Why Should I Buy Coconut Flooring?
The answer to this question is simple: you should buy coconut flooring because it is an excellent environmentally friendly alternative to buying hardwood flooring. Coconut flooring provides all the benefits of hardwood flooring but doesn't cause deforestation.
It is estimated that in 40 years all the great forests of the world will be destroyed. We will only have secondary forests. Global warming will be wrecking devastation around the world. An important part of the problem is the high commercial value certain hardwood trees have. People want furniture and flooring made from hardwood. The result is that market forces are destroying the single most valuable thing on the planet – the trees.
Hardwood trees typically take between 50 and 120 years to reach maturity. This makes hardwood furniture and flooring unsustainable. In contrast a coconut seed can grow to maturity in only 6 years. For many Pacific Islanders the coconut palm is called 'The Tree of Life.' The coconut palm produces coconuts for 60 to 70 years. After that time, the coconut palm is barren. These barren coconut palms are called senile palms. Senile palms represent lost income to rural communities in the tropics who rely on the coconut harvest for food and income. There are millions of senile coconut palms in the world. It is a great untapped resource.
The timber from senile palms is hard and dense and suitable for flooring. By using the timber from senile palms for flooring valuable money enters into rural communities which can be used to replace senile palms with new coconut palms that produce coconuts.
Coconut flooring is available in horizontal, vertical and strand woven varieties. The natural color of coconut flooring is a light brown, but a darker carbonized coconut flooring plank is also available.
When installed coconut flooring looks very similar to hardwood flooring. It has a beautiful appearance with a natural grain. If properly maintained coconut flooring can last a life time. Coconut flooring has a high Janka Hardness Rating of around 1,600 pounds force which makes it harder than oak flooring. Also coconut flooring is able to withstand high traffic and heavy furniture without becoming damaged.
Finally, like hardwood flooring coconut flooring is anti-allergenic because it prevents dust mites living and breeding. It is the excrement from dust mites that frequently causes allergic rhinitis.
So because coconut flooring is from a renewable resource and looks and performs like hardwood flooring it is a flooring option worth considering. By buying coconut flooring you are helping the environment, supporting developing economies and getting strong and hard flooring that is reasonably priced.
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Comments
Great article and very much in line with my thinking. I have an article on here about the way we are raping the planet and another expounding the virtues of the coconut. The flooring looks very attractive in the picture. I hope more people pick up on this to ease some of the pressure on dwindling hardwood stocks
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