What are they talking about with 60 Minutes Lumber Liquidators?

What is this Carb II?

The topics covered on 60 Minutes with Lumber Liquidators primarily focused on laminate flooring (which has a fiber board core, but also mentioned issues with engineered flooring). To save money some companies will use glues that have high formaldehyde emissions to save time and money. High emitting glues cost less and dry faster in the press, giving these products a lower manufacturing cost.

Hallmark has a very different approach. We run our business very efficiently, and thus are a cost effective supplier (but not the cheapest). With that said, Hallmark has always been focused on value and providing the best possible product at a fair and reasonable price. Hallmark has always used the highest quality/lowest emitting glues available to hold our plywood together. The adhesive is produced in Japan (which has the toughest emission standards in the world), and has the very lowest emissions of any product we have found. We have used this adhesive system exclusively since the inception of our company. Our products have lower emissions than required by California’s stringent CARB II standards which were implemented to more closely match those found in Europe and Japan. Please rest assured that Hallmark floor will not pose a health risk for you or your family.

Third party testing of our product has confirmed that we are CARB II compliant, and the owner of Hallmark, and several of our employees have Hallmark in their homes. We do not understand a situation where someone would make a decision of profit over the health and well being of their customers.

We are a California based manufacturer and Hallmark Floors has met California’s high standards from day one.

For more information, click here. Read our FAQ on Carb II.

Comparison of International HWPW (Hardwood/Plywood) Emission Standards.

Definitions:

Standards
CARB-P1: California Air Resources Board Phase 1 emission standard (Allow sell-through date for PB & MDF is unitil Dec 31, 2011)
CARB-P2: California Air Resources Board Phase 2 emission standard (Enforcement date for PB & MDF is Jan 01, 2012)
ANSI A208.1 & 2: North America voluntary standards ANSI A208.1- 2009 Particleboard & ANSI A208.2-2009 MDF (include most of industrial particle boards and MDF) E2: European E2 emission standard (Most import products from Asia are E2 or worse)

E1: European E1 emission standard
E0: European E0 emission standard
SE0: European Super E0 emission standard
F**: Japanese F-Star2 emission standard
F***: Japanese F-Star3 emission standard
F****: Japanese F-Star4 emission standard
JIS: Japanese Industrial Standard

Products
HWPW: – Hardwood / Plywood
PW: – Industrial plywood
PB: – Particleboard
MDF: – Medium density fiberboard
ppm: – Parts per million

Source: http://cwcfurnituregroup.ca/CWCV11/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=177&Itemid=343On

Source: http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2007/compwood07/apph.pdf