Ethical Hardwood Flooring: The Complete Guide

Best sustainable oak flooring option

Kahrs Original, Prime

Tesoro Woods Great Northern Woods – FSC Certified

Sustainable hardwood flooring runner up

Tesoro Woods Coastal Lowlands – FSC Certified

Kahrs Original, European Naturals – FSC Certified Oak Siena

Wide Plank Floor Supply Reclaimed Heart Pine Plank Flooring

Wide Plank Floor Supply Reclaimed Oak Plank

Fantastic Floor

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What is ethical hardwood flooring?

Ethical and sustainable hardwood flooring comes from forests that are managed, monitored, and protected. This ensures that trees grow for future generations. Eco-friendly hardwood flooring is also manufactured with fewer toxic chemicals in a way that won’t compromise indoor air quality.

Unfortunately, some ‘green’ flooring is just a greenwashed toxic unsustainable product. And, counterintuitively, the most sustainable flooring is sometimes that which looks the least sustainable right out of the box. Why? Because ‘natural’ flooring might necessitate greater use of toxic adhesives or finishes overall.

What’s more, some manufacturers use the FSC logo rather creatively. It’s easy to assume that an FSC logo means an entire product or collection is sustainable. However, this isn’t the whole truth.

How sustainable is wood flooring?

Only 18% of forests are protected worldwide, according to a 2020 report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Deforestation is a major problem that affects all of us. It has immediate impacts for communities close to deforested areas and destroys habitat for wildlife. Deforestation also affects air quality, creates pollution, and reduces carbon sequestration. Overall, improperly managed forestry contributes to climate change in a variety of ways.

“Globally, 18 percent of the world’s forest area, or more than 700 million hectares fall within legally established protected areas such as national parks, conservation areas and game reserves (IUCN categories I-IV).”
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization

In contrast, well-managed forests can be part of a climate change solution. Ideally, ethical hardwood flooring is also produced with minimal chemical inputs in a smart, local, sustainable way. This will help further reduce resource use, transport related emissions, and overall environmental impacts.

Newly felled wood isn’t the only option, though. Reclaimed wood is also increasingly popular and available. This includes palm harvested from older trees on coconut plantations and wood reclaimed during remodeling or demolitions. Recycled flooring is another option. This is where a company refinishes and relocates gently used flooring.

Finally, log salvaging can offer another eco-friendly option. This includes felled logs dredged from rivers, salvaged from orchards, or trees felled by tornadoes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters. Depending on how long the logs have been in situ, though, salvaging them may upset the local ecosystem. As such, salvaging is a more complex choice for ethical hardwood flooring.

Solid wood versus engineered wood

At first glance, a straight plank of wood looks like the cleanest, greenest option for hardwood flooring. However, engineered wood flooring actually uses much less of a tree per plank than solid hardwood. In many cases, engineered hardwood flooring is also easy to install without needing toxic glue. This makes engineered hardwood a preferred choice over most laminate and carpeting.

Solid wood is milled from solid lumber. You can sand and refinish solid wood time and again to remove scratches and stains and restore its original appearance. Solid wood isn’t a good choice for bathrooms, kitchens, or mudrooms, or in damp basements, though. This is because wood can absorb water and warp or buckle.

What is engineered wood?

Engineered wood flooring comprises a layer or real wood over top of layers of plywood, softwood or high-density fiberboard. These layers are mechanically laminated to the core and the top layer is stained or finished to protect the composite. Engineered hardwood flooring is often a good choice even for some moist areas. This includes basements and bathrooms, though it’s always best to check manufacturer specifications very carefully.

Unlike solid wood, engineered wood flooring can only be sanded and refinished a limited number of times. The number of times depends on the thickness of that top layer of real wood. Again, this is something you need to check with the manufacturer.

Happily, affordably priced sustainable flooring is available in most of the popular wood species. Often, FSC certified wood matches the price of standard flooring. Good options include white oak, red oak, cherry, maple, red birch, and hickory. If choosing exotic species such as teak, rosewood, or cumaru, check that the company complies with the Lacey Act. This regulates U.S. imports, sale, and transport of wood to ensure legality.

Tips on choosing ethical hardwood flooring

There are a few key things to consider when choosing ethical hardwood flooring. First, is the wood sourced sustainably? If so, you’re likely to see an FSC certified logo somewhere on the product. Or, alternatively, you might see an EMAS certificate. Without these, the wood likely comes from poorly managed clear-cut forests that damage the environment.

FSC and EMAS

FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council. Certification by this international non-profit organization is the gold standard for sustainability. It is also the standard used for the US Green Building Council‘s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects.

FSC encompasses environmental, economic, and social principles and the labeling body has a robust network of independent certification worldwide. FSC looks at where and how wood is sourced, by whom, and under what conditions. To become FSC-certified, suppliers must meet 10 principles and 57 criteria, including wildlife protection and support of unionized workers.

Don't take FSC logos at face-value

Don’t just look for an FSC logo and call it a day though. An FSC logo doesn’t always guarantee that the entire product is FSC certified.

Greenwashing is rife in the flooring industry. Some FSC certified flooring only contains a small amount of certified sustainably sourced wood (usually in the top layer). What you want is a guarantee that 100% of the wood is FSC certified. Look for a label literally saying “100% FSC”, with a COC (Chain of Custody) number. If you have the physical product in hand, check the box for an FSC logo and the COC. This will also appear as a line item on your receipt.

Examples of greenwashing are where a product is labeled “FSC Mixed Sources” or “made with FSC certified wood”.

As for EMAS, this is the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme developed by the European Commission. This is a voluntary certification that European companies use to to demonstrate continuous improvement of environmental parameters, transparent reporting, and independent certification by external experts. As such, American companies are ineligible for EMAS unless they also have a significant European center of operations. If a product has no FSC or EMAS certification, look elsewhere.

Other certifications for hardwood flooring

FSC and EMAS aren’t the only things to look out for when searching for eco-friendly flooring. Hardwood floors can also be certified by Greenguard Gold for low VOC emissions and by Indoor Air Advantage Gold. Neither of these are especially strict standards for indoor air quality emissions, however. Floorscore lays out more robust air quality requirements. This voluntary standard for indoor air quality was developed by the Resilient Floor Coverings Institute and SCS, an environmental auditing organization.

The best way to choose a truly green product that won’t adversely affect indoor air quality is to look for hardwood that is certified to CARB2 (in the U.S.) or E0 (in Europe). These are the strictest levels for air quality impacts, especially for emissions of urea formaldehyde. The EPA standard is 0.75 ppm (parts per million); the European E0 standard is 0.07 (E1 and E2 are higher). The California Air Resources Board 2012 standard (CARB2) is the lowest at 0.05.

You might also want to look for products that qualify for LEED EQ4.4. This pertains to composite wood and agrifiber products such as engineered wood that contain no added urea-formaldehyde resins.

Some flooring also carries Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certification. SFI is another non-profit organization working to protect forests, although it was established by timber and paper companies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, SFI standards aren’t as rigorous as those of FSC or EMAS. SFI certification does offer assurance that wood isn’t from old-growth forests though.

Finally, you might see an American Tree Farm System (ATFS) certification on some flooring products. ATFS is also a non-profit organization and works to certify sustainably managed forests, i.e., where for every tree harvested, more trees are planted.

Formaldehyde-free? Not so fast

For regular readers of LeafScore.com, you’ll know that we rather dislike formaldehyde, a volatile organic compound (VOC). Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and is very bad news for infants, pets, and other vulnerable family members. When it comes to flooring, though, you won’t find certified formaldehyde-free hardwood. Why? Because wood naturally contains some formaldehyde.

The good news is that formaldehyde is mostly bound inside solid wood. As such, wood doesn’t off-gas formaldehyde to any great extent unless subjected to high heat. Unfortunately, some engineered (composite) hardwood flooring is glued or finished with products containing formaldehyde. You can mostly avoid these if you stick to products that are CARB2 or E0 certified. However, again, things are more complicated than that.

To find out more, I spoke with Danny Harrington of Galleher about sustainable flooring options. He gave me a crash course in floorboard pressing methods and their impacts on formaldehyde emissions. Danny used to run EcoTimber, served on the US Green Building Council’s Technical Advisory Committee for Certified Wood and on the Sierra Club’s Forest Certification Committee. He also served as an adviser to the CARB when they originally developed their standards.

Formaldehyde and engineered wood

To illustrate this complex issue, Danny told me of a case where switching from a urea-formaldehyde glue to a formaldehyde-free glue for bamboo flooring actually increased formaldehyde emissions by 33%. This happened because of the pressing methods used in each case. Urea-formaldehyde glues are all cold-press glues, meaning no heat is necessary to activate the glue.

In contrast, urea-formaldehyde glues require a hot press for activation. As it turned out, hot pressing not only removed most of the formaldehyde in the glue but also from the bamboo. With cold-pressing, none of the naturally occurring formaldehyde was flashed off from the bamboo, This translated to higher residual levels of formaldehyde after the cold-press than after the hot-press using urea-formaldehyde glue.

As Danny puts it, in the end:

“The only thing that matters are the actual emissions from the finished product, not what type of adhesive was used, because there are many other variables at work.”
Danny Harrington, Galleher

Again, solid wood doesn’t typically emit much formaldehyde but isn’t an efficient way of making flooring. The process of milling wood and creating composite wood flooring, however, can break down the polysaccharides in the wood and release benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, 2–propenal, butanal, and butanone.

The best option, then, is to choose engineered hardwood flooring that is third-party tested for formaldehyde emissions and for other VOCs regardless of the pressing or gluing method used.

Eco-friendly finishes

Flooring is a perfect example of how ‘natural’ may not actually be the most eco-friendly or non-toxic overall. For instance, hardwood flooring that isn’t finished (coated) in the factory is more prone to damage compared to flooring with a robust UV-cured factory finish. In some cases, this may necessitate replacing the flooring, which obviously isn’t sustainable.

Unfinished or naturally finished wood products will also require you to finish the flooring at home. And this is where we run into a whole heap of trouble with hardwood flooring maintenance products and off-gassing.

Carnauba wax or beeswax might seem to be the healthiest choices for a floor finish, but the opposite may be true. These oil or wax products almost always require solvents to get the product to dry properly. You will also have to maintain most oil and wax finishes with solvent-based products.

U.S. vs European Standard

Worryingly, the U.S. standard for these products is not as robust as in Europe. This means that it’s easy to be misled by natural oil finishes labeled ‘Zero-VOC’ in the U.S. that don’t qualify for zero-VOC labels in Europe.

How can this be? In the U.S., companies can sell products as ‘Zero-VOC’ even if they use ‘VOC-exempt’ solvents such as isocyanate. These exempt solvents are single component solvents that don’t contribute to ground level smog, and the EPA and SCAQMD maintains VOC-exempt lists. Europe has a much longer list of toxic chemicals and includes isocyanate as a VOC.

I’ve written about the harmful effects of isocyanate before and am appalled that the U.S. doesn’t necessitate its inclusion in a product’s total VOC calculation.

As I always say at LeafScore, what’s actually in a product is what matters, not what a manufacturer claims isn’t in it.

Factory finish options

What to do about flooring finishes then?

Well, despite appearing the better option at first, it seems best to avoid unfinished hardwood products and those finished just with beeswax or carnauba. In addition to potentially exposing yourself to higher levels of toxic chemicals in the home, you’ll probably need to refinish the floors more frequently, re-exposing yourself and, arguably, using more resources overall as your floor won’t last as long as one with a UV-cured factory finish.

UV-cured finishes do not contain any solvents and are dry before the flooring reaches your home. You can also easily clean these floors with non-toxic water-based cleaners. Most newer polyurethane finishes do not contain solvents and don’t off-gas. So, while these are still fossil fuel products, they’re far better for indoor air quality and mean fewer toxic chemicals are involved in the entire lifecycle of the flooring.

Keep an eye on oil-based polyurethanes

Be aware, though, that some manufacturers continue to use oil-based polyurethanes applied with solvents. These chemicals can off-gas for weeks or months and are associated with myriad health issues. Avoid these if you can, especially if you have children, pets, or vulnerable adults in the home or who visit regularly. The best way to avoid these is still to look for products that are CARB2 or E0 compliant.

Finally, you can’t use any old finish on all floors. Some will void your warranty and some will ruin your floor. If you’re unsure, ask the retailer or manufacturer before buying and applying (and potentially ruining your floor!).

A quick note on hardwood flooring grades

As you browse flooring options, you’ll see the word ‘grade’ pop up time and again. This is a way of characterizing the appearance (and, in some cases, quality) of the wood. ‘Select Grade’ usually means wood with a narrower grain and very few and smaller knots than a ‘Character Grade’ plank. In turn, ‘Rustic Grade’ has more frequent and larger knots and a wider grain than Select or Character grades.

The best eco-friendly hardwood flooring

Galleher Monarch True Teak Collection

Leaf Score

Highlights: Easy to maintain, fully FSC certified sustainably sourced teak flooring. Made with E0 certified Baltic Birch plywood backing and formaldehyde-free adhesives.

View on Monarch Plank

View on Stateline Flooring

Galleher’s True Teak collection offers luxury hardwood flooring made exclusively from FSC® certified older growth plantation teak in Thailand. The teak is glued to E0 certified Baltic Birch plywood backing using formaldehyde-free adhesive. The final product is exceptionally durable and resistant to rot and moisture-related expansion and contraction.

Historically, teak has been massively overharvested, decimating forests in South East Asia. Many newer plantations harvest wood when trees are 10-15 years old. Galleher exclusively sources mature 25-30 year-old Tectona grandis teak from well-managed FSC certified plantations in Thailand.

This collection includes Sunned Teak Prime, Bleached Teak Prime, Sunned Teak Light Rustic, and Bleached Teak Light Rustic. The flooring has a UV cured urethane finish that is easy to maintain without the need for toxic chemicals. The flooring comes with a lifetime structural warranty and a 25-year residential finish warranty (3 years for light commercial). You can install this as a floating floor or use nail-down or glue-down methods.

View on Monarch Plank

Kahrs Original, Prime

Leaf Score

Highlights: Made in Sweden using local FSC certified wood. This one-strip, wide-plank floating hardwood oak flooring has a matte finish and is free from aluminum oxide or toxic glues or finishes.

View on Hurst Hardwoods

Kahrs Original Prime flooring is made in Sweden using wood from Eastern Europe, helping to reduce transport associated emissions. The UV cured acrylic finish is water-based and the Prime Collection is made without urea formaldehyde glue. This one-strip hardwood collection exceeds CARB2 and European standards for off-gassing; formaldehyde tests show 0.008 ppm. It is also EMAS and FloorScore qualified and meets Prop 65 requirements. Kahrs is a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Member.

The Prime collection looks more modern and sophisticated than the European Naturals collection and the wire-brushed finish looks oiled even though it’s not. The white oak has a matte sheen and slightly grey appearance which will change over time. There’s no Janka hardness rating available for this flooring. The stated 3.7 Brinell hardness rating is roughly equivalent to 830 Janka, however.

The planks are 9/16ths of an inch (14.2 mm) thick with a 1/8^th inch (3.5 mm) top/wear layer, making these a bit thicker than Tesoro Woods. This means you can sand the flooring two to three times. The planks are 7.5 inches wide, and 73.25 inches long, making these a bigger board than Tesoro Woods offers.

Kahrs DIY installation system makes it easy to lay your new micro-beveled floor yourself. This can save you time and money and doesn’t require toxic glues and so forth. The Kahrs 30-year wear-through warranty and lifetime structural warranty also offers good peace of mind. This floor is also warranted for radiant-heated floors over both hydronic and radiant heat.

This product qualifies for LEED: Indoor Environmental Quality/4.4 Low-Emitting Materials – Composite Wood and Agrifiber: 1 point, Indoor Environmental Quality/4.4 Low-Emitting Materials/No added Urea-Formaldehyde: 1 point.

View on Hurst Hardwoods

Tesoro Woods Great Northern Woods – FSC Certified

Leaf Score

Highlights: Knot-free, FSC Mixed 3-inch or 5-inch wide, E0 compliant, zero-VOC engineered hardwood flooring made with Select grade American hardwood.

Tesoro Woods Great Northern Woods hardwood flooring collection comprises FSC certified sustainable American hardwood from Select grade timber. The collection includes rift or quarter-sawn maple, walnut, red oak, and white oak as 3-inch or 5-inch wide planks. It comes in boxes of random lengths from 11 to 84 inches long.

These strips are tongue and grooved for easy laying. You can float, nail, or glue down the pieces, which have no added urea formaldehyde adhesives. The flooring has zero VOC finishes and is E0 compliant. All Great Northern Woods flooring products are plantation grown in certified controlled forests. The wood has no knots or mineral streaks, so every piece is good to be on full view.

The planks consist of certified sustainably harvested hardwood. The core and bottom come from either recycled, reclaimed, or salvaged sources. Tesoro Woods offers a 27-year residential wear-through warranty and a lifetime structural warranty. Each piece measures 14.29 mm thick and the veneer is 3.2 mm thick, offering potential for a couple of sandings.

This collection qualifies for a variety of LEED points including for 4.4 Low-Emitting Materials, No added Urea-Formaldehyde: 1 point, Materials & Resources, and 7 Certified Wood: 1 point. It is also certified by FloorScore, FSC 100% Mixed, E0 compliant, isocyanine-free, and CARB 2 certified.

The wood is UV finished with aluminum oxide enhanced urethane with a water base and a smooth matte finish. It has a Janka hardness rating of 950, which is pretty high for engineered wood.

Tesoro Woods Coastal Lowlands – FSC Certified

Leaf Score

Highlights: Non-toxic, E0 compliant, 100% FSC certified, 7-inch rustic hardwood flooring in a matte finish and suitable for at least two sandings.

Tesoro Woods Coastal Lowlands collection comprises 100% FSC Recycled certified wide plank (7 inch) rustic hardwood flooring. It is made in Guatemala using North American maple, walnut, white oak, and hickory with an engineered core and back of plantation grown pine from Chile and Brazil. The flooring has a 3 mm sawn wear layer on a solid cross slat core in a 3-layer format.

Coastal Lowlands is a tongue and groove hardwood flooring system that you can nail, glue, or float. It is suitable for use at or below grade and you can use it over hydronic radiant heat systems. The planks are finished with UV cured Aluminum Oxide enhanced open grain urethane and don’t off-gas any VOCs.

This flooring qualifies for Floorscore and LEED under Indoor Environmental Quality/4.4 Low-Emitting Materials/No added Urea-Formaldehyde: 1 point, Materials & Resources/7 Certified Wood: 1 point. It is also E0 compliant and free of isocyanine.

The planks measure 7 inches wide, 12-84 inches long, and 9/16ths of an inch (13.6 mm) thick with a 3.2 mm top/wear layer that allows for two sandings. The maple and walnut have a smooth surface while the hickory and white oak are lightly wire-brushed. There are 14 shades available, and these planks can include knots, mineral streaks, and micro-beveled edges making them a great fit if you’re after a quick installation and a shabby chic aesthetic.

Like other Tesoro Woods products, this flooring option has no add urea formaldehyde adhesives. It is a good option if you’re chemically sensitive and is durable and easy to maintain thanks to the thick wear layer. It also comes with a lifetime structural residential warranty with a 27-year warranty on the finish.

Kahrs Original, European Naturals – FSC Certified Oak Siena

Leaf Score

Highlights: European-style floating hardwood flooring perfect over hydronic or electric radiant heat and in dry or damp spaces. CARB2 compliant, made with FSC certified oak (also available as maple, walnut, cherry, pecan, and other species) engineered with non-toxic adhesives and finishes.

Kahrs hardwood flooring is a 3-layer engineered design with a silk matte hardwood top/wear layer, quartersawn pine or spruce core, and a softwood bottom layer. It has a UV cured acrylic/urethane low-VOC finish and is made with formaldehyde-free adhesive. The flooring is CARB2 compliant and FSC Mixed Sources certified with raw materials sourced within 200 km of the Kahrs factory in Sweden.

This product also meets EMAS standards as well as environmental management systems ISO 14001 and 9001:2000, and California Proposition 65 requirements. The finish doesn’t contain aluminum oxide, making it suitable for a variety of refinishing products.

Kahrs has been around for more than 150 years and specializes in stable, durable flooring. The company seasons wood slowly and carefully over six months to two years Combined with the cross-ply structure, this extended drying makes it a great choice for even super dry or damp climates. Kahrs is also great for use over radiant heat, with no buckling or warping. You can use these boards on concrete and wood subfloors in all rooms.

The Kahrs European Naturals Collection offers a more traditional aesthetic using maple and oak from the Alps. It has a square edge design and is easy to install, even for amateur DIYers because it uses Kahrs patented Woodloc interlocking system. No nails or glue needed!

The planks are 5/8ths of an inch (15 mm) thick with a 1/8^th inch (3.5 mm) top/wear layer, making these a bit thicker than Tesoro Woods. This means the flooring can be sanded two to three times to restore the unstained white oak matte finish. The planks are 0.63 inches (15.9 mm) thick, 7.88 inches wide, and 95.38 inches long, making these a bigger board than Tesoro Woods offers.

Kahrs flooring comes with a 25-year wear-through warranty and a lifetime residential structural warranty.

Wide Plank Floor Supply Reclaimed Heart Pine Plank Flooring

Leaf Score

Highlights: Hardwearing rustic looking reclaimed heart pine flooring from old barns and other buildings, available unfinished in various thickness options as solid and engineered flooring.

Wide Plank Floor Supply’s Reclaimed Heart Pine Plank Flooring is available as solid and engineered flooring in widths from 6-12 inches. The solid planks are ¾-inch thick and the engineered planks are available in 5/8-inch or ¾-inch thicknesses. The plank length can range from 18-inches to 10-feet; different boxes offer a range of cuts to suit your project.

Heart pine has all the knottiness of yellow pine but is harder and more durable. Yellow pine has a Janka score of just 690 versus heart pine’s 1225. Heart pine is also a richer red and brown color. This collection is available in mix grain, vertical grain, and prefinished options. You can choose between Original Face (slightly rougher finish with saw marks etc.) or Milled Face (milled and planed smooth).

The reclaimed pine already has a rustic appearance, making it a great choice for high traffic areas and homes with dogs and kids. The flooring is sourced from demolished and dismantled antique barns and buildings with care taken to maintain the timber’s original character. Each board has unique nail holes, worm holes, mortise and tendon joins, and a natural patina created by age.

Wide Plank Floor Supply Reclaimed Oak Plank

Leaf Score

Highlights: Reclaimed red and white oak flooring from old barns and other buildings in Pennsylvania, available unfinished in various thickness options as solid and engineered flooring. Very hardwearing with a Janka rating of 1290 or 1360.

Wide Plank Floor Supply offers beautiful reclaimed red and white oak flooring. The flooring comes from carefully dismantled barns and other buildings in Pennsylvania. This sustainable, reclaimed flooring is bursting with character, thanks to wormholes, mortise holes, peg holes, natural cracks and checks and an aged patina. You can order red and white oak together or separate to achieve your desired aesthetic.

The planks are available in face widths of 6-12 inches and as ¾-inch thick solid wood or engineered wood measuring 5/8-inch or ¾-inch thick. The planks come in boxes of different random lengths ranges, the smallest being 18 inches and the longest 10 feet.

These tongue and groove planks have a hardness rating of 1360 (white oak) or 1290 (red oak). Choose between pre-finished, as smooth milled face, or original face with all the character of reclaimed wood.

Fantastic Floor

Leaf Score

Highlights: Affordable and quite durable hardwood flooring option that’s FSC certified.

View on Fantastic Floor