Hardwood Floors August/September 2018

e hardwood ooring industry can so easily be compared to our food industry here in the states. While we enjoy a vast variety of options of super cheap and super-fast foods, we are paying a price that cannot be seen or felt right away. We are bringing materials into our homes that might be inexpensive and readily available as a DIY product, but it’s important to ask yourself: “how long will it look good, how long will I want to keep it, how long will it last?” What if we could convince the HENRYs to save up for hardwood ooring that doesn’t have to be replaced, will look good for decades, and actually adds to the overall value and appeal of the home? Why wouldn’t they fall in love with premium hardwood ooring rather than loathing the cheap base-grade ooring we feel we must have as rst-time homeowners? Wouldn’t the world be a be er place if we considered our ooring as much as we do other things in our lives? It would make our homes more valuable in the short- and long-term, and help to make our indoor air quality be er with low to zero VOC hardwood. Plus, the oors will last a lifetime, which truly makes it a sustainable material. I personally think the future is in wonderful hands and I couldn’t be more optimistic about the future leaders when I spend time with my young adult children and their friends. ey are smart, kind, and very savvy. ey’ve had unique life experiences, they’ve worked hard, and are now entering the world lled with both knowledge and “heart.” And, so that you know, they also are wiser than you’d think. is generation will make an impact on our industry, so now is the time to listen. Emily Morrow Finkell is an interior designer and CEO of EF Floors & Design LLC in Dalton, Georgia, a provider of hardwood floors and home furnishings, and NWFA design contributor. She can be reached at emily@emilymorrowhome.com.

herbicides, and pesticides. Using the methods of our grandparents rather than mass-producing food is our best bet for quality health as well as the re ned enjoyment of avor and dining experiences. ese students not only studied food, nutrition, and farm-to-table methods, but also visited the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ey examined the seeds, the plants, the animals, and the preparation of each as well as the e ects on our health. anks to her explanation of what many U.S. fast food companies do to potatoes in order to make perfect french fries, I can no longer mindlessly enjoy them. As she described her own purpose in Slow Food Studies as a Health Sciences major, it occurred to me that the study of slow food is a movement going on around us all and represents a broader shi in how our younger generations are seeing the world and how they view quality living. Take the same concept of mindful eating, and apply it to mindful shopping for fashion and the home. So many companies, for example, those who produce food, fashion, and ooring, have murky marketing campaigns that create an impression of being sustainably made. It o en is hard to see through the smoke and mirrors, and as an industry, we do have a responsibility to make sure we are all being honest about what we make and how we make it. We all get that warm, fuzzy feeling when we do business with companies that have been recognized for responsible stewardship. Sometimes we come to nd out, though, that some of these labels have been misrepresented. Seeing the abuse of a trusted certi cation such as FSC, for example, it’s hard not to become confused and a li le cynical.

As an industry, we do have a responsibility to make sure we are all being honest about what we make and how we make it.