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

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

  • Construction Begins on East Austin CTE-Focused High School

    The Del Valle Independent School District recently announced that construction has begun on a new CTE-focused high school in Austin, Texas, according to a news release. Del Valle High School will measure in at 473,338 square feet and have the capacity for 2,400 students.

  • sapling sprouting from a cracked stone

    Lessons in Resilience: Disaster Recovery in Our Schools

    Facility managers play a pivotal role in how well a school weathers and recovers from a crisis. Whether it's a hurricane, a flood, a tornado, or a man-made event, preparation determines resilience.

  • Malibu High School Campus Completes $102M Phase 1 of Construction

    Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., recently announced that it has completed phase 1 of construction for its new campus, a news release reports. The first phase consisted of developing and modernizing the site of a former elementary school into a new, 70,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

Digital Edition