In this blog, I will cover how to avoid greenwashing when buying green flooring by looking for various green flooring
certifications. First, let’s go over some basics on greenwashing.
Greenwashing means that a company has produced false, misleading, or exaggerated information in order to conceal the true
environmental impacts of their products and to promote a green product claim. There are several ways that a company can
greenwash their products. If you are interested in buying green flooring and haven’t already read my articles
Greenwashing Part I and Greenwashing Part II, I recommend you do so. These articles will give you a good basis of information to
understand how flooring companies can greenwash floor coverings and other flooring products.
The easiest way to sort out which flooring products are green and which are not is by looking at the green flooring
certifications that the product carries. Examples of green certifications available for green flooring include the following:
- Green Seal Certification(which uses ISO standards)
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification
- EcoLogo Certification
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification
- Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) Green Label and Green Label Plus Certifications
By purchasing flooring that carries one or more of these green flooring certifications, you can avoid buying flooring that
has been greenwashed. For more on these green flooring certifications that can help you avoid buying greenwashed flooring,
visit FindAnyFloor’s section on Green Flooring Organizations.
