InterfaceFLOR’s new introduction, Raw is composed of 100% recycled yarn. It contains 40% less embodied energy and requires 85% less water to produce than carpet made with only 11% recycled fiber.

By Peter Greene, Vice President of Marketing, InterfaceFLOR*

As we head into Greenbuild this week, looking forward to learning about the industry’s latest “green” products is at the top of everyone’s minds. But how do you sort through all the “green” claims that have proliferated?  How do design professionals (and savvy consumers) know if there are hidden tradeoffs or if their decisions actually lead to a more sustainable world?

Read more »

It’s no secret that Passivhaus, or Passive House, is exploding in popularity right now.  This site is publishing more about Passive House every week and readers seem to be more interested in these ultra-efficient homes than ever.  In fact, the volume of news references for “Passive House” and “Passivhaus” is up in recent years, according to a simple search using Google Trends.

So, what’s the secret behind the success of Passive House?

Read more »

Treehugger‘s Great Prefab Debate is set for today at 3:30 p.m. EDT, so bookmark this page and come back. You can watch live and submit comments. This will be an old fashioned debate for the resolution that “prefabrication is a greener way to build.” Michelle Kaufmann, Michelle Kaufmann Studio, will speak for the resolution, and Chad Ludeman, Postgreen Homes, will speak in opposition. Then there will be questions, conclusions, judges remarks, and some final wrap up for audience voting.

Meanwhile, feel free to browse our extensive green prefab archives to brush up; and here’s the original article by Chad that opened this discussion.

Update – you can catch the debate above, cast your vote on Treehugger.

OgilvyEarth, a sustainability consultancy, studied the mainstream consumer and posted some fascinating research.  Specifically, 82% of Americans have good green intentions, while only 16% of Americans are firmly dedicated to fulfilling those green intentions — leaving 66% in the middle, the “Middle Green,” wanting to do more but not getting it done.  This deficiency between intent and action — the Green Gap — is explained with some firm solutions in a 131-page reported called Mainstream Green.

Read more »

Ecosistema Urbano, an agency that runs a website on the topic of “creative urban sustainability,” recently listed the top environmentally-responsible design blogs with this site included. EU also published the Prezi above saying Jetson Green is a “blogger and tweeter extraordinaire … [that] brings followers the latest strategies for building sustainable homes with natural materials and green technologies.” Here are the other four:

Read more »