A Guide to Non-Toxic Cork Flooring (With Photos)

This post offers some innovative natural cork brands that have gone above and beyond the norm to create non-toxic and 0-VOC products.

Most cork flooring is click-together and made with a high-density fiberboard (HDF) core which is usually made with formaldehyde glues.

Some cork flooring is cork all the way through.

The agglomerated cork of either type needs glue to hold it together. The cork is conventionally bonded with polyurethane glues, formaldehyde glues, and sometimes some polyvinyl acetate (though that is not the main glue).

Polyurethane and formaldehyde glues do have noticeable offgassing, and some can be quite high in odor. Note that cork itself has a fairly high natural odor at first, higher than wood, but faster to go down.

We want to look for extremely low or 0-VOC options, or the next best thing is to look for GreenGuard Gold certified brands.

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Why Go With Cork

• Cork is very environmentally friendly, the trees are not cut down to produce cork and animals can continue using the forest as a habitat at all stages. Some brands are carbon-negative.
• It can be very safe for the homeowner since a few brands come in at 0-VOC or close to 0-VOC.
• It’s always soft to walk on and feels warm to the feet.
• It doesn’t absorb water.
• Can be used on the wall for decorative effects and for sound reduction.
• Provides insulative value.
• Provides sound reduction between floors.

Non-Toxic Click-Together Cork

1. Amorim Wise Cork Wise

WISE Waterproof Amorim Cork Wise now under Wicanders Wise and called Cork Inspire is a popular brand of cork flooring since it has extremely low offgassing and it’s waterproof.

And I definitely think this is one of the healthiest brands out of all of the ones I have seen. I could pick up the offgassing slightly (it doesn’t seem zero-VOC to me but it’s close).

It’s lower in offgassing than most other flooring options and it made pretty good progress over time. Many sensitive folks like it.

The Cork Inspire is through and through at every layer. Polyethylene is the main binder.

It is GreenGuard Gold.

The top coating is a BPA-free recycled PET (water bottles)

• Its PVC-Free/phthalate-free
• Waterproof, and pet-proof
• Residential or commercial use
• It provides insulation and noise reduction
• Negative carbon balance

Wood Inspire

They also have a Wickanders Wise Wood Inspire, pictured above.

They have a Declare Lable here.

This has a thin plastic top layer that looks like wood, made of BPA-free recycled PET (water bottles).

The look and feel is something in between the melamine plastic of laminate and the PVC top coat of Luxury Vinyl Plank. (Though it does not contain PVC).

All of the other layers of the flooring are cork, same as with their Cork Inspire above.

2. Amorim/Wickanders Cork Go

This is a click-together cork flooring with a cork top layer, cork underlayment, and a high-density fiberboard (HDF) core.

The majority of click-together cork is constructed this way. However, this one is different in its chemical composition.

The Cork Go line claims to not use polyurethane or formaldehyde glues in the product, including in the HDF layer. This layer is typically made with formaldehyde glues.

Plus the cork layers are usually made with polyurethane or formaldehyde glues.

The finish on top is a factory-sealed UV-cured acrylic that is 0-VOC.

The installation is glue-less and you don’t need an underlayment over a wood subfloor.

The odor of Cork Go is mild.

Zero-VOC Glue Down Cork Tile

This type of cork is cork through and through and it’s a glue-down tile. The key thing to look for here is what kinds of glues are used to hold the cork together.

The best brands are zero-VOC. Some are high in offgassing from polyurethane and/or formaldehyde glues.

Cork tiles are soft underfoot and are one of the best insulators of sound and heat. A sheet with a thickness of 3mm to 12mm can dampen the sound by 10-40 decibels.

1. Forna Tiles

Forna cork tiles from Cancork/icorkfloor claim to be 0-VOC and be made without formaldehyde.

Some lines claim they are low-VOC.

This cork tile is a glue-down tile that also needs to be sealed in-house. They recommend Loba 2K polyurethane to seal the top and Wakol D 3540 water-based 0-VOC contact cement to glue them down.

More Conventional Cork Flooring

Most cork flooring is engineered cork which has an HDF core. It has a cork top layer and cork underlayment.

The HDF core is usually made with formaldehyde and the cork is also compressed with glues including formaldehyde, polyurethane, and others.

1. Forna Click-Together

Forna click-together cork flooring from Cancork/icorkfloor claims to be made without formaldehyde though it’s not clear if they are claiming just the cork parts are made without formaldehyde or the HDF is too, it sounds like just the cork part. So be aware of that distinction which can easily be confusing.

Some of their floating (click-together) floors reveal that they are made with a glue that’s predominately polyurethane with some PVA adhesive. They say the HDF complies with the lowest formaldehyde ratings (which all of it does now).

2. Floor & Decor

Floor & Decor cork click-together plank floors have an HDF core and UV-cured finish (that part likely has no offgassing). They don’t give any information on the glues used in the HDF or in the cork parts. They are GreenGuard Gold certified.

Floor & Decor also has cork flooring with a faux wood look on top (kind of like a laminate flooring) then a layer of cork, then HDF, then cork below. They also don’t give out information on the glues but it is GreenGuard Gold Certified.

3. Cali Floors

Cali Floors cork flooring with natural cork as the top layer was one I found to be the best a few years ago before Amorim Wise came along. 

They now offer Pura CALI Cork Classic which has a cork top layer and HDF core. This looks like just a standard cork and HDF flooring, with standard glues.

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.

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