Hardwood Floors August/September 2025

By Steven Skutelsky

Much of PID Floors’ presentation that day focused on the work and impact of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA). We discussed how Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are helping us to be transparent in the hardwood flooring industry. We spoke about the importance of education, for consumers and for the next generation of the design industry. People might be drawn initially to a synthetic product due to its seemingly lower price tag – but via the path of education, it can be taught that real wood floors always will be a better, more long-term, and more sustainable option for everyone that actually will cost way less over time. Part of this education process is explaining all the reasons how and why wood flooring is environmentally friendly and a sustainable design product.

Long-Lasting Real Engineered Wood Flooring

We explained how real wood flooring is a renewable resource, has a low carbon footprint, and is durable.

The hard surface marketplace is full of confusion. The NWFA Refinishable Program cuts through the clutter and identifies real wood flooring products with wood top-layers thick enough to be sanded & finished. Look for the certified refinishable logo to ensure you are buying, selling, or specifying a sustainable engineered wood flooring product that has been designed to withstand the test of time, change its look, and be renewed. LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST OF CERTIFIED MANUFACTURERS

This will lead to less waste and reduced resource consumption. Trees

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVEN SKUTELSKY | PID FLOORS

sequester carbon dioxide during their growth and, when harvested sustainably, can be replaced, making wood a carbon-neutral material. Additionally, wood requires less energy and water to produce than other flooring options like carpet or tile. No energy is used to produce the raw materials – the trees grow just from energy provided by the sun, making wood flooring the only flooring product that is renewable, and the only carbon footprint is the manufacturing process after extraction. Other products are either manmade using energy intensive means and/or synthetic materials based on fossil fuels. Wood flooring production is a zero-waste operation.

NWFA.ORG/MANUFACTURING/ 800.422.4556