Dust and dirt are carried into buildings on your shoes, contributing to indoor air quality problems and reducing the life of floor finishes. Snow and rain increases the risk of personal injury from slips and falls on wet floors. A good way to reduce both of these problems is to install dirt removal systems at the entrance to your home. Properly maintained protective entryways also reduce the need for hazardous cleaning products. Simple track-off systems can make sense for homes - as does a recommendation that homeowners and guests remove their outdoor shoes when they enter a home.

Acoustical underlayment is distinct from flooring underlayment. It helps prevent sound transmission through a structure. Especially important with wood and concrete floors, the use of a sound-deadening layer can reduce the need to control sound transmission with carpeting or rugs.

Companies like Teragren and Plyboo manufacture solid strip bamboo flooring in tongue-and-groove or locking system, prefinished or site-finished. Bamboo is available are available in vertical or flat (horizontal) grains and natural or caramelized standard colors as well as stained cherry, walnut, charcoal, etc.

Brick and stone, particularly if locally produced or salvaged, can provide an extremely long-lasting, low-maintenance, visually interesting floor with low environmental costs. These materials create an unyielding surface that may be hard on joints and feet, however; and uneven floors may collect dirt and debris in low spots and prove difficult or even dangerous for some to traverse.

Carpet tile is an environmentally preferable alternative to wall to wall carpeting because damaged or stained carpet tiles can be replaced individually without having to replace carpeting on an entire floor. Though primarily used in commercial buildings, carpet tile is increasinglly popular in residential applications as well. Companies like FLOR make carpet tile that contain recycled content and have other environmental attributes such as low VOC emissions, or certification as a climate-neutral product.

Compared to concrete in a structure-as-finish capacity, covering concrete with another layer or layers of flooring material increases the financial and environmental cost over the lifespan of a structure. Coloring pigments in concrete can add architectural interest using very little additional material - turning concrete into finished surfaces, which avoids the need for additional products and coatings, eliminating the environmental impacts associated with manufacturing and maintaining those materials. Polished and densified concrete floors combine diamond stone-polishing technology with silicate chemical treatment to provide a significantly better alternative to film and wax coatings - highly durable, nearly maintenance-free, noncombustible, and the increased reflectivity can also reduce lighting requirements.

Cork is a natural flooring material and been used for more than a century as flooring. Peeled from the outer bark of the cork tree, it can be havested without killing the tree. The cork regenerates in about 10 years. Grown in Portugal, Algeria, Spain, Morocco, France, Italy, and Tunisia, all cork flooring products available in the U.S. are imported. There's almost no material waste from the manufacturing process, but agglomerating the cork requires binders to hold the ground granules together. Urea-formaldehyde binders should be avoided in favor of urea-melamine, phenol-formaldehyde, polyurethane, or all-natural protein binders. Cork flooring is typically available in a variety of shades in tile form, and in some cases is sandwiched with other flooring materials. It's durable, sound-absorbing, and naturally moisture, rot, and mold-resistant. Cork is typically finished with a polyurethane or wax coating, which is periodically reapplied. While cork is naturally fire-resistant, wax finishes reduce this quality.

Natural linoleum is a durable, low-maintenance flooring made from linseed oil, pine rosin, sawdust, cork dust, limestone, natural pigments, and a jute backing - all minimally processed and commonly available materials. Linoleum does not contain significant petroleum-based products or chlorinated chemicals, as does vinyl (PVC) flooring - which is often mistakenly referred to as "linoleum." The ongoing oxidation of linoleic acid in the flooring leads to offgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that taper off over time, but some argue that linoleum's VOCs, as compared to petroleum-derived VOCs, are a lesser health threat.

Natural fiber floor mats are made from durable natural fibers in a variety of styles and weaves. Common natural fibers for matting include sisal (often used in wall coverings), jute (used to make rope and burlap bags), and coir (from coconut husks). Natural fiber mats generally don't have backings or chemical treatments. They're durable but may shed broken fibers, requiring periodic sweeping or vacuuming of the surrounding floor area.

Carpeting is ubiquitous in our homes. Almost two billion square yards of carpeting are sold each year, nearly all made from petrochemicals. Carpet is a good absorber of sound and impact, yielding a surface associated with comfort. Its absorbent nature, however, also makes it a good medium for holding moisture and harboring dirt, mold, and dust mites. This, along with potential offgassing from the carpet and its adhesive, creates indoor air quality concerns. Carpet companies are starting to take different approaches to improving the environmental profile of their products. If you carpet your home, use natural wool and cotton carpet.

Recycled-tire rubber provides a highly durable, resilient, slip-resistant, anti-fatigue surface suitable for a variety of flooring requirements. Rubber granules from ground tires may be vulcanized (reformed under high heat using a sulfur additive), or agglomerated with a synthetic binding matrix, such as polyurethane. The rubber and its binders or additives, however, may be significant sources of indoor air pollutants, including VOCs and heavy metals; actual emissions vary widely from product to product. Thus, rubber flooring isn't recommended for most indoor spaces unless there is evidence of low emissions. Indoor/outdoor spaces, such as entrances with high ventilation rates, are potentially excellent applications for these recycled-content products.

Tile is an inherently low-toxic, waterproof, durable finish material for flooring, walls, and other applications. While tile is somewhat energy-intensive to manufacture, the materials involved are readily available and mined with fairly low impact.