Natural Floor Covering
From Floor Coverings
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Natural Floor Coverings
The earth has given us an abundance of natural materials in which to make things from, especially floor coverings. Natural is the opposite of synthetic or man-made. Synthetic materials are created from chemicals and usually formed in a laboratory, whereas natural materials are harvested from the earth’s resources. Trees, plants, grasses, clay, animal hairs, stones and even coconuts and bananas are examples of natural materials used to make floor coverings. Natural floor coverings are eco-friendly if they are harvested in a way that co-operates with the surrounding eco-system.
Eco-friendly flooring materials
For example, natural, eco-friendly materials used in flooring should be renewable and sustainable in a shorter period of time by comparison to materials that are being exhausted from the planet because they have longer growing periods. They should also have little impact on the environment and indigenous peoples that live nearby. Eco-friendly natural floor coverings should adhere to the required manufacturing standards of little or no chemical processing and no pollution released into the atmosphere during production. They should also be recyclable and available locally, avoiding the consumption of fossil fuels to transport the material long distances in order to be considered an eco-friendly natural floor covering.
What trees are sustainable and managed?
Trees from sustainable and managed forests produce natural floor coverings such as Hardwood Flooring, Cork Flooring from the Cork Oak Trees and the laminate varieties of wood flooring. Plants produce sisal, hemp and cotton materials in the form of rugs and carpet, and linoleum floor coverings are made from the flax plant. Natural floor coverings made from grasses include bamboo, seagrass and jute. Clay from the earth is mixed with talc and then baked in a kiln to produce clay and ceramic tiles for a natural flooring product. Wool is a natural material harvested from sheep and other animals that end up in wool rugs and carpets. Stone, granite and marble materials are cut directly out of the earth from large stone masses and made into natural stone flooring.
What are some other natural floor sources?
Other sources of natural floor coverings include the husks of coconuts that are shredded off the coconut and woven into coir materials used in natural coir flooring products. The abaca is part of the banana tree family and it produces the strongest natural fiber known to man to make abaca rugs and floor mats. Wood paper threads are 100% natural wood materials that are twisted, waxed and woven to make rugs and floor mats. With such a wide variety of natural floor coverings to choose from, there is no need to feel that you are limited to the same flooring products that have been in use for decades.
