When it comes to having a light touch on the environment no floor covering ranks higher than a beautiful hardwood floor.
To start with, wood floors are all natural and they come from perhaps the most sustainable of all building resources: Trees.
In addition to being biodegradable, recyclable, and a great carbon sink, trees and wood products are renewable and being renewed at a remarkable clip. Here in Missouri, and throughout the U.S., the hardwood
forests that provide the lumber for our
flooring products are growing more than twice as fast as they are being harvested. Thanks to this commitment to sustainable forestry, there is 90% more hardwood growing today in the U.S. than there was 50 years ago (See the American Hardwood Info Center link in the side bar to learn more).
Wood flooring is also among the least energy-intensive materials, consuming far less energy to make than carpet, linoleum or composite tile. And for us, much of that energy consumption is self-generated. Here at Smith Flooring we've been using our sawdust and other mill scraps to run boilers that generate electricity ever since our family patriarch, Viandel Smith, had one installed in the 1950s.
In addition to being the preferred environmental material to begin with, wood floors are also one of the most durable floor coverings. The floors you install today very well could last a century or more—they might just outlive the usefulness of the home they help beautify!
But here at Smith Flooring we aren't satisfied with simply making the more environmentally responsible floor covering material. We realize that there always is room for improvement. That's why we are committed to purchasing raw materials only from individuals and companies who practice sustainable forestry, including replanting to replace the trees they harvest. We're proud to be charter members of the NWFA's Responsible Procurement Program. And we manage our own small parcel of forest land with sustainability as the driving force. (See side bar to learn more about the NWFA Responsible Procurement Program.)
At Smith Flooring we clearly see the forest and the trees. And we operate our business with an environmental ethic that is second to none. After all, our kids and grandkids are counting on it.
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