PVC-Free Resilient Update: New technologies and formulas for bio-based and PVC-free flooring are advancing the offering, which is growing in the market– June 2025

By Jennifer Bardoner

Amid an increasing focus by the design community, end users and consumers, more suppliers are bringing PVC-free resilient flooring options to the market as the products move beyond stringent healthcare environments. Whether it’s an organization’s sustainability goals or concerns about PVC chemistry that are driving these purchases, green resilient products are now being specified in a variety of commercial spaces, and consumers are beginning to ask more questions about the products going into their homes.

But being PVC-free is not enough; these new iterations have to perform, and be both durable and visually appealing-which can be a harder recipe for alternative constructions. While each brand has its own formula for how to achieve this, they agree that such products will be important to success in the future.

EVOLUTION IN THE MARKET
Since being introduced in the early 2000s, PVC-free resilient flooring has largely been relegated to sterile healthcare environments, but it is beginning to stretch its legs.

“In general, we’ve seen an increasing emphasis placed on materiality across all geographies and market segments,” says Roxane Spears, vice president of sustainability for Tarkett North America, citing education, senior living and corporate workplace, in addition to an expanded number of healthcare applications. “When it comes to sustainability, every organization has its own goals, benchmarks and approach.”

In 2004, Finnish producer Upofloor introduced the world’s first PVC-free polymer-based resilient flooring, a plank and tile collection called Xpression, which it quickly followed with a PVC-free homogeneous sheet product known as Zero. Upofloor was acquired by Kährs in 2012.

“There’s been more pull from customers in healthcare, and that’s kind of what drove homogeneous sheet development,” says Yon Hinkle, AHF’s vice president of resilient product management. “But also, from a technical standpoint, early on it was actually easier to use non-PVC alternatives in that [homogeneous] type of structure, just in the way it was manufactured and the way it performed, than it was to print something and get it to behave in the way you wanted it to.”

Related concerns have generally been more pronounced in environments designed to support healing, and operating rooms typically turn to homogeneous sheet to aid in infection control, since its through-body construction prevents germs from settling in. Heterogeneous sheet, which is often used in patient-oriented hospital areas beyond the ORs, comprises different layers of materials fused together and features a printed decor, and getting those layers to bind in a dimensionally stable way is more difficult to achieve without the use of PVC, phthalates and other materials of concern, explains Michael Bristow, Kährs’ commercial sales manager. But manufacturers have since cracked the code, with suppliers including HMTX’s Teknoflor, Patcraft and Shaw Contract introducing PVC-free heterogeneous sheet products in recent years.

“The healthcare market is growing quite a bit, and what we’re seeing is homogeneous sheet products are increasing versus heterogeneous,” reports Mohawk Group senior product director Michael Gearhart, adding that homogeneous products are also more expensive, and therefore more profitable, owing to their specialized nature and enhanced performance.

But there are opportunities for suppliers that can offer a suite of coordinating PVC-free products for healthcare’s different environments. Heterogeneous sheet still has a foothold in healthcare, as well as in some school settings. And with PVC-free becoming increasingly important in spaces beyond hospitals, tile and plank options are the next frontier.

“When you start getting into government, education and other types of areas, plank and tile make more sense from an installation standpoint,” notes Bristow. “They install easier and faster, and the ability to do different areas is a little easier than with sheet.”

Teknoflor is introducing a PVC-free tile this fall that will coordinate with its existing homogeneous sheet option. Kährs is launching a coordinating PVC-free homogeneous sheet and tile collection later this year. Shaw Contract and Patcraft both have several upcoming EcoWorx Resilient PVC-free tile and plank introductions planned for this year. And Mohawk Group is launching two PVC-free resilient tile lines this summer and is looking into heterogeneous sheet options. AHF planned to introduce a PVC-free heterogeneous sheet earlier this year but decided to push it back due to tariffs. The company is now in the process of researching other potential sources.

“A lot of people think PVC is just in the base of LVT products, but it’s throughout the entire product, so from top to bottom you’ve got to change the chemistry of the product,” Gearhart says. “We want to make sure the product won’t curl up or have other stability issues. That’s why it’s taking more time for PVC-free to grow in the market.”

That shift is also now occurring on the residential side-where LVT reigns supreme-with PVC-free applications growing in higher-end multifamily and interest increasing among consumers. While many suppliers are beefing up essentially laminate constructions under the designation of “eco-resilient,” Mohawk’s new SolidTech R swaps PVC for PET, and German laminate producer Classen’s Ceramin replaces PVC with polypropylene. In both cases, the products incorporate post-consumer recycled plastic, a key selling point for residential consumers.

“Sustainability takes multiple forms,” notes Adam Ward, vice president of resilient for Mohawk’s residential business. “In commercial, it’s incredibly important. Whether it be LEED points or other things around sustainability, it is a definite selling point. In the retail space, it’s been much more of a feeling than a ‘have to have,’ but given the increase in importance, we wanted to be in that space, as well.

“In the commercial segment, you talk a lot about carbon sequestration and negative carbon. Marketing sustainability to retail customers is a little different. One thing we found in our research on this is that, when the average retail consumer thinks about sustainability, plastic pollution is really top of mind, so this [recycled content] helps to address what they see as the burning issue around sustainability.”

EVOLUTION IN CONSTRUCTIONS
Finding alternative constructions that check all the boxes takes trial and error, and despite growing awareness of PVC’s downsides, it has set the bar. The well-known material offers dimensional stability and design flexibility, is cost-effective and performs well.

“Our customers are increasingly looking for flooring solutions that support their personal, firm or facility goals while still delivering durability, hygiene and design appeal,” says Gerflor marketing director Jeff Krejsa. “But what continues to resonate most with end users is the ability to achieve long-lasting performance and ease of maintenance, without compromising on sustainability or safety.”

Different iterations have come into the market over the past decade-with a notable number quietly fading away.

“One of the things that slowed down the PVC-free movement in flooring is there were a lot of products put out there that performed one time, then the next two times they didn’t, and that was in commercial spaces where that’s not acceptable,” Hinkle says. “It’s one thing to screw up somebody’s living room, it’s another thing to screw up a hospital.”

In addition to a product’s own dimensional stability, the materials and methods used to install it can also create performance issues. What is standard protocol for PVC-based products may need to be tweaked for alternative constructions. When Teknoflor’s Naturescapes was first introduced in 2018, there were challenges getting the bio-based heterogeneous sheet to lay down properly, but continuous tweaking and coordination with installers have since solved those problems.

“We’re probably on generation three and perfected it four or five years ago,” says HMTX senior vice president of sales Nicolette Grieco. “That’s the good and the bad with being a pioneer. It was unlike any other sheet good installers had seen in the market, so of course there was a learning curve, but by now, most installers do know how to handle these.”

While each supplier has their own recipe, some of which feature proprietary ingredients, there are several general platforms that have shown promise, as well as some unique benefits.

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)
Examples: MedinPure by AHF’s Armstrong, Teknoflor’s Healthscapes and Medella Well by Mohawk Group, all homogeneous sheet

Hinkle says TPU is extraordinarily suited to healthcare environments since “you could eat food off it,” adding that “it’s got a long track record of material safety” and is inherently stain- and abrasion-resistant. Citing feedback from installers, Grieco says the product “lays down like a dream.”

Thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO)
Examples: Patcraft’s ReMaterial and Shaw Contract’s Art + Science collections of EcoWorx Resilient gluedown and click tile

Like PVC, TPO is a common polymer, and its widespread availability allows these offshoots to hit a competitive mid-tier cost when compared to traditional LVT, says Jeff West, vice president of marketing and design for Shaw Commercial, which includes Shaw Contract and Patcraft. This enhances its application in corporate, retail, education and, of course, healthcare. The material’s recyclability is another reason Shaw opted for it. EcoWorx Resilient is accepted through the company’s ReTurn program and turned into new EcoWorx products.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Examples: Mannington Commercial’s Proxy gluedown and two styles in Mohawk Group’s Hot & Heavy II looselay resilient tile

PET is a familiar material, aiding in both successful formulations and marketing, and Gearhart notes that it’s just slightly more expensive than PVC-with plenty of recycled PET available as a material source. Whereas carpet fiber made from recycled PET can only incorporate clear plastic reclaimed bottles, LVT can handle colored ones. And the material is naturally rigid, providing dimensional stability and scratch resistance, while requiring no acclimation.

Polypropylene (PP)
Examples: Classen’s Ceramin click tile and Tarkett Commercial’s Collective Pursuit and Open Path gluedown tile

Durable, flexible and lightweight, polypropylene is another common polymer with a large supply of recycled material. And it can be recycled at the end of its life back into new polypropylene-based products. Both Classen’s Inhaus and Tarkett offer reclamation programs. The material is also heat- and chemical-resistant, food-safe and non-toxic.

Bio-based
Examples: Naturescapes heterogeneous sheet and Nature’s Tile + Plank by Teknoflor, Gerflor’s Mipolam Symbioz homogeneous sheet, Kährs’ Zero & Green homogeneous sheet, and Patcraft’s EcoSystem and Shaw Contract’s Innate + In Tandem heterogeneous sheet and tile collections

There is a wide range of bio-based formulations, making each product’s benefits somewhat unique, but the materials are inherently sustainable and renewable, reducing a product’s carbon footprint. While some bio-based constructions still incorporate PVC as a binder, the ones listed above are PVC-free.

LOOKING AHEAD
Even as PVC-free products extend into education, government, senior living, corporate and residential environments, they are still somewhat niche, but that is expected to change, though no one can say exactly when.

“The world in general is trying to move away from fossil fuels, and that goes way beyond flooring,” notes Hinkle. “There is certainly a younger generation and in general more firms that are driving that push, and more independent thinkers and influencers that are out there that drive that sort of thinking, so interest and demand are increasing. It’s not exponential at this point, but it’s meaningful.”

One of the constraints has been awareness of such products, as well as a limited number of options in the market. Reporting that green products are HMTX’s largest-growing category, Grieco says that while “it is a niche in certain markets, there is such a driving force behind it.”

“I think we’re on the cusp of a transition,” says Bristow. “Now that PVC-free is ingrained a little bit in the design community, now that we’ve seen huge success with different healthcare, education and government facilities where these products have been used, now that people know that they’re not sacrificing performance, durability or aesthetics to achieve sustainable building, it makes it a little bit easier to gravitate toward those products.”

West notes that, within four years of EcoWorx carpet tile’s introduction to the market in 1999, it was growing so much that Shaw quit making its traditional PermaBac backing. And with scale comes cost savings.

The fact that PVC-free products are generally more expensive has hindered its more widespread adoption. New technologies require new equipment and experimentation with new materials and constructions, and with these offshoots occupying a relatively small slice of the market, at least in the beginning, they come at a more premium price point. The longer they are in the market and the more widespread they become, both from a producer and end-user standpoint, the more cost-effective they become.

“At least from a supply chain capability standpoint, things have improved a lot over the last five years,” Hinkle says. “It’s one thing when you have one or two guys doing it; it’s another thing when you have 20 or 40. And I think that move is going to continue.”

Ward says PVC-free will likely always be more premium products. As Bristow explains, “If you put E85 gas in your car, you’re going to pay less than for 93-octane, which is cleaner.” But costs have come more in line with traditional products, especially as the cost of PVC grows. Ward estimates that commercial PVC-free products now cost roughly 30% to 40% more than comparable traditional ones and residential PVC-free products are generally 10% to 15% more.

“The residential side is much more sensitive to that price matching, because no matter what people’s intention is, it’s got to be within their budget,” Hinkle notes, adding that the residential evolution is just beginning.

The caveat to costs across the board is the threat of tariffs, as most PVC-free resilient products are currently imported, though multiple suppliers noted the potential to bring those operations in-house at some point. Mohawk is already actively exploring domestic non-vinyl-based production. Hinkle believes any industry moves will be in the PVC-free plank side of the business due to the format’s wider applications and existing domestic manufacturing footprint.

“We know the market is going to pay slightly more for what they see as sustainable and high performance, but they’re not going to pay significantly more,” says West. “Shaw’s EcoWorx Resilient is a relatively similar cost to LVT, so people are making the decision, ‘Why not go with it?’ Now, I think the biggest impediment is not just the price, it’s also the laps around the track. If you’ve never used it before, maybe you go use it for a small job, then maybe a bigger job. I think it will continue to grow.”

Bristow also notes the lifecycle cost benefits of many PVC-free products, whose alternative materials often offer reduced maintenance needs and enhanced performance.

Products’ aesthetic design is another key component in the selection process, and that’s an area that could use more development. Due to the relatively limited number of products, there is not a plethora of visuals available currently, and Gearhart explains that because different wearlayers are used, it changes the colors, requiring extra design development.

“With technology, you’re going to see from different manufacturers, including us, a continued strive to create more aesthetically pleasing designs as we move forward,” says Bristow.

Noting that homogeneous products are somewhat inherently limited in their design capabilities, he says Kährs is working to soften the aesthetic of its PVC-free sheet products to help provide more of a warm, inviting environment, and AHF recently recolored its MedinPure line to offer contemporary visuals. Meanwhile, Shaw is planning more platforms, shapes, sizes and colors for EcoWorx Resilient.

“We have a lot more concrete, stone and other exciting visuals that are going to be coming out over the next six to nine months,” West says. “I think the key is, now that we’ve got the technology, let’s focus on the aesthetics and make sure we have all kinds of visuals that meet all the needs. Down the road, maybe we’ll have more sheet options in general.”

PRODUCT OFFERINGS
After acquiring Armstrong Flooring in 2022, AHF relaunched the brand’s MedinPure TPU homogeneous sheet last year, refreshed with a broad lineup of soothing colors. The products are protected by Diamond 10 technology and offer enhanced traction with an R10 rating. Devoid of plasticizers, halogens, isocyanates and Red List chemicals of concern, MedinPure won a 2024 Good Design award. Coordinating PVC-free heat weld rods are available.

As the company considers complementary heterogeneous offerings, it will seek to add wood plank looks.

Over 90% of Gerflor’s product lines are manufactured without phthalates, instead using bio-based plasticizers derived from plant byproducts and non-phthalate compounds like citrates. In addition to being sustainable, these alternatives enhance flexibility and wear resistance.

The French producer’s Creation Evo gluedown tile includes 35% recycled content and is 100% recyclable and Cradle to Cradle Silver certified. The wood and stone visuals are topped with ProtecShield surface treatment for enhanced scratch and stain resistance.

Gerflor’s Mipolam Evo homogeneous sheet and Mipolam Symbioz-introduced in 2011 as the first homogeneous sheet flooring made with 100% bio-based plasticizers-both include 25% recycled content and are 100% recyclable. Their Evercare surface treatment promises no waxing needed for the life of the products. Mipolam Evo is made from a proprietary blend of synthetic thermoplastic polymers.

Naturescapes heterogeneous sheet from HMTX’s Teknoflor was the first resilient flooring product to be Petal Certified by the International Living Future Institute’s Living Product Challenge. It and the corresponding Nature’s Tile + Plank collections are made from organically derived polyurethane processed from castor oil and do not contain any chemicals that are classified as carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxins. The products feature authentic wood, linen and organic and decorative concrete visuals.

When combined with Teknoflor’s Healthscapes TPU homogeneous sheet, they provide a complete PVC-free solution for hospitals and other environments. Winner of the 2024 Metropolis Likes Award in the flooring category, Healthscapes is free of Red List chemicals of concern such as ortho-phthalates, halogens and isocyanates. A coordinating tile offering will be introduced this fall.

Classen’s Ceramin is made of a proprietary formula that utilizes a mixture of polypropylene and mineral powder, resulting in a highly durable, stable, waterproof product-the panels are also used in showers. They require no acclimation and are backed by its Inhaus brand’s No Cupping Warranty. Made using 25% post-consumer material, the planks are 100% recyclable and Greenguard Gold certified.

Available for the residential market through Inhaus, the products feature authentic wood and stone visuals with 18 unique planks per design and a low-gloss finish, and coordinating trims are available. In 2023, Shaw and Inhaus parent company Classen formed a strategic partnership for the commercial release and further development of Ceramin in the U.S.

Kährs’ Zero homogeneous sheet and tile and Xpression plank products-made with renewable energy-use a proprietary blend of natural minerals and pure polymers called Enomer, which is not only PVC-free but also doesn’t contain plasticizers, pathogens or heavy metals. Bristow says the material naturally rejects stains, dirt, scratching and scuffing and doesn’t allow for bacterial growth. The tile product, which features a corresponding speckled visual, is installed in Kährs’ warehouse and stands up to the abuse of forklifts driving over it, he adds.

A new Enomer-based line is coming out later this year. Infinity tile and sheet will incorporate manufacturing waste from Kährs’ other PVC-free products, reducing not only its environmental footprint but also its cost, which Bristow says will be “really close to competing with some of the vinyl products out there.” The homogeneous products will feature a traditional speckled design.

Mannington Commercial’s Proxy plank collection does not contain ortho-phthalates, PFAS, halogens, chlorine, heavy metals or conflict materials and is Declare Red List Free. The products are 105% carbon offset from cradle to gate, further reducing their environmental impact.

Designed to be used in a variety of healthcare, education and workplace settings, the line features stone and wood visuals protected by Mannington’s Quantum Guard Elite technology. The products are compatible with all of Mannington’s standard adhesives-an important feature, as some PVC-free options can have more complicated installation requirements, notes Mannington Commercial president Richard French.

With Hot & Heavy one of Mohawk Group’s most popular LVT collections, it is launching Secoya and Bolder in Hot & Heavy II to offer a PVC-free complement. The formats and visuals (concrete and wood) align, allowing for seamless transitions between the collections, and the new 3mm introductions enable literal transitions without the use of strips between it and Mohawk Group’s lineup of 2.5mm and 5mm products. The PVC-free offerings cost roughly 10% to 15% more than the company’s other resilient products, says Gearhart.

Hot & Heavy II and Medella Well are protected by Mohawk Group’s M-Force Ultra performance technology. The latter, a TPU homogeneous sheet product, is free of ortho-phthalates, halogens, isocyanates and Red List chemicals of concern and has coordinating PVC-free heat weld rods.

On the residential side, SolidTech R will continue to push style and realism with bigger planks, more colors and potentially some tile looks. The PET-based product offers three times more scratch resistance than traditional LVT and better joint integrity-something Ward says is one of the selling points amid failures of low-end SPC.

Nox, a South Korean company with U.S. manufacturing, is pioneering bio-circular resilient made from discarded cooking oil, recycled plasticizers from used PET bottles and post-industrial recycled minerals from repurposed filler. An OEM supplier, its bio-based “EMT ecore”-which is essentially green PVC-can be integrated across a wide range of products and is fully recyclable.

Nox’s Evereco+ looselay LUT (luxury urethane tile), which incorporates the EMT ecore, is a TPU made from 72% post-consumer recycled content. Any of Nox’s myriad designs can be printed on the product.

West says Shaw Commercial’s EcoSystem and Innate + In Tandem bio-based collections, which are protected by ExoGuard+, stand up to staining, particularly medical stains, and resist scuffing and scratching. Made from rapid renewable rapeseed, canola or castor oil, they are ortho-phthalate-free, with a global warming potential (GWP) of 2.76 kg of co2/m2, which he says is extremely low, and they are Cradle to Cradle Silver certified.

The company’s EcoWorx Resilient tile lineup-which is also Cradle to Cradle Silver certified and won a 2025 bronze Edison Award in the circular-design category-will gain three to four new collections under both Patcraft and Shaw Contract this year, including some targeted for multifamily. Currently offered in a 2.5mm gluedown format, the new products will include a 5.5mm click offering, and Shaw is looking at adding a 4.5mm format. ExoGuard+ also helps protect the products’ wood and stone visuals, which are direct printed with an endless pattern.

Tarkett Commercial’s Collective Pursuit and Open Path tile are ortho-phthalate-free and Living Building Challenge Red List Free. Whereas Collective Pursuit features contemporary wood and stone looks, Open Path features linen looks that correspond with carpet tiles housed in the same collection.

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