Earlier this month, we had the exciting opportunity to go to China with our generous host Metropolitan Hardwood Floors. It was an incredible experience where we visited four cities, rode on a bullet train, walked on the Great Wall of China, immersed ourselves in local culture and toured two Metropolitan manufacturing facilities.
While we always do our research prior to selecting eco-friendly surfaces for The Eco Floor Store, we don’t always have the opportunity to see first-hand how the products are made. So when Metropolitan asked us if we’d be interested in touring their manufacturing facilities, we jumped at the chance.
Here are some of the key takeaways from our tour of the Metropolitan manufacturing facilities:
Sustainability Assurance
Metropolitan Hardwood Floors has an Environmental Compliance Officer that oversees the material sourcing and product manufacturing to guarantee all of their flooring brands, including Kentwood and Evoke, are responsibly sourced and sustainably manufactured.
Quality Manufacturing
The two modern manufacturing facilities we visited were very focused on quality control. Each individual plank is manually inspected by over 50 people at various points throughout the manufacturing process. The manufacturing facilities also hire independent hardwood floor inspectors to oversee and inspect the floors. It was great to see in action the quality assurance Metropolitan is known for.
CARB Compliance
All Metropolitan Hardwood Floors are California Air Resources Board (CARB) compliant, which means they are low emitting and safe for your home. We can’t stress enough the importance of low VOC materials. The floors in your home takes up lots of square footage; it’s important the floors you select don’t off-gas any toxic chemicals.
We appreciated being able to see the manufacturing facilities. It confirmed our knowledge that Metropolitan is truly committed to sustainability and quality.
A huge thanks to Metropolitan and our Chinese guides for a trip of a lifetime!
To learn more about Metropolitan, click here.