HOUSTON–Flooring America and Flooring Canada members this week will see their company take another step in the green direction as the buying cooperative debuts strand-woven bamboo flooring at its biannual convention here.
Reportedly harder than hardwood, bamboo is actually a form of grass and has qualities important to a household product, such as being easy to clean and hypoallergenic. Known for its durability, the retailer zeroed in on bamboo as a long-lasting, versatile flooring product and noted it is already widely used throughout Asia. As its popularity spreads to other parts of the world, Flooring America and Flooring Canada are hoping to be players in the movement, which feeds into their ongoing efforts to present environmentally friendly products to the marketplace.
“The reality is, we are really searching for hardwood products that meet our stringent Green Select criteria,” said Randy Upson, vice president of merchandising for Flooring America and Flooring Canada. “These bamboo products fit perfectly into this category and are affordably priced to boot.”
The particular product the company has selected is from Floorcraft and available in a wider range of colors than has been common for bamboo flooring products thus far. The production process for the strand-wovens involves mechanically stripping the bamboo stalks, boiling them in a solution of water and boric acid to remove sugars and inhibit fungus and mold, drying the strips and then weaving them with plasticizer. The product is then crushed in a heat press, creating the strand-woven board.
The company will also debut Bedford Mills’ oiled hardwood flooring at its convention this week. The retailer touted oiled finishes as more durable and repairable than urethane-based finishes.
Green Select is an initiative launched this year by parent company CCA Global Partners with the goal of bettering the environment through relationships with the member community suppliers and employees. — Jennifer Quail
