Recycled glass-chip flooring

Stonhard’s all new Stonblend GSI-G provides an abrasion- and impact-resistant surface while incorporating recycled glass chips into the floor for an environmentally responsible system and highly stylized look for patient rooms, corridors, lobbies, and cafeterias. Recycled brown, green, and blue glass chips are blended together with the color-coated aggregate to create a terrazzo-like appearance. Stonblend GSI-G has a low-gloss finish and is easy to maintain. It’s offered in six standard colors: Amber Waves, Blue Suede, Easy Being Green, Sea Ice, Autumn Lights, and Sassafras.

Patterned textiles

INTERTWINE is the most textured pattern in the Bella Verde collection of textiles from Casa Bini. The entire collection is made with bamboo, deeming it green and stainable. It is soft chenille with a deeply textured appearance. It meets heavy-duty abrasion at 30,000 double rubs and comes in five colors.

Acrylic solid surface material

Meganite Solid Surface has received the coveted Greenguard Certifications® from the Greenguard Environmental Institute—Indoor Air Quality for Low Emitting Products and also for Product Emission Standard for Children and Schools. Meganite is a premium surfacing material that is suitable for all commercial applications as a countertop, lab tops, wall cladding, lavatories, and cafeteria areas. Meganite is completely nonporous which means it will not promote the growth of bacteria, mold, or mildew. It is a Class 1A fire retardant product and can be installed with a seamless appearance.

Environmentally friendly flooring

Gerflor uses environmentally friendly raw materials and innovative production processes to provide Taralay Premium Flooring. Taralay products are strictly manufactured in accordance with the environmental ISO 14001 standard and are ISO 9001 certified. During Taralay’s production, Gerflor’s implementation of a closed-loop cooling system substantially reduces water consumption, while specially engineered production lines treat all emissions prior to release into the air. Gerflor also uses environmentally-friendly raw materials, such as Calcium and Zinc based stabilizers, as well as water based inks instead of solvents in the manufacturing of Taralay to reduce ozone depletion. In addition, all of Gerflor’s vinyl floor coverings are 100% recyclable at the end of lifecycle.

Insulating glass

Southwall Technologies, Inc., announced the ability of Heat Mirror® insulating glass to insulate against heat loss at a record breaking R-20/U 0.05 insulation value. Superior to any low-e glass currently available, Heat Mirror provides energy conservation performance ranging from R-6 to R-20.

New colors for architectural glass

Guardian Industries added six new glass colors to its low-emissivity SunGuard® Advanced Architectural Glass products. SunGuard AG 50 and SunGuard Royal Blue 40 are each available on three different float glass substrates. Both AG 50 and Royal Blue 40 are available with shorter lead times from independent SunGuard Select Fabricators.

Office Furniture

WaveWorks® office by National Office Furniture lets users customize any office space with its nearly limitless combinations. WaveWorks utilizes National’s proprietary water-based IntegraClear™ UV finish formulation. IntegraClear retains the depth and clarity of the beautiful veneer, while meeting stringent Indoor Air Quality requirements.

Mosaic tiles

Silestone® MURO™ from Cosentino is a line of tumbled mosaic premeshed tiles composed of recycled Silestone scraps. Created from 100% closed-loop recycling, Silestone MURO helps preserve the environment and provides a practical solution for consumers looking for sustainable products for their projects.

Polymer handrails, corner guards, and wall guards

The new IPC interior protection line from InPro Corporation hosts products in a new polymer—polycarbonate ABS (PC/ABS)—and will be completed in early 2009. Virtually all of InPro’s line of handrails, corner guards, wall guards, and other protection products will be available in the new non-PVC polymer as an extension of its award-winning EnviroGT™ line. The company’s new PC/ABS products were adopted after R&D with other plastics could not deliver the level of quality and durability that are the hallmarks of InPro products.

Solar heat-reducing window film

The V-Kool™ clear applied window film reduces solar heat without significantly reducing visible light or changing the appearance of existing glass. The film blocks unwanted heat better than many tinted or mirrored films while helping to lower air-conditioning operating costs.

Casegoods collection

Juno, a collection of patient room casegoods from Krug Healthcare Solutions, offers a full range of models, configurations, and materials in a clean, attractive design that is highly durable, and has been engineered to provide for an extensive range of replacement components. Krug has received Greenguard Certification® for all of its seating products and is working toward this certification for all of its casegoods and products, as well.

Resilient flooring

LonElements Sahara, the new line of resilient flooring by Lonseal, Inc., captures the colors and spirit of Mother Nature; its natural tones complement any color scheme. The flooring sheets are 100 mil. thick, giving the surfacing a greater ability to conform to any plane of a space. This added flexibility allows it to accentuate and complement curvatures of floors and corners. A protective first layer is easy to clean and provides maximum resistance in environments where there are increased abrasions, while a middle layer provides dimensional stability and sound-absorbing properties. Its bottom layer, which is molded to the backing cloth, provides stabilization.

Recycled fabrics

FRESH, from Valley Forge, is a line of fabrics made from recycled PET plastic bottles, saving natural resources—nonrecycled polyester is the fabric of choice for the hospitality environment and is made from petroleum. Valley Forge is the only textile company to date that has an established reclamation process to facilitate the recycling of textiles. The fabric feels like cotton and exceeds all fire codes, abrasion, and longevity requirements for use in hotels, and it was recently honored by Sustainable Florida with a Best Practice award in the Large Company Category.

Mold-resistant, paperless drywall

DensArmor® paperless drywall from Georgia-Pacific Gypsum is designed as a replacement for traditional paper-faced drywall. Mold can develop when the combination of the right temperature, mold spores, moisture, and a food source are present. Paper can act as this food source, so substituting the glass-mat facings on DensArmor for the paper facings found on traditional drywall removes a potential food source for mold. For areas where high humidity levels may be present, there is DensArmor Plus® paperless drywall, which uses the same glass-mat facings, but with a moisture-resistant core.