Phthalate-free

Phthalate-free. Because it’s the right thing to do.

Phthalates are a type of plasticiser, an ingredient that makes materials like PVC flexible enough to be turned into products like flooring. While the use of some phthalates is uncontroversial, others are believed to have a harmful effect on our health. Although this has not been proven beyond doubt, and many phthalates remain legally on the market, for us the conversation alone was enough to take us in a different direction.

In 2009, we announced our ambition to be 100% phthalate-free across Europe and began a programme of significant R&D investment, collaborating with our suppliers to find and implement other alternatives. We succeeded.

And by 2019, while others were still debating on phthalate safety, we quietly announced that 100% of our vinyl production sites in Europe, North America, Serbia and China used phthalate-free technology, involving plasticisers that can be used for young children’s toys and food containers, the toughest standards there are. It’s not something we had to do, it’s something we wanted to do to give our customers the peace of mind they deserve.

Making conscious choices. For people and planet.
Tarkett Human-Conscious Design^TM.