure to change your filters regularly for best performance.

Your next steps

To reduce indoor allergens at the source, choose flooring that contributes to an indoor environment with better air quality for your whole family.

Read more about how Beautifully Responsible® floors can support your well-being and browse design inspiration to find the right flooring solution your next home renovation project.

Step Into You This Spring Remodel Season with the Top Resilient Flooring Trends

Plus, important questions to ask yourself when choosing resilient flooring.

If the idea of a spring remodel brings you equal parts intrigue and dread, we’re here to change that. Resilient flooring options from Beautifully Responsible® partners provide many options that fit both your budget and personal style, alongside your priorities for choosing sustainable products.

Resilient flooring is a durable type of flooring that can be made of flooring types like rubber, linoleum, cork, luxury vinyl tile (LVT), and sheet vinyl, among others. Resilient flooring is becoming increasingly popular in homes across the country thanks to the incredible solutions it brings to homes just like yours. Not only are Beautifully Responsible® floors designed with indoor air quality and other important performance factors in mind, but they’re also built to stand up to the rigors of life, every day.

Resilient flooring comes in tons of styles for every taste, but how do you know what to ask for? Let’s explore the top 5 home flooring trends for 2023 and share tips to help you create a tailored space at home you never want to leave!

Trend 1: Classic hardwood look, but with a resilient twist

solidtech natural woodgrain flooring

Best suited for: your kitchen, dining room, hallway, home office

Hardwood designs create a timeless foundation for your home with the ability to evolve with your tastes. When you go the resilient flooring route, you’ll find design options for everything from dramatic walnut to stately mahogany at a more affordable budget.

And it’s called ‘resilient’ for a reason. Technical attributes like durability and moisture resistance are just a few of the performance benefits you get when you choose Beautifully Responsible® floors.

“How easy is it to install this model?”

Resilient flooring types like luxury vinyl tile and luxury vinyl plank tend are modular and can be DIY-friendly, so you can replace one unit without replacing the whole floor. Not that you will need to do this due to the durability of the product, though! Plus, you can play with Chevron configurations, which are popular this spring remodel season.

Trend 2: Modern stone-look flooring

baltic stone storm bathroom tile flooring

Best suited for: your bathroom, kitchen, dining room, mudroom

When it comes to resilient home flooring, stone style designs don’t just look sturdy, they’re super durable. For example, slate-inspired tiles can add effortless class and character to high-traffic rooms that are cleaned often.

Stone-look resilient flooring gives your floors a stronger ability to adapt to rooms like the kitchen and bathroom, which often see fluctuations in temperature and moisture.

“How durable is this model?”

Look for a floor that’s suited to expected foot traffic. For example, rigid core flooring is one of the fastest growing categories of resilient flooring because of its comfort, durability, and water-resistant varieties.

Trend 3: Large format tiles to welcome you home

ultraceramic gold kitchen tile flooring

Perfect for: your kitchen, mudroom, laundry room, basement

Functional rooms like the kitchen are often the heart of the home, where people meet to share the adventures of their day.

Large format tiles, like the sheet vinyl category of resilient flooring, can create the illusion of space in rooms where you spend a lot of time and make them appear more expansive, but that’s not the only benefit.

Resilient home flooring installations are resistant to scratches and stains in homes with small children and pets, and are always easy to clean without the need for harsh chemicals. And, there’s no grout to maintain!

“How stain-resistant is this model? Is there a waterproof version?”

Resilient flooring stands out in rooms like the kitchen and laundry room that see a lot of dirt, moisture, movement, and accidental spills! Many varieties have water-resistant and waterproof varieties. With its larger dimensions, sheet vinyl is also a great starting point to find the look you’re after.

Trend 4: Statement designs to pull it all together

morocco talcum patterned tile flooring kitchen

Perfect for: your kitchen, basement, laundry room, mudroom, bathroom

Just like a statement piece ties together the perfect outfit, a nice statement floor can make an impressive focal point for your dream home.

With statement designs from Beautifully Responsible® partners, the possibilities are endless—but it’s a great idea to start with the styles that appeal to you. Resilient flooring types like rubber, LVT, and sheet vinyl can also come with a textured surface.

“Do you have designs that fit [preferred style]?”

Pro tip: Search for styles like Bohemian, Farmhouse, Mid-Century Modern, Minimalist Zen, Scandinavian, and more using the ‘decors’ filter in our Design Inspiration section.

Trend 5: Cozy spaces

interface polished cement marble bedroom flooring

Perfect for: your family room, bedroom, hallway, basement

If you found that perfect statement rug, resilient flooring creates an ideal foundation underneath.

Many resilient floors are built to provide comfort underfoot. Many Beautifully Responsible® floors can absorb sounds and make spaces accessible for all levels of mobility.

“How does this flooring product protect the air quality in my home?”

With indoor air quality more important than ever, look for third-party labels like FloorScore® to identify tested and proven solutions for your home.

Take the next step into you

In the Design Inspiration section of our site, you can explore real-world design examples and sort by style, room, manufacturer, and type of luxury vinyl flooring.

Have you identified your favorite trend? Find your perfect flooring now.

An assured flooring choice: 6 reasons to choose rigid core flooring

Rigid core flooring … maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s the fastest growing type of resilient flooring in North America.

Rigid core is a type of engineered flooring typically installed with an interlocking tongue and groove system. Its exceptional underfoot comfort, warm aesthetics, and water-resistance make it an ideal choice for any room in your home.

With rigid core’s layered construction, the flooring is assured to wear well, maintain its aesthetic appeal, be stable, and withstand the stresses of everyday life. In particular, ASSURE CERTIFIED™ rigid core flooring comes with an extra “layer” in the form of transparency, sustainability, and performance.

Here are six reasons why ASSURE CERTIFIED™ rigid core flooring is the right choice for your home:

1. Cost-effective conservation

Looking for a natural aesthetic without harvesting precious natural resources? ASSURE CERTIFIED™ rigid core can provide the natural textures and patterns you want, whether in tile or plank configurations, in a way that’s more cost-effective and often easier to maintain than traditional wood, stone, or tile floors. What’s more, rigid core flooring’s modular design and installation makes single tiles or planks easy to replace—making it easy to choose a high-quality flooring with confidence.

2. Transparent to the nth power

What does it mean to be ASSURE CERTIFIED™, anyway? This third-party certification is a stamp of approval that your choice in rigid core flooring puts your safety and well-being first. It ensures you are selecting a flooring that meets stringent standards for indoor air quality (IAQ), transparency, and performance while addressing heavy metal and ortho-phthalate content, with your family’s well-being in mind. ASSURE CERTIFIED™ certification includes strict limits on the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) your rigid core flooring can emit.

3. Manufacturing that will floor you

In addition to being ASSURE CERTIFIED™, there is an industry-wide Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for rigid core products. Third-party certified EPDs provide you, your architect and designer with a listing of environmental impacts for resilient flooring products, so you can feel good about your flooring choice. Many Beautifully Responsible® manufacturers evaluate the same impact categories, including global warming potential (GWP), for product-specific EPDs as well. Visit the Find Your Floor page to find a Beautifully Responsible® manufacturer.

4. A little-known accessibility feature

Don’t be fooled by the word “rigid”: rigid core is both aesthetically warm and comfortable underfoot. As a resilient flooring product, rigid core flooring provides an excellent surface for those with limited mobility or those using an assistive device, such as a walker or wheelchair. Acoustic comfort is also provided when using rigid core flooring and can be used with other strategies to reduce noise transmission.

5. The stress-free environment you deserve

Stressed about keeping your floors in tip-top shape? No longer. Rigid core water-resistant and waterproof flooring makes quick work of common spills with easy clean-up. No need to use harsh chemicals to maintain your rigid core floor, so your family and furry friends can walk, crawl, roll, and stroll through the house without issue.

6. Room to live with scratch-proof flooring

Scratches happen, but with rigid core flooring it won’t matter whether your kids blame the dog, your dog blames the kids, or it was actually the cat all along (likely). Durable to a fault, ASSURE CERTIFIED™ rigid core flooring is built for the long-haul with advanced scratch protection perfect for pets, plus resistance to life’s most challenging stains, odors, and mountains of pet hair. The best part? Your flooring will be easy to replace when the time does come, regardless of how “lived-on” it looks.

Why choose ASSURE CERTIFIED™ rigid core flooring?

If you’re looking for sustainable, scratch-resistant flooring that takes your family’s well-being into account, ASSURE CERTIFIED™ rigid core is a strong option.

Choosing rigid core ensures you have room to live—always with the planet, performance, and your well-being in mind. Find your flooring inspiration today.

Durable and Beautiful — Why Resilient Flooring is the Best Option for Pets

Your furry friends are part of the family. And as much as you love playing and taking them on walks, they are a lot of responsibility. Let your floors take on some of the burden with built-in durability for the everyday and the unexpected.

Beautifully Responsible® floors are designed to bridge the gap between beauty and durability, giving you and your pets the room to live your best lives for years to come. Zoomies don’t have to cause fears of scratched floors; the unexpected wet shake doesn’t have to trigger panic of water damage; and the muddy pawprints don’t have to be a beast to clean up. Get the best floors for your dogs or cats that don’t give you pause at the sight of paws.

Dirt and dander denied

We’ve all been there. You’ve been having a blast outside with your pup, when they want to bring it inside, caked in dirt. While this mess is never fun to clean up, you can get floors that make it easier.

Beautifully Responsible resilient floors are designed to make removing messes, odors and pet hair easier. Phew! Potty training just got a lot less stressful. From vinyl sheets to fit a room or luxury vinyl tile to customize your home, resilient flooring offers options that come with fewer seams, meaning less trapped hair and bacteria. But even better, they can generally be cleaned without the use of harsh chemicals. Just make sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning instructions for your new floor.

Zoom on

Dog or cat — sometimes, they just have to run. Now you can run with them, not just after them. Made to stand up to the everyday stresses of life with advanced scratch protection, Beautifully Responsible floors are always ready for our furry friends’ fastest. Make chase a game again without the fear of damaging your floors.

Now, toss that ball already!

Water and spills? No worries

Vigorous tail wag or a fresh bowl of water — even the bestest of boys and girls spill some. It’s a good thing many Beautifully Responsible options are waterproof or water-resistant for even the messiest of pets. This protection means that your resilient flooring is resistant to some of life’s harshest stains. Stand confident that your resilient floors can stand up to spills. Now you can forgive those puppy eyes even faster.

Pet-friendly floors made easy

You want your pets to live their best lives, but you also want to live in gorgeous spaces. Beautifully Responsible resilient floors offer the durability against dirt, spills and sprints while also providing a wide variety of attractive options to fit any aesthetic you have in mind. Just brought your new friend home and need to create a space where they can play? Simply head to your local home improvement store to explore numerous resilient flooring options. Treat yourself and your pets to beautiful spaces that don’t limit your fun and give you room to live. Find your floor today.

Vibrant variety and budget friendly — why resilient flooring is right for your spring remodel

Floors are an investment. When you’re sitting down to plan out a room remodel, you don’t start with a designer lamp or a sleek lounge chair—you design your spaces from the floor up. You’re looking for something that brings the room to life while giving you the room to live your life.

So, when you’re speccing out your remodel this spring, you should choose Beautifully Responsible® resilient flooring. If you’re redoing your kitchen, you need floors that can stand up to spills. If you just got a new puppy, you need floors that don’t pause at the sight of paws. Resilient flooring offers durable options that can stand up to everyday wear and tear, all in beautiful designs that fit into your budget. Here’s why you should consider resilient flooring for your remodel.

Woodgrain without budget drain

Leave the hammer and tile spacers at the store. Bring beautiful woodgrain or stone patterns into your home without the price tag. Resilient flooring offers a wide variety of color, texture, and design options to fit any vision for your room that you can dream up. But beyond their beauty on the surface, RFCI members’ resilient flooring options are made with sustainable manufacturing practices like reducing energy, water, and waste and avoiding depleting limited natural resources.

New floors faster

Many resilient floors are designed to be easier to install, but you can also find resilient flooring options in nearly every home improvement store—meaning you could get started on your renovation today. Whether it’s in sheets that can cover an entire room or luxury vinyl tiles that you can tailor to your space, resilient flooring can save you time and money on installation. When comparing the average installation times of many resilient flooring options with some other flooring types, the savings is clear.

A breath of fresh air

As the seasons change and allergies abound, you should make sure your new flooring helps create a healthy and quality indoor environment. Hundreds of resilient flooring products and their adhesives have earned the third-party FloorScore® IAQ Certification, setting strict limits on the types and amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be emitted from non-carpet flooring products. FloorScore® is available for other types of hard flooring products as well, but this unique third-party certification originated within the resilient flooring category.

Find your floor

Want flooring with a distinguished oak or pine look, but you’re on a budget? What about an ornate ceramic tile look with colorful patterns and third-party certification for indoor air quality? Whatever look you want, whatever room you’re renovating, there’s a resilient floor that will add a spring to your step this season. When you choose Beautifully Responsible® resilient flooring, you’re getting floors that you know are made well and with your well-being in mind. What are you waiting for? Find your floor today.

There’s more to sustainability than “natural”

Shorter showers aren’t the only way to conserve natural resources at home. Every product you decorate with – from your pillows to the furniture to your floor – has some degree of impact on the natural environment. That means your purchase choices are important, but it’s not always obvious which products have been manufactured with the environment in mind. You might be overlooking environmentally friendly options that are a fantastic match for your home and your style. These three things can help you broaden your sustainable horizons as you search for the next item on your home wish list.

All-natural isn’t always more sustainable

Responsible manufacturers are tackling the environmental impacts of their businesses from every angle, including the materials they choose to use in their products. Remember that companies aren’t making that floor or this rug for one home – they’re working on a commercial scale. That means any natural materials they use – hardwood trees, marble, or granite, for instance – must be harvested at the same scale.

Many of Earth’s natural resources are finite, and even those that aren’t, like trees, can be harvested at unsustainable rates that harm the future of the species. And it all requires land to be used in specific ways, potentially stripping the land of other, very important uses – such as supporting animal species, storing carbon in the soil, and enabling food production.

Think of it this way. Let’s say you choose countertops that look just like marble, but they’re efficiently manufactured from durable yet light-weight high-pressure laminate made with recycled content. Or maybe you select luxury vinyl tile (LVT) floors that are indistinguishable from a gorgeous, rare wood grain. In both cases, you are removing the need to harvest less-abundant natural resources. LVT, for example, combines a highly abundant natural ingredient (limestone) with synthetic materials to create myriad long-lasting, highly durable, nature-inspired designs.

Transparency is a virtue

Leading companies never stop improving how they produce the items you love. They find new ways to keep people safe; reduce energy, water, and material waste; and proactively assess ingredients. But all these good things are happening in the background, out of sight as you walk the aisles of your favorite store or consult your designer.

Responsible manufacturers use a few different ways to provide you and your architect or designer with information about the environmental impacts of their products and manufacturing processes. Third-party certifications quickly let you know that a product has been verified to meet certain criteria. You may be familiar with certifications like ENERGY STAR® for energy efficiency, or maybe you’ve seen the FloorScore® Certification and Assure Certified™️ logos on flooring products you’re considering for your home.

You can also look to see if a manufacturer has shared an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the product you’re interested in. An EPD lists product ingredients as well as environmental impacts that result from raw materials, manufacturing, and other aspects of the product’s life. Whether or not you (or your designer) choose to examine the details of the EPD, you can feel confident that a manufacturer that shares this documentation is serious about improving environmental impact.

Think long term

Whether it’s made from a synthetic material or a natural one, durability matters when it comes to making your home more environmentally friendly. The longer it lasts without losing its appeal means the less waste your home is going to produce over time. Responsibly made products are up to the challenge.

Mindful manufacturers think about how well their products will stand up to the stresses of everyday life for decades, and they create styles that will last just as long. When you read product reviews or explore a product website, keep an eye out for descriptions of durability and expected lifespan. Look on manufacturers’ websites to see if they tout long-lived products.

Then once you’ve installed that floor, settled into that sofa or hung the new bathroom shelf that comes from a responsible manufacturer, you can feel good knowing it will look great for years to come.

Sustainability comes in many styles

Now you know that natural isn’t the only eco-friendly option, and you can look for third-party certifications and EPDs as telltale signs that a manufacturer is paying attention to their environmental impact. Sustainability doesn’t need to limit your imagination – there are many mindfully made products to help you bring beauty and sustainability into your home.

Learn more about the mindful manufacturing benefits of resilient flooring. This product category conserves natural resources while channeling the beauty of nature into highly durable floors with easy-to-find Environmental Product Declarations and other third-party certifications.

3 tips to reduce your home’s future waste

Some products last a lifetime. Others last only a short time. You may have already cut the really short-lived products, like single-use plastic bags, out of your routine. However, there are plenty of home products you use on a regular basis – from dish sponges to sofas, mini-blinds to major appliances – that will eventually be added to the tally of waste your home generates over time. The same goes for doors, windows, and flooring.

You can make product choices today that will help you reduce your home’s waste in the future. Look for the style and price you want – but don’t forget to add product lifespan, durability, and room-specific needs to your criteria list. These three simple considerations will help you choose home products that will look good and perform well for decades, which means you will replace them less often over the life of your home.

The big deal about home products going to waste

In 2018, Americans landfilled an estimated 37.4 million tons of durable goods, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines as products designed to last for at least three years. This category includes certain types of flooring, electronics, and household goods. Furniture added about 9.7 million tons to the total, while appliances comprised about 3.7 million tons. That is a massive volume of bulky, oversized products (not to mention still-valuable resources) taking up the limited space in our landfills. The longer your products last between replacements, the smaller your home’s long-term contribution to this waste.

Consideration #1: How long will the product last?

When it’s time to buy a new big-ticket item for your home, consider the product’s expected lifespan. Is a certain brand of product longer-lived than another? The question also applies when you’re considering products made from different materials, which may have significantly different lifespans.

A study from the National Association of Home Builders, for example, showed that flooring products made from different materials run the gamut of average lifespans. (Many blog posts from flooring contractors also illustrate this fact.) Hardwood can last the life of your home, resilient flooring (such as luxury vinyl tile, rubber, and linoleum) lasts 20-plus years, and carpet lasts an average of 8-10 years.

Whether the product lives up to its expected lifespan in your home depends on the material’s everyday durability – how well it rebounds from the wear and tear of real life. If your flooring rips, stains, or scratches with ease, you’re more likely to replace it before it reaches its predicted lifespan.

Consideration #2: How hard will it be to maintain this product?

For some materials, the ability to reach the full lifespan also depends on how well (and regularly) you maintain the product. It’s time to be honest with yourself: how often will you clean the filters in your vacuum? Will you refinish your hardwood floors or have your carpets professionally cleaned at regular intervals? Will you use the special cleaner the manufacturer recommends or your all-purpose one?

It’s worth considering how high-maintenance a product is before you invest in it. Everyday life can be messy, and easy cleaning is a virtue. If a product requires a lot of elbow grease or harsh chemicals to look good or perform well over time, you may be ready to replace it long before its usable life is over. That means more waste over the life of your home and potentially more expense, too.

Consideration #3: Does this product meet the room’s specific needs?

Carefully choosing products that suit each room’s needs can help you waste less over time. Floors are a perfect example. The bathroom, of course, needs a water-resistant or waterproof floor that won’t warp or rot. The kitchen needs a floor that won’t be damaged by spills, while the hallway needs something that won’t wear.

In the kids’ rooms, you want something that can take whatever your kids can throw at it (literally).

Where are the pets running through? A floor designed to resist scratches and stains will last longer.

Shrinking the cycle of waste

As homeowners, you have many opportunities to make your home more beautiful, more functional – and more responsible. One important way is to choose durable products that will last for decades. Long-term endurance is a win-win for your finances and the environment, as you will cut down on the waste that comes with having to replace damaged or worn products before their time.

Learn about the benefits of resilient flooring – a category of products designed to give you great durability, easy maintenance, and options for every room’s needs.

Beautifully Responsible® floors are made with well-being in mind

Your floor holds some heavy responsibilities: Stand up to the wear and tear, spills and stains of everyday life. Clean up easily. Look good. And promote your family’s well-being.

Floors are more than a backdrop to life – they play a role in your family living well. Whether you’re concerned about improving the quality of air inside your home, avoiding harsh cleaners, or picking safe products for the kids, the right floors can make a difference. Whether you’re in the market now for new floors or collecting ideas for the future, your family should consider resilient floors.

First things first: Defining “resilient floors”

Resilient flooring is a category of flooring products, just like hardwood or carpet. You might not have heard the category name, but you’ve probably heard of luxury vinyl tile, rubber, linoleum, and cork. Those are just a few of the popular floors in this category.

Resilient flooring gets its name from its ability to “give” under the impact of footsteps and then spring back into shape. It’s built to endure whatever challenges life throws at it – including helping you care for your family.

Breathe easy: Certified to indoor air standards

Now more than ever, families are thinking about the air they breathe – and what might be in it. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, poor indoor air quality can be a factor in headaches, dizziness, breathing problems, and other effects. While dust and allergens can decrease the quality of your indoor air, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the more concerning culprit. VOCs are released from many common home goods, furnishings, paints, and varnishes.

That means you have the power to choose products that don’t come with high levels of VOCs – and third-party certifications make this simple for you to do.

Specifically, the FloorScore® IAQ Certification lets you know when flooring products are certified to promote cleaner indoor air quality (IAQ) due to reduced VOC content. FloorScore® makes it easy to know whether the floor you choose contributes to good indoor air quality – no guessing or anxiety involved.

Following the lead of a California building code referred to as “Section 01350,” FloorScore® sets strict limits on the types and amounts of VOCs that can be emitted by non-carpet flooring products. Hundreds of resilient flooring materials and their adhesives have met the standards and earned the FloorScore® label.

FloorScore® is available for other types of hard flooring products as well, but this unique thirdparty certification originated within the resilient flooring category. The Resilient Floor Covering Institute, a trade organization, developed the FloorScore® standards in partnership with SCS Global Services, an internationally recognized third-party certification firm.

Live with confidence: Harsh chemicals aren’t at home here

When you choose resilient flooring, you say “no” to harsh chemical substances coming into close contact with your family.

First, cleaning resilient flooring only requires sweeping and occasional damp mopping using pH neutral cleaners. It’s designed with advanced wear layers that make it easy to clean and maintain without the need for chemical applications or harsh cleaners.

Second, there’s the content of the resilient flooring itself. Whether you have small children, pets, or both spending their time on the floor, resilient flooring products are good options. Mindful manufacturers have designed their resilient flooring products with your family’s well-being in mind, and they have a track record of proactively assessing ingredients and removing those of concern.

In fact, their dedication to quality and well-being led to the launch of the ASSURE CERTIFIED™ label in 2020. This third-party certification from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute and SCS Global Services targets rigid core luxury vinyl flooring, which is the fast-growing segment of resilient flooring in North America.

To carry the label, flooring products must meet requirements for indoor air quality, excellent performance, and being free of heavy metals and ortho-phthalate plasticizers. The end goal is simple: give homeowners, architects, and designers confidence in the floor they choose.

In line with your priorities

The benefits of resilient flooring don’t stop there. Some types increase acoustic comfort by damping the noise of foot traffic and reducing how much sound travels between floors. Other types of resilient flooring can be installed without raised, disruptive transitions between rooms in order to improve access for those with limited mobility.

There’s a good chance resilient flooring is the right choice for your family. It’s durable, affordable, sustainable, and stylish. Most importantly, it’s designed to help you create a home that supports your family’s well-being. That’s the real beauty of it.

What Beautifully Responsible® means

Beautiful … responsible. What do these words mean to you? Have you ever thought about connections between the two?

The connections are exactly what inspire us to create eco-friendly floors you can feel good about – not only because they match your home’s style, but because they match your values.

Discover what it means to be Beautifully Responsible® – check out the video below.