The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) released the innovative, first-ever Material Ingredient Guide at Coverings 2021, a collaborative resource that provides the following for materials used by North American tile, mortar, and grout manufacturers:
- Details about material ingredients
- Thorough health assessments
- Steps toward material ingredient transparency for manufacturers to share their products’ content and chemical composition
This guide was a joint effort of the following 17 North American tile manufacturers and TCNA members:
- American Wonder Porcelain
- Ardex
- Arto Brick
- Bostik
- Crest
- Crossville, Inc.
- Custom Building Products
- Dal-Tile Corporation
- Florida Tile
- Florim USA
- Interceramic USA
- Ironrock
- Laticrete
- Porcelanite-Lamosa
- Portobello America
- Schluter Systems
- StonePeak Ceramics, Inc.
TCNA and its members worked with WAP Sustainability, a trained GreenScreen assessment practitioner, to produce GreenScreen Assessments® for the vast majority of material ingredients used by ceramic tile, mortar, and grout manufacturers. GreenScreen® is a tool used worldwide to evaluate and benchmark chemicals and their associated hazards.
This industry effort — which made up the largest crowdfunded accumulation of GreenScreen Assessments® ever created — will make it easier to reference benchmarks when creating manufacturer inventories (MIs) and health product declarations (HPDs) to assist in obtaining green building optimization credits and enabling companies and governments to ensure products are safe for both human health and the environment.
Industry Impacts
The Material Ingredient Guide is representative of the ceramic tile industry’s commitment to consistency, thoroughness, and transparency in its product reporting, and comes on the back of many similar initiatives, such as environmental product declarations (EPDs) and Green Squared® product certifications. Following the steps outlined in the Material Ingredient Guide will make it easier to comply with green building certification programs such as LEED, WELL, and the Living Building Challenge as well as earn customers’ trust.
Demand for product ingredient disclosure has never been higher. Although TCNA has already provided a level of transparency never seen before in any building industry, its members are committed to going even further: They hope to have the greatest amount of fully assessed material ingredient reports on the market.
Outside of its immediate benefits, the TCNA member collaboration is expected to spark even greater interest and innovation in creating healthier indoor environments within the ceramic tile industry, as well as provide a model for other industries to follow.
Learn More
Read TCNA’s press release to learn more about the Material Ingredient Guide and its impact on the tile industry. Then download the guide itself to start reaping the many benefits of this innovative resource.
Additionally, listen as this panel from Coverings 2021 discusses Environmental Responsibility and Human Wellness, which explains the importance of the Material Ingredient Guide. And learn more about the green building benefits of ceramic tile by visiting out Sustainability Guides.
