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What Is the Best Flooring for Children and the Environment?

Vinyl flooring vs. linoleum in your child care center: What are the advantages and disadvantages? What kind of impact does each material have on the environment? The answers may surprise you. Read on to find out more.

Young children spend a lot of time playing on the floor, so it's important to give considerable thought to how the flooring you choose for your early childhood center may affect them – and the environment. Vinyl floors are composed of synthetic materials such as polyvinyl chloride and urethane, while genuine linoleum floors are made from natural components. These natural components include linseed oil, pine resin, pine flour, cork, chalk and clay that are pressed into sheets with a jute backing. The sheets are preferred over tiles, as there are fewer seams.

Linoleum made today is nothing like the flooring in your grandmother's kitchen. New linoleum is highly dent resistant and easy to clean – and it's also a renewable product that will break down in a landfill. Linoleum is produced in Europe, but can be purchased from these companies that sell in the U.S.: Armstrong, Azrock and Forbo.

Forbo has recently partnered with the World Wildlife Federation to help improve the environment. For every square meter purchased of one of eight green linoleum floor coverings, Forbo Flooring will donate the equivalent of $0.68 to the WWF. So the flooring in an average child care classroom would represent a donation of around $50.

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