Anyone in the flooring industry is aware of the incredible growth of rigid core flooring. Innovation in the category has been very exciting as has its growth in market share. When I look back over the decades, I am hard pressed to find parallels.

An association like ours has many strategic responsibilities. A key one is aiding in the creation of meaningful certifications that help the consumer, whether that be an individual or a company. FloorScore is a terrific example.

With the ascension of rigid core in the market, we helped create a multi-attribute certification for rigid core that addressed a number of properties that were meaningful to the consumer. This certification was named “ASSURE Certified™”.

After reading your March 12 article “The Quest for Quality Rigid Core Flooring” and not seeing reference to "ASSURE Certified™", I wanted to provide some perspective that might be helpful.

What exactly does "ASSURE Certified™" address?

In a nutshell, there are four main areas that a Rigid Core product (WPC or SPC) must pass in order to be labeled "ASSURE Certified™":

• indoor air quality
• performance testing
• heavy metal content
• ortho-phthalate content

The requirements in each area are thoroughly defined in the certification and are rigorous.

The certification is administered by SCS Global Services, a company that has a rich history in third-party certifications across a variety of industries since 1984. More about them here. In addition to reviewing third-party lab testing, SCS executes an on-site audit for each manufacturing facility as part of the overall process.

To learn more about the actual Assure Certified process, visit scsglobalservices.com/services/assure-certified.

Assure Certified stands ready to provide a robust and meaningful multi-attribute certification for the rigid core products that have been submitted and have met its requirements.

Thank you for allowing this additional perspective.