Going Green? Go With the NALFA Certification Seal

Certification ensures sustainability and quality in laminate flooring

Laminate flooring is inherently eco-friendly. It’s made with natural resources, it’s recyclable, and it’s free of air-damaging chemicals. But the North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) knows that not all products make the cut and remains committed to helping consumers choose the right products for their homes and businesses. The NALFA certification seal is proof that a laminate floor is both sustainable and the highest quality.

“Customers are faced with a multitude of choices when it comes to laminate flooring and sustainability is more important than ever,” says Bill Dearing, president of NALFA. “It is our job is recognize only quality products that meet environmental, durability, and performance standards. When a product passes our testing, we know it’s built to last.”

Laminate floors that have earned the NALFA certification seal offer consumers a variety of benefits:

• It has passed a series of 10 rigorous performance tests including but not limited to static load, thickness swell, impact resistance, light resistance, wear resistance, cleanability/stain resistance, dimensional tolerances and castor chair resistance
• It complies with formaldehyde emissions regulations for laminate flooring core board set forth by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) sections 93120-93120.12, title 17, of the California Code of Regulations.
• It is comprised of at least 74% recycled content (pre-consumer waste)
• It may be used in homes and businesses that meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards
• It requires no special glues or adhesives during installation (eliminating VOCs) and no special cleaners for proper cleaning and maintenance (improving air quality)

NALFA is the only trade organization dedicated to the laminate flooring industry. Formed in 1997 by manufacturers and importers, NALFA is today an accredited ANSI standards developing organization and is the benchmark for quality in the laminate flooring industry. The organization is continuing work on developing new sustainability standards for laminate flooring manufacturers and hopes to have approved processes and regulations in place by 2011.

“The new sustainability standard will help to assess the ‘green factor’ of laminate flooring and related products, such as underlayment,” Dearing says. “This will create a complete and complimentary picture of the performance of environmentally-friendly laminate flooring.”

For more information about how NALFA has been setting the standard in the laminate flooring industry for the past 13 years, visit www.nalfa.com.