Photo by DAVID B. MOORE

EVER GREEN
Right: Just as they were created centuries ago, these wool rugs are made by Zapotec Indians in Teotitlan, Mexico, using foot-treadle looms. Available in sizes up to 12 feet by 14 feet, the carpets come in a range of traditional patterns, notes Jeri Rust, owner of Spur Cross Gallery in Cave Creek, Arizona. Dyes for the wool are made from all-natural products, including red from the cochineal insects that live on prickly pear cacti.

A STEP FORWARD
Why go green when choosing floor coverings?

For some environmentally conscious folks, the question is “Why not go green, when there are more products than ever that will not harm one’s health and also are good for the planet?”

Visit major home-improvement stores to see examples of carpeting, wood, bamboo and other types of flooring that are green. Smaller businesses, such as a.k.a. Green in Scottsdale, have made these and other eco-safe and sustainable products their stock in trade.

Of concern in the move toward green living are wares that contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says may have short- and long-term effects on health. Toxic chemicals in VOCs are said to contribute to indoor air pollution through off-gassing. With flooring, that can occur from certain materials in carpeting, glues and finishes on wood, notes a.k.a. Green co-owner Mick Dalrymple.

“We don’t want to introduce anything toxic into anyone’s home, so we are recommending wool, natural—not vinyl—linoleum, cork, bamboo, recycled terrazzo tiles, and rubber flooring (good for home gyms and laundry rooms), and also soy-based concrete staining,” he states. Carpeting and flooring, including engineered reclaimed wood, should be installed with nontoxic adhesives, he stresses. “There is no use in having a green product without a good glue.”

Vintage Hardwoods, a Scottsdale company, is milling wood rescued from America’s vintage buildings for its Revival line of custom engineered flooring. Only environmentally safe water-based dyes, finishes and adhesives are used.