How One Wood Flooring Company Became Green

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Hfjj607 Foy 6Our market here in Phoenix is usually about three or four years behind the times as far as trends go, and that proved true for the green movement, too. While that had been going strong for years across the country, it didn't really hit our market until about a year ago. Once we got into this economic mess, it was like a lightbulb went on: The shift in attitude about the environment went 180.

This area was one of the hardest hit by the housing market crash, and that has forced some builders to shift focus and look at doing different things, like green building. Designers are suddenly focused on going green, too. This change has left some wood flooring contractors scrambling to catch up with the times, but we're fortunate in that we've been promoting environmental products for years- long before most of our customers really cared. Now, although the housing market here is still difficult, we're uniquely positioned to help customers who are going green.

A main reason for that is our focus on reclaimed flooring. Not long after we took over the business from my husband's father, I saw a picture in Hardwood Floors of a reclaimed floor. I remember thinking it looked awesome, and wondering about all the history that had gone into it. I told my husband that we were going to do those floors out here, but our state is really conservative- plain, square-edged oak and cherry-and he looked at me like, "Who is going to buy this?" But I found a reclaimed supplier and showed a sample to one of our designers. She said "What is it?" I told her, "This is reclaimed wood; it came from another structure."

At that point, eight years ago, "reclaimed" didn't mean anything to anybody here. The green, recycled aspect didn't appeal to people, but the story with these floors did, and the designer ended up using the floor in a project she was working on. The wood for that particular project had come from a church, and the supplier sent me an old photo of it, which I framed for the customer. For us, the rest is history because word got out about these floors, and it's been a focus of our business ever since.

The interesting thing is that back then, I was excited about the fact that we weren't cutting down any trees to create these floors, but nobody else was. If you used the term "recycled" in the more affluent neighborhoods, you kind of turned people off because they thought they were getting junk, so you had to be careful how you talked about it.

Things couldn't have been more different in California, though. At the same time we were getting into using reclaimed woods, we also started doing work in Orange County. The more we got into doing business there, the more I realized how incredibly environmentally conscious the builders were. Even back then, the contractors I met with were mainly interested in reclaimed flooring, and if the flooring wasn't reclaimed, they wanted to make sure the wood was FSC-certified. Because of the VOC restrictions, we also had to make sure that all of the samples we used had water-based stains and finishes, which was a little bit challenging because those products really change the look of our reclaimed flooring compared with using poly.

Today we're members in some of the green building organizations in California. It's very interesting because they have such high benchmarks for what percentage of the project needs to be recycled-it's about 90 percent of the whole house. When we do work there, to be safe, we use the most restrictive VOC levels we can find for the area, because the VOC regulations are constantly changing. Some contractors are always complaining about the VOC regulations and trying to avoid them, but if you're constantly looking for that loophole, you'll hang yourself out there.

Now our market back here in Phoenix is starting to look a little more like California. We have some builders who are starting to get into green building; one just built a house that was 82 percent recycled, which is high for this market. We also had a home show about six months ago that was all about green building, from energy to lighting to flooring. People asked a lot of questions about low- or no-VOC finishes. As a company, we are constantly examining: What are people asking for, and is it physically possible to do what they want with the products we have. We never want to limit their options. For finishes, if customers want low-VOC, we go with water-based products. If they want no-VOC finishes, we use a vegetable-oil-based coating. We just need to be sure the customer is aware of how their finish choice will provide a totally different look on the floor.

Because we've been working with these products for so long, we have a lot of credibility with our customers. I have long-term relationships with my mills, whether they are selling reclaimed flooring or FSC-certified products. For exotics, I deal with one supplier I trust to provide environmentally responsible products. I'm always digging for new and different environmental products, too. We source reclaimed flooring made from everything from tobacco barns to wine barrels. Recently I found a company that is making flooring out of lodgepole pine trees damaged by beetle infestations in Colorado. The destruction of the beetle to the tree is devastating, but the colors that come out of it-a bluish-gray hue-are awesome. I give the company a lot of credit, because otherwise these trees would probably end up going in the chipper.

These days, everybody is jumping on the green bandwagon, and I think that's a positive change. When we do a reclaimed floor, I wonder, "Who walked on this floor before?" It really makes you think about how we've kind of come full circle. It's a shame we had to be so wasteful for so long before we woke up, but I just hope this green trend is a permanent change.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Mixing with Millennials

Finding and keeping good, young talent can be challenging, and keeping Millennial employees (also called Gen-Y), motivated and happy requires different techniques:

1) Give them ownership. They believe they are special and like to make their own decisions and take ownership.

2) Give regular feedback. Millennials yearn for feedback.

3) Show them the Big Picture. Millennials know what's going on in the world, and their jobs can seem mundane, so explain their role in the "big picture."

4) Let them do good. Millennials care about the world; help them by doing simple charitable works as a company.

5) Build enjoyment into the workplace. They want to enjoy their time. This comes through creativity, spontaneity and relationships with those around them.

6) Give them bragging rights. Millennials are a hyper-competitive bunch. Find out what they value most and give it to them.

Tip Fallon is founder of Speaking for Change, a consultancy that advances the success of college students. To reach him for speaking, consulting or coaching, e-mail TipFallon@ Speakingforchange.com.

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