This year’s Earth Day theme is Planet vs Plastics, a conversation Karta has been invested in from the very start. Our floors were born out of necessity – an alternative to vinyl flooring, one that doesn’t cost us the Earth.
Supervillain Vinyl
Vinyl flooring hangs around for a lifetime – and another, and another. What starts off as a quick-fix floor quickly gets worn out, only to find itself sat in landfill. Plastics degrade in quality over time but never leave the planet, sticking around as pollution and leeching petrochemicals into our environment. This means today’s floors will still be having a negative effect on our planet in the year 2474! What’s more, LVT floors can only be recycled a handful of times before the material becomes unusable, meaning the waste keeps piling up.
Plastics are now in the food we eat and the water we drink, bringing us into an era that EARTHDAY.ORG calls “The Plasticene”.
“Our reliance on plastics could be the biggest gamble in the story of human health, in history. We are all ingesting and inhaling microplastics. They are everywhere.”
– Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG
So Where do we Go from Here?
By making conscious choices in our individual, everyday lives, we can combat plastic pollution. Using a refillable metal water bottle over single-use plastic ones, ditching fast fashion, and repairing or recycling things we already own are all steps toward a plastic-free future, but why stop there? Eco-friendly and sustainable interiors, like choosing one of Karta’s all-natural floors, is not only an investment in the future of the planet but also maintains indoor air quality. Our manufacturing process is fuelled by the natural emissions of wood, providing healthier living spaces entirely with planet power. Talk about breathing easy!
On a larger scale, there are tons of ways businesses can show their commitment to a healthier planet. EARTHDAY.ORG are outspoken in their demand for a 60% reduction in production of all plastics by 2040. Karta are already on the case.
“The evidence available today demonstrates unequivocally that [the impacts of plastic] will increase in severity in the absence of urgent and effective intervention at global scale.”
– Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health
Green Roots from Day One
Our dedication to all-natural living begins in the very materials we work with – 100% natural wood fibres and resins, using every part of the tree with zero waste. This makes our floors durable enough to stand the test of time while being fully recyclable at the end of its life. And if our floors do end up in landfill at any point, we’ve made sure that they are totally biodegradable. That means no petrochemicals, no SVOCs, and all wood sourced for our floors is FSC-certified.
Karta is looking beyond vinyl to a post-plastic era. We’re developing new, innovative flooring using leather from the shoe industry and saving denim from landfill, taking back resources from companies who are mass-overproducing fast fashion.
Giving Plastics the Boot
Plastics are made from petroleum – you know, that finite resource? There’s only so much to go around and yet manufacturers continue to create single-use plastic products, making our planet sicker and sicker each time. It’s a no-brainer that something has to change. Good thing for us, we don’t have to look much further than nature for planet-friendly renewable materials.
At Karta we push the boundaries of design, redefining the flooring industry with our innovative alternative to vinyl. Being 100% natural, recyclable, and biodegradable, our floors are industry-leading, future-changing, and a responsible choice for adventurous interiors. We contribute to a circular economy, making sure our floors return to the Earth to create sustainable forests.
We’re realistic – we know it won’t happen overnight. But by joining us in our mission to embrace fully-natural interior solutions we can bring about the vision we share with EARTHDAY.ORG, one of a plastic-free planet.
The future of flooring is sustainable. Join the Karta revolution.
