Buddy’s Floors Score

Top southwest Ohio flooring retailers end confusion over conflicting “green” claims with Natural Interiors® Scorecards

Fifty percent of the hardwood flooring lines sold at Buddy’s Flooring America in Beavercreek, OH, have been tested and independently certified to meet healthy indoor-air quality standards.

Eighty-three percent are from companies that have Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or meet other sustainability standards.

Scorecards showing these certifications for each product are now available at Buddy’s Natural Interiors® Design Center kiosk.  They include all products sold in the store — from laminate to tile, linoleum, cork and even vinyl.

“Some customers have asked, and we think it’s important to give them the verification they are looking for when it comes to concerns about product chemicals and indoor-air quality, as well as sustainability information that means a product better for the planet,” said Steve Johnson, general manager for Buddy’s Flooring America.

Buddy’s Flooring America began adding “green” flooring products in 2008, in addition to expanding its selections of traditional flooring lines.

Buddy's Flooring America in Beavercreek

We already have been through quite a transformation,” said Ward Malone, store manager. “The addition of Natural Interiors® scorecards emphasizes the number of quality, ‘green’ products we are able to offer, including everything from certified hardwood to linoleum to natural carpet.”

The new Natural Interiors® Design Center program has been licensed exclusively in southern Ohio by Buddy’s in Beavercreek, OH, Carpetland Carpet One Floor & Home in Milford, OH and ProSource Wholesale Floorcoverings in Cincinnati. The program’s scorecards, which use Better for People and Better for the Planet icons, list indoor-air quality and planet friendly attributes for each product. Check marks appear in the icons if the product has achieved a third-party scientific certification, verifying that it meets set limits for chemical emissions or planet-friendly sustainability standards.

The scorecards  also make it easy to compare competing claims among “green” products. For example, cork manufacturers all point out that their products are made of a renewable resource. But cork also contains adhesives, which can emit formaldehyde and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The scorecards at Buddy’s show that the leading brand offered there has third-party indoor-air quality certification. Thirty-three percent of their bamboo flooring brands, which also contain adhesives, have indoor-air quality certifications.

Standards shown on the scorecards for products that have indoor- air quality certifications include GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certification, FloorScore Certification, CRI Green Label Plus and compliance with the most stringent indoor- air quality standards set by the state of California. A product’s planet –friendly benefits also are shown on the scorecards through certifications that range from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification to multi-attribute lifecycle assessment certifications such as Cradle to Cradle.

The scorecard booklets also contain a complete glossary that explains each standard and certification.

“With the number of ‘green’ flooring products Buddy’s has begun to offer,  it makes sense that they would take their program to the next level by giving customers the product verification they want,” said Nancy Kibbee, marketing director for Natural Interiors® programs. “Having this information ends the confusion that has been created by competing and conflicting claims about who has the best ‘green’ products.”©

Visit Buddy’s Flooring America at  2476 Commons Boulevard, Beavercreek, OH 45431 (937) 641-8855. 

You may also email technical questions about the scorecard information to contact@naturalinteriors.com, or call (513)984-9472.