Natural Cork Flooring

If you are planning on doing any remodeling this winter or spring, you’ve got to take a look at natural cork flooring. Heck, even if you aren’t planning on updating your flooring, you should at least look at it. This stuff is seriously cool.

In my humble opinion, cork is one of the MOST sustainable flooring choices out there. Not only is it made from totally recycled content, it has the additional benefits of:

~ Being healthy for the inhabitants of the homes using it
~ It has shock absorbing properties. Basically that means it’s easy to walk on and it’s good for people who have joint problems.
~ It has a great ability to dampen sound so it’s a wonderful choice for a second floor or for people who live in condos.
~ Cork flooring can help to reduce your heating bills. It provides insulation which will help to keep your home warm in the winter.

To truly understand the how natural cork flooring is made, you have to first understand the cork industry as a whole. I’ll try to make this as simple as possible.

For hundreds of year, tree bark has been harvested using a method that doesn’t harm the tree at all. Harvesters peel bark from trees every 9 years. Once the bark has been harvested, it’s sent to wine bottle stoppers manufacturers. Once the wine corks have been made, the cork flooring manufacturing companies take the post-industrial byproducts and create cork floors. So, natural cork flooring is double green!

Once the flooring manufacturers have the cork, they grind it into very small pieces. They are then coated with a non-toxic resin and made into planks or tiles that are used as flooring.

Another great, green property of cork flooring is that you can get it into all kinds of different shades and colors. The manufacturers aren’t using stains and dyes to create the different colors available, they simply bake the cork for different amounts of time to achieve different finishes.

If that’s not enough, cork is easy to install and take care of. The cost of natural cork flooring is about the same as hardwood or high-quality laminates. As long as you occasionally put a sealer on your floor, it will outlast most other types of flooring.

If there is any drawback to using cork, it’s that it is soft. Using furniture pads will help to protect your floor from damage.

If you are already using cork flooring, send us pictures of your application – we’d love to show them off!

Envirocork is a company that provides a wide range of cork flooring, here is an example of cork flooring that’s currently available on the market. You can check out some of their products at Amazon
Cork Flooring Flooring Durango Floors 1/2

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1. Eco Friendly Travel – Go Green on your Next Vacation You've been trying to be green - and you're doing...

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Eco Friendly Vacation

You’ve been trying to be green – and you’re doing pretty good. But, now it’s time to go on vacation. Vacation means travel, hotels, eating out, waste, etc. So, what’s a green family to do?

Go on an eco friendly vacation, that’s what! It is entirely possible to have an eco friendly vacation – and they can be fun!

Here are some tips to help you make your next vacation a little more green.

~ Planes are the worst for the environment, and cars come in second place. Trains and buses have the least impact on the environment, so consider getting out of your comfort zone and taking a different meansof transportation than what you are used to.

~ Consider staying close to home. There are probably lots of cool places right in your own backyard that you’ve never taken the time to explore. The less you travel, the more eco friendly your vacation will become.

~ If you are planning to stay in a hotel, check to see what eco friendly hotels are available. More and more hotels are making the choice to be green and you can find some really cool places to stay that are also green. You can visit The Green Hotel Assocation to find eco friendly hotels.

~ Speaking of eco friendly hotels, while you are staying in a hotel, use you towels for more than one day and ask housekeeping to make your beds without changing the sheets. You don’t wash your sheets at home every day, there’s really no need to wash them every day when you are in a hotel.

~ Look for restaurants that serve local or organic foods while you are on vacation.

~ Choose low-impact entertainment while on vacation. Go hiking instead of taking a Hummer tour.

~ If you are traveling by car, consider stopping at Farmer’s Markets to get fresh fruits and vegetables to eat on the way instead of frequenting fast food restaurants.

~ Don’t waste your money on items that will only end up in the trash as soon as you get home. If you want to buy souvenirs, make sure you buy things that you’ll use.

~ Make sure that you aren’t wasting energy at home while you are gone. Turn off all of your lights and turn your air conditioning off if you are vacationing during the summer months. If you’re vacationing in the winter, turn your heat as far down as you can.

~ If you want to get really wild – consider camping in a tent. I’m not a camper, but a few years ago I gave into my children, bought a tent, and headed out to a local campground. It was actually a lot of fun…consider trying it sometime. (Just stay close to home so that you can go home to take a shower if the facilities are poor!)

Let us know what you did to make your vacation more eco friendly! We’d love to hear about it.

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Eco Friendly Shoes

The last few shoes that I purchased were considered eco friendly shoes. I’ve been trying to live as green as I can for a few years now, and I’m ashamed to admit that the need for green shoes escaped me until just a few months ago.

What I learned may surprise you. For one, shoe manufacturing is one of the most polluting industries in the entire world! And, did you know that the average pair of shoes travels 11,000 miles before they ever end up on your feet? You’ve heard of a “carbon footprint,” haven’t you? Well, shoes, even really small ones for little feet, have a HUGE carbon footprint.

To learn more about the problems with regular shoes, visit Green Living Made Easy.

The good news is that there are eco friendly shoes on the option. I was thrilled to learn that green foot ware was available in many styles and fashions. Like most women, I love my shoes and while I really want to be as “green” as I can be, it would really depress me if I had to sacrifice style. Thankfully, I don’t.

If you are considering making your next purchase an eco friendly shoe, look for the following:

~ Shoes that are manufactured in the United States – this means that have to travel less to get to you.

~ Shoes that use recycled materials. Some shoes recycled tires for the soles, which is great.

~ Shoes that use other sustainable materials such as organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp.

~ Look for companies that have recycle programs – meaning they will accept used shoes and will then recycle them.

~ Look for companies that support environmental causes.

~ Buy shoes that only use formaldehyde-free leather.

~ Look for shoes that contain the “Fair Trade” label. This means that they have been made by people who were paid fair wages and work in decent conditions.

To get an idea of what’s available, feel free to visit Amazon and you will see a variety of companies offering eco friendly shoes:

Eco Friendly Shoes at Amazon
Amazon offers a wide variety of eco friendly shoes. At last count, they had 155 different styles from a handful of different manufacturers.

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Eco Friendly Resort

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