Natural materialsSeptember 1 2013
There are significant numbers who are keen to use "natural" materials in flooring products and a growing number of suppliers seeking to meet the demand. Materials such as wood, rubber and wool are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. However, as with most things perceived to be green, there needs to be some careful thinking as to how natural or sustainable the material is in reality.
There is no doubt wood is a potentially sustainable material, but high timber demand gave rise to illegal logging from forestation that was not sustainably managed. The result has been that vast numbers of trees in places such as the Amazon Rainforest, Borneo and New Guinea have simply been unsustainably removed. In addition some rare plant species have been lost forever. These forests provide food, shelter, fuel and a source of income to the 1.6 billion people whose livelihoods depend on them. Forests also benefit our environment by regulating the climate and water cycles and preventing soil erosion. According to organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Rainforest Alliance the world's forests are in crisis. They say that half of the globe's forests have been lost and only a tenth of what remains is protected. Each year we are losing another 130,000 square kilometres which is an area the size of England. What then is being done?
In July 2010, the European Parliament approved legislation which prohibits the import, trade and sale of timber illegally taken in the country of origin. In addition, companies must now use a system of 'due diligence' to ascertain that the timber they sell in the European Union (EU) was harvested legally. This legislation is intended to work alongside the EU's Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade which is a licensing system, which identifies legal timber and timber products in producer countries and licenses them for import to the EU. This system is being developed through the negotiation of a series of voluntary partnership agreements with cooperating producer countries. Similar legislation has been developed in the USA and in other countries and is being supported by WWF and Rainforest Alliance and other bodies. Given all of this concern I was interested to see what recognition is being given to the issues raised by suppliers of wooden flooring in the UK.
Many manufacturers of wood flooring have adopted the Forest Stewardship Council® Certification (FSC) to demonstrate a commitment to responsible sourcing of their raw materials. However this may not be offered on all of their products although some are committed to achieving 100% FSC certification in the foreseeable future. In contrast some specialist retailer's of natural wood flooring make no mention of sustainable issues on their websites and point out how affordable that real wood floors have become in recent years. These may now be seen increasingly in homes, shops, department stores and restaurants where hitherto wood effect laminates would be the choice. Clearly costs have fallen as a result of the availability of a cheap and plentiful supply of natural wood. At what price?
The following is a quotation from a retailer's website
"...There are lots of reasons to love wood floors. Not only are they a beautiful addition to any home or commercial premises - they add value, are easy to maintain and are hyper-allergenic. No other flooring offers the warmth, natural beauty, durability, practicality and value of wooden floors. If that's not reason enough, hardwood flooring is also a healthy option - for you, your family and for the environment too."
Some of this is clearly true but note the vague and now obligatory statement tagged on to the end regarding the environment. The evidence would strongly suggest that wood is only a healthy choice for the environment if it can be shown that it comes from properly managed forestry sites. Customers who are persuaded by the environmental benefits of wood and who wish to avoid illegal and irresponsibly sourced material should look for proof such as FSC® Certification to be supplied with the product.
Rubber features in an increasing number of flooring products and may be sourced from natural rubber trees or synthesised from petrochemicals. Rubber tapped from trees unfortunately tends to come from poorly managed forestation which often have substandard working conditions. The product is mostly purchased on spot commodity markets around the world and as such price is the key driver. The source of origin is of little concern. Natural rubber from trees tends to become more available as the spot price for synthetic rubber rises. However this means that some plantations are only tapped sporadically and sustainable organic agricultural practices are the exception. In addition experienced plantation workers in countries such as Malaysia have been taking permanent employment in the car plants near the big cities and can't be wooed back by the prospect of temporary contracts. Natural rubber, if sourced from responsibly managed forestation, is a renewable material which may be endlessly recycled. Synthetic rubber requires around 10 times more energy for manufacture and is of course non renewable and comes from a limited resource. Due to the nature of the market the mix of polymers making up a rubber product will vary unless otherwise stated. Many eco labels such as the Environmental Choice Program require manufacturers to demonstrate that natural rubber comes from responsibly managed sources. The BRE (BES 6001) "Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products" Certificate covers these issues and carries credits under BREEAM schemes. Nora is a leading example of a specialist manufacturer of rubber flooring which has worked extensively on sustainability issues. They have taken key measures and achieved important independent certification to confirm their commitment to the sustainability agenda.
Wool has long been thought of as a renewable and biodegradable material. According to Steven Parsons of Wools of New Zealand however not all wools are the same and very little is actually biodegraded largely due to it being used together with nylon and other components in carpets which will not biodegrade. In reality despite some innovations to recover wool from carpets, most post consumer wool pile carpet is down cycled to produce underlay and other products or simply sent to landfill. As with wood and rubber the key to sustainable wool production lies not only with considerations for renewability but also with broader concerns with fitness for purpose being key among them. In the UK our wool is sourced from a multitude of relatively small producers and a variety of breeds reared in different ways. This leads to typical wool being an inconsistent raw material requiring careful production and quality control of each batch to produce consistent comfort, shade and lustre characteristics New Zealand has a temperate climate ideally suited to wool production and vast tracts of land dedicated to sheep farming. Over a period of around 150 years it has developed a few specialist breeds and farming techniques to optimise the use of its wool for textile production. They have recently developed a specialist wool brand called Leneve, which is aimed at interior designers looking for a certified high quality natural material with genuine sustainability credentials. They have focused on a number of key sustainability criteria beyond the wool itself and these include:
- Animal Welfare -Strict codes of practice covering animal health and welfare
- Land ManagementNon intensive farming carried out by skilled accredited farmers
- EnvironmentalStrict protection of the land and waterways
- Traceability All wool traceable back to the farm that produced it.
Laneve wool comes with a Life Cycle Assessment which enables manufacturers to calculate the contribution that the wool has made to the overall carbon footprint of the final product. This will increase in importance as Environmental Product Declarations become more established. There are also innovations such as the use of low toxicity pesticides and the development of new grass types which will reduce the amount of methane produced by the digestive systems of the sheep as they graze.
All of this demonstrates how careful we should be with any assumption that natural naturally means good.