Some vinyl flooring manufacturers are committed to reducing the amount of PVC and phthalates, but many companies have not eliminated them.

Vinyl chloride has been classified as a human carcinogen (14th Report on Carcinogens, National Toxicity Program) and is on the Living Building Challenge Red List of toxic chemicals to avoid.

There is no completely safe way to manufacture or dispose of PVC.

Luxury vinyl flooring is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is hazardous from production to disposal.

However, below are several good reasons why you should avoid using any product that contains vinyl: The majority of all vinyl flooring is made in Asia, although new plants are being built in the US and are made with better ingredients. Here are some facts that manufacturers of vinyl flooring don't want to talk about. Sounds great, looks great, and is almost too good to be true, except for some important details that are missing from most discussions. After the TV show 60 Minutes discovered excessive amounts of formaldehyde in Lumber Liquidators’ laminate flooring, flooring products made in China became even more questionable because of their effects on humans and the environment.Ĭonsumers like vinyl flooring for the same reasons they liked laminate flooring: low prices, exceptional photo-realistic 3-D graphics that simulate natural wood or stone, durability, water-resistance, and the promise of no maintenance. Most laminate flooring was made in China. Moisture and pet urine caused the medium density fiberboard (MDF) core to swell and make the flooring buckle,įormaldehyde levels were excessive and caused health issues, and It was a huge hit, until we discovered the truth many years later: It was cheap and you could install it yourself. Remember when laminate flooring was all the rage in the late 90s? It seemed durable and safe - and it looked like real wood. How do I know if a product is really safe? It is our opinion that manufacturers should prove their products safe long before entering the market. The burden of proof for the safety of a product should not be on consumers to find out the hard way through sickness and even death. Labeling would not be necessary if government regulators provided us with the protection we need. We believe that the number one requirement for consumer products is that they should be safe for everyone. In the meantime, we have many natural, sustainable flooring options to satisfy most residential and commercial requirements, including Waterproof Cork Flooring and Marmoleum Flooring.

In the future, should manufacturers of vinyl flooring discover new ways of making and disposing of PVC that satisfy our requirements of safety and sustainability, we will consider offering it to our customers. While research on PVC continues, it would be unconscionable for us to sell a product knowing that it might cause harm to individuals and that it would continue to pollute the environment. There are too many red flags to ignore (see details below). Today, based on the same principles, we have made a similar choice not to sell any type of flooring that includes vinyl. In turn, we were spared from lawsuits because we stood by our principles. We spared our customers from exposure to toxic chemicals by not selling laminate flooring. Two decades later, the public finally learned the truth about laminate flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators, thanks to a 60 Minutes exposé. Our guiding principle has always been and will always be, Safety First.įor example, in the late 90’s when laminate flooring was all the rage, we decided not to sell it because our research showed that it was harmful and not sustainable.

We take pride in offering products that do not cause harm to anyone or anything in the environment. Since 1991 Green Building Supply has been dedicated to providing building materials that are safe, sustainable, and smart. Their production and ultimate incineration in landfills generate some of the most hazardous pollutants known. They are also considered forever chemicals because they are persistent and almost never break down. Both of these chemicals are bio-accumulative and toxic to humans and all life. PVC is made with large quantities of toxic organochlorines such as dioxins and phthalates and releases them into indoor and outdoor environments. PVC is one of the most environmentally hazardous consumer materials produced. However, in spite of their differences, they all contain some degree of polyvinyl chloride or PVC. There are now numerous variations from glue down to floating planks some are hard and some are soft, and all are made with different ingredients. luxury vinyl tile or plank (LVT or LVP), stone plastic composite (SPC), and wood polymer composite (WPC) have become popular due to their durability, moisture resistance, scratch resistance, price, and unique-looking surfaces.

Waterproof vinyl flooring factory