Fake news #1: Is all vinyl flooring environmentally responsible?

Did you know that a tweet with an untruth in it is 70% more likely to get retweeted than a truthful tweet?  Unfortunately, fake news, carefully re-positioned or omitted facts and lopsided views are dominating many industries, and flooring isn't exempt from this.

Check out our series of debunked fake news stories circulating the flooring industry.  And here's how to tell when the content you are reading has little integrity and honesty to it.

FAKE #1: All vinyl flooring is ‘green’ or environmentally responsible

Whilst many vinyl flooring (and other PVC product) manufacturers have worked extremely hard to create environmentally responsible and sustainable products, this is not the case for all vinyl flooring on the market.  Make sure to check the environmental credentials of the product on offer very carefully.

Some questions to consider asking the manufacturer to answer, and provide evidence of:

1. Does the flooring contain responsible and sustainable additives including (but not limited to) stabilisers, plasticisers, pigments and Bisphenol A as per the SAVA product-stewardship agreement?
2. What Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emission standards does the product comply with?  Good standards include:
1. Eurofin Indoor Air Comfort Gold Standard
2. AgBB
3. FloorScore certification
4. Finland M1 test
3. Is the product REACH compliant in terms of harmful substances being added (i.e. does it contain no formaldehyde, lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium or any other ‘harmful to man’ substances?)
4. Is the floor a well-researched and tested product that complies with international ISO 14001 standards?  Can the manufacturer provide proof of this?
5. Is the adhesive being used to lay the flooring environmentally sound? There are various environmentally friendly adhesives available in South Africa.  The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) has devised a formula to determine whether an adhesive is environmentally friendly, based on whether the adhesive contains VOCs.  A base line of 5% VOC content Is the maximum permissible to be considered "green". Most adhesives used in the flooring industry incorporate a 'tackifier resin' component.  Typically, organic solvents such as toluene or methylene chloride are needed to liquify the resin before blending. Many manufacturers have reduced their solvent content to comply with this 5% rule, but the reality is that the 5% is still released into the atmosphere as the adhesive dries.  Be aware of this ploy and choose your adhesives carefully. This is why international adhesive manufacturers, including Polyflor SA's preferred suppliers, have removed the solvent component to become totally VOC free and reduce their impact on ecology and the environment.

Over and  above the five questions listed above, manufacturers of well-researched, documented environmentally sustainable vinyl floors should be able to provide you with:

1. A cradle to grave analysis of their product 
2. A Triple Bottom Line analysis of how their product affects planet, people and profit

For a detailed analysis of the sustainability of vinyl flooring, download our e-Book – Vinyl flooring Sustainability

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