Environmentally friendly building products
In our building industry travels, we’ll sometimes hear push-back against the use of any type of wood-related products — from specifiers and buyers rightfully charged with finding the most environmentally responsible building products available for their interiors projects. We couldn’t agree more that the careful use of our natural resources is the responsibility of everyone in the design and build industries. The truth is, Thermally Fused Laminates, or TFL, are one of the smartest environmentally responsible building products and can be used in a wide variety of applications, from furniture and fixtures to architectural features, closets and cabinets.
What makes it green?
- Quite simply, wood use has evolved. For many applications, we’ve moved from using solid woods (and cutting down lots of old-growth trees) to an environmentally preferable substrate with veneer to, now, a substrate with a decorate surface overlay that enables us to mimic all the design properties of real wood but is made with papers derived from tree fibers grown on controlled, fast-growing plantations. TFL spares old growth and exotic woods while capturing all of its graphic qualities. Read more about the evolution of wood.
- We’re certified (not to be confused with certifiable). Arclin TFL is manufactured in FSC® chain of custody-certified facilities. Panels made with Arclin TFL are ultra low-emitting and may contribute to LEED EQ Credit 4.4 for improved air quality. And Arclin applies its own E-Gen® designation to its TFL products, a proprietary designation that it applies only to products expressly engineered for exceptional product performance and to reduce manufacturing and downstream environmental impact.
- Arclin also manufactures low- to zero-emitting resins for wood panels. Those substrate panels can be combined with Arclin TFL for an extra layer of…green.
Compare TFL to solid woods, veneers, plastics, concrete and more to discover the right shade of green for your next project.