The Green Built Alliance, formerly known as Western North Carolina Green Building Council, is a great organization and asset to our area and we are fortunate to be members.
I had the opportunity to be interviewed by an intern Kat Jacobsen last month and I wish her well in her career ahead.. 
  Thanks for visiting our blog!
Catherine: Before I got into this business, I was an elementary teacher. I have an interior-design background. I kept integrating all my artistic abilities in whatever I could do in school education. I felt this desire to work more with the architectural components of interior design. Working with flooring, finishing, and interesting products really inspired me and I wanted to work with it. Working within the design community is really enjoyable and I have learned a lot from it.

GBA: What is your specialty?
Catherine: Well we’re a little bit diverse because we offer a number of things from flooring to pizza ovens. We have a wide range. We offer finishes that are healthy such as American Clay Earth Plaster finish, other natural coatings, floor finishes, and other wood finishes. We sell sustainable flooring, sustainable finishes, and we sell our wood-fire pizza ovens.

GBA: How is your work sustainable for the environment?
Catherine: We have no added urea-formaldehyde or VOCs in our products. We also have a lot of certifications for our products such as Green Guard Gold- or FSC-certification. We look for finishes that are healthy and we have a lot of clients who come in that are chemically sensitive. We make sure that we don’t carry anything that would be harmful to our air quality or anyone’s health. Our floor finishes by Vermont Natural Coatings consist of a binder which is a byproduct of cheese called whey and it provides an extremely strong bond. We focus on finishes that are good for the environment and we pay a lot of attention to the products’ background.

Read more

This is an excellent article written  by Tesoro Woods about VOC's in flooring. 
The first paragraph:
Everyone has heard that Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) can be unhealthy and harmful. We’ve all heard how dangerous VOCs can be, especially in the last few years. But what exactly are VOCs and what do they have to do with flooring? Let’s have a real talk about VOCs in flooring, specifically in engineered wood flooring.
Read more...
Visit our showroom to see samples by Tesoro Woods. 2000 Riverside Dr Unit 10 Asheville, NC

When writing about sustainable flooring there are so many considerations that it is a challenge to be brief especially as we would like to hope that the consumer take seriously how their flooring impacts the environment; both social and physical.  Currently we work closely with Kahrs, Tesoro Woods ( formerly Eco Timber), USFloors,  EcoFusion, and Whole Log Lumber.
I thought it  might be helpful to note just a couple of sentences from each of their websites that highlights what they are about. It's very tempting to add more information, but, thus the nature of blogs-remain brief and to the point.
We do, however,  invite you to look at what interests you most and read about their environmental commitments and background. .
Tesoro Woods: from their "about" page:  Tesoro Woods is a certified advocate of sourcing sustainable materials and using eco-friendly, low-VOC finishes and glues to minimize the impact on indoor air quality and health. Living up to our name, Tesoro Woods prizes wood as a treasure, where every product meets the highest environmental and health standards while looking beautiful.

Kahrs: Kährs ecological approach is of long standing. It earned the company an ISO 14001 environmental management certification – as the first wood flooring company – more than a decade ago.

EcoFusion: EcoFusion is an aptly named and dynamic line of flooring. EcoFusion flooring products blend renewable and recyclable products from the earth and “fuse” them into innovative flooring solutions for the home. We take products such as renewable bamboo and recycled hardwood scraps from furniture factories and turn them into beautiful flooring fashion.
USFloors: USFloors, based in Dalton, GA, is a manufacturer of Unique and Sustainable floors. USFloors is a leading producer of sustainable, eco-friendly floors including cork, bamboo, and FSC®-Certified hardwood, and LVT floors. .
Whole Log Lumber: Since 1984 we’ve created refined rustic reclaimed wood interiors to support the visions of architects, builders, designers & homeowners.

The Arch is committed to making sure we work with flooring companies that have no added urea formaldehyde or other harmful toxins,  ensuring that the air you breathe is healthy. Give us a call  at 828 253 5455 or come by our showroom and we will be happy to offer recommendations on a beautiful,  quality floor.

Bella Outdoor Living by Forno Bravo has introduced a new standard color- a very sleek BLACK. It's classic and works beautifully with surrounding natural elements as well as urban elements. Whether it be natural stone, rich wood tones, concrete, forest views, or city lights this powder coated stainless wood fired oven is built to last for year., This oven has everything going for it. 

Learn more under The Arch "Shop/About Bella" link.  

...and if you like the original gorgeous RED color, you have the best of both worlds to choose from.
Available in four sizes, from 32" to 40",  this oven is the perfect portable oven selection for your deck, patio, yard, or wherever great food and friends want to enjoy some of the most delicious wood kissed foods you can imagine.
Call Cathy or Jim at The Arch to help you with your oven selection and great pricing too.
Or,  order on our website at www.thearchnc.com  The Arch 828 253 5455 Asheville, NC.