Home Décor That’s Red, White and Blue
Published: July 3, 2023
Today’s flooring customer has more than one motivation to look for carpet, hardwoods, tile, laminate, luxury vinyl and even area rugs that are made in the United States. Along with the desire to support domestic production, homeowners also want to optimize the sustainability and environmental impact of what they buy. Once the term “carbon footprint” entered the consumer language, people began to realize that where the products they buy are manufactured can make a big difference.
Travel
Every mile that products have to move from where they’re manufactured to where you live can increase the price of what you buy in several ways. First, transportation costs factor into the final bill. The farther a product ships to reach you – especially if it goes on a container ship or international cargo flight – the more that distance can add to overall cost.
Second, transportation distance can involve greater reliance on carbon-based fuels. When you buy products that are made here at home, you may benefit from the lack of transportation time and impact. How much that matters to you will determine whether “Made in the U.S.A.” is a primary selection criterion when you’re choosing what to buy.
Supply chain
Not only do products that ship from the other side of the world involve potentially complex transportation impacts, but they also can fall afoul of supply chain snafus. The COVID-19 pandemic brought some aspects of global commerce to a standstill. Some supply chain disruptions may be less foreseeable. If a container ship gets stuck in a canal and blocks international traffic or a volcanic eruption makes air traffic dangerous nearby, these situations also affect what you can and when you can buy it.
Additionally, flooring may not be the highest-profit option to put on a transport ship that’s traveling from Europe or Asia. In those cases, something else gets on the boat instead of that laminate or luxury vinyl tile on which you had your heart set.
When the supply chain slows, your flooring may not arrive when you’re ready to install it. Sure, you may be able to find an alternative to the look you really wanted, but when you buy products that are made in the U.S., you may be able to eliminate some aspects of the supply chain hassle.
How that’s made
The laws that govern manufacturing tend to be more stringent in the U.S. than in some other countries. When you buy flooring that’s made here, you know that it’s fabricated based on the sustainable standards of state and Federal environmental regulations. U.S. manufacturers also must abide by worker-safety laws, as well as protections that keep children out of dangerous jobs.
Your bottom line
Of course, these considerations matter more to some people than to others. Your immediate priority is to achieve the look you want, and if you prefer to buy American-made products, you have many choices.
Among our lineup of manufacturers, these outstanding companies produce at least some of their products in the U.S.
- American Olean: Ceramic tiles
- Armstrong: Hardwood, laminate, vinyl
- Bruce: Hardwood flooring
- Chelsea Plank Flooring: Hardwood flooring
- Couristan: Area rugs
- Daltile: Ceramic and porcelain tiles
- Hallmark: Hardwood flooring
- Happy Floors: Porcelain and ceramic tiles
- IndusParquet: Hardwood flooring
- Karastan: Carpets and area rugs
- Kentwood: Hardwood flooring
- Masland: Carpets
- Mirage: Hardwood flooring
- Somerset: Hardwood flooring
- Stanton: Carpets
- USFloors: Hardwood and bamboo flooring
If “Buy American” is your bottom line, your Kermans Design Consultant can steer your toward beautiful products that are red, white and blue at heart. Make an appointment to visit our showroom – or just drop in to browse – and find your new floor.