Exploring Flooring Webinar Series
Flooring procurement can have a major impact on the health of your workforce, the health of fenceline communities, and the health of the environment as a whole. Join CEH in this two-part webinar series that will explore the current state of the flooring market and highlight viable more sustainable alternatives.
Throughout this series, CEH will provide you with the information as well as the resources necessary for you to procure non-toxic flooring materials. Jump to Exploring Flooring Part 2: Sustainable Alternatives.
Exploring Flooring Part 1: Our Current Standard is Unsustainable
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
11:00am PT/ 2:00pm ET
The current state of the flooring landscape is unsustainable. Luxury vinyl tile (the industry’s marketing term for polyvinyl chloride flooring) dominates the flooring market of both residential and institutional purchasers. Unfortunately, this material has serious public health and environmental impacts throughout its lifecycle.
Join us to learn why luxury vinyl tile is such a poor flooring choice because of the hazards it poses to human health and the environment.
This is the first of a two-part webinar series that examines the current state of the flooring market.
Presenter Bios
Jose Aguayo is the Senior Manager, Green & Clean Procurement, at the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) where he engages large institutions in purchasing healthier products for use in the built environment through research, advocacy, and education. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in global health, both from George Mason university. Jose has previously worked at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) where he provided technical assistance to environmental justice groups as a contractor for USEPA, providing research and data analysis work to the Safety and Sustainability Division, and as a research analyst to the Environmental Working Group researching toxic ingredients in food and personal care products.
Mike Schade is the Senior Director of Programs and Strategy at Toxic-Free Future. For the last eleven years, Mike led Toxic-Free Future’s Mind the Store program, which challenges retailers to shift the marketplace away from hazardous chemicals and develop comprehensive safer chemicals policies. Prior to joining TFF Mike was Markets Campaign Coordinator with the Center for Health Environment & Justice (CHEJ) where he led campaigns to phase out PVC plastic, phthalates, and bisphenol A in consumer products and packaging, and led the Buffalo office of a statewide environmental health organization. He has a BS in Environmental Studies from the University at Buffalo.
Flooring materials that are sustainable and non-toxic have come a long way in the past 10 years. The work of research institutions, like the Healthy Materials Lab, has advanced our knowledge of material health in the flooring sector immensely. Following this trend, several companies have dedicated time and resources to the development and production of these healthier alternatives.
Join us to learn what makes a flooring material sustainable and non-toxic, and to hear from manufacturers who produce these safer alternatives.