Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

The Red List and Declare Labels

  • By Lauri Watnee
  • 11/01/15

Have you ever thought about what toxic materials might be lurking in your classroom walls, floors and furniture? Are you familiar with the Red List, the “worst in class” materials, chemicals and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem? If not, you might be surprised that Red List chemicals are commonly used in building products.

The good news is that some companies are fully committed to product disclosure, and believe that the process will encourage the development of more innovative green building products that will result in healthier indoor environments. After all, you want to make the right decisions for the health of your students when designing and constructing buildings by using ecologically sound products without resorting to extensive research.

But with the lack of verifiable product information and all the greenwashing in the marketplace, how can you trust manufacturers? The Living Building Challenge has the world’s most aspirational green building standard and has incorporated transparency though its Declare program. We recommend asking your suppliers to provide Declare labels, which serve as a clear, elegant and informative ‘nutrition-label’ for building products. Declare labels fill the information gap by answering three simple questions: Where does a product come from? What is it made of? And where does it go at the end of its life?

At Mohawk Group, we have embraced third-party certifications to help our customers make conscious, informed decisions. In fact, we currently have Declare labels for 489 Red List-free products in the marketplace and continue to lead the entire manufacturing industry with the largest and most varied selection of products that have Health Product Declarations (HPDs), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Declare Labels. All certifications are available on MohawkGroup.com and GreenWizard.com.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Lauri Watnee is the director of Education Segmentation at Mohawk Group.

Featured

  • Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Agricultural Sciences Complex has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Indiana University Launches Capital Campus in D.C.

    Indiana University recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new IU Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., according to university news. The eight-story facility will provide a central hub for the university’s existing programs and business operations based in D.C., uniting them under one roof and providing the opportunity to expand.

  • Dallas ISD Voters Approve $6.2B Bond Package

    Dallas ISD voters have approved a record-setting $6.2-billion bond package that district leaders say will modernize aging campuses, eliminate portable classrooms and reshape learning environments across one of the nation’s largest school systems.

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.