There comes a time, around age 14, when a child's center of gravity moves from the floor to, say, sofa level. Until then, what you might consider a surface made for feet is your kids' whole-body playground, bed, desk, art studio, and clothes hamper. So if you want to create a healthy room, the floor's a good place to start.

Wool carpets and rugs
Wool's always been the luxe choice: At an average cost of $40 per square yard, it's a bigger investment than synthetic-but it lasts longer. And it's not just wool's resilience that cuts costs down the road; it's also warm and insulating, so you can save on heating bills. Wool is a renewable resource and biodegradable. On the other hand, carpeting traps mold and dust. And although the idea of wool carpet evokes fluffy sheep grazing in green pasture, the reality can involve perfectly ungreen backings and adhesives, as well as dyes that pollute the rivers where the stuff is made.

The greening Several companies, including those carrying the Wools of New Zealand mark, are touting their more environmentally friendly wool carpets-which means water-efficient processes for scouring the raw wool and low pesticide use where the flocks graze.

Look for non-chemically treated wool; natural jute fiber or latex backing adhered with natural glues; and all-rubber nonslip pads. Some manufacturers, including Earthweave, offer carpet that hasn't been chemically mothproofed, but it's your call (moths have been known to attack stored and untrodden areas of carpet). Wool floor covering with the least eco-impact is undyed (the dyeing process drinks water), uses non-polluting vegetable dyes, or is recycled-think colorful, pot-holder-like mats made out of old woolen sweaters by Crispina, or Laurene Leon Boym's Baby Zoo Night-Light Rugs, naturally dyed, whimsical wool area rugs with built-in LED lights-both are a perfectly green choice for a child's room. If you're not feeling the need to be a gold-star Earth steward, check out some of the very cool new designs available in wool-Merida Meridian's crisp Viewpoint series was created especially for kids, and is based on children's drawings.

Cork
Soft and durable, cork had its heyday in the '50s and '60s. So if you're aiming for a retro-mod look, consider the classic warm-toned tiles. Or check out some new styles: You can now find cork in a variety of colors, and even patterns.

The greening Cork's always been green. A renewable material, it's produced from the bark of the cork oak tree. What's more, cork flooring's a recycled product made from what's left after that bark's been turned into wine-bottle stoppers. It's naturally non-allergenic and fire-resistant, and if sea levels do rise, your floor might survive-fishermen use cork to float their nets. Cork's been used for insulation, too; in the long run, your energy-bill savings could offset the cost of installation, around $4 per square foot.

Look for no- or low-volatile-organic-compound (VOC) water-based adhesives and urethanes for gluing and finishing your tiles.

Synthetic carpet
Remember Saturday mornings spent sprawled on spongy wall-to-wall, watching TV? Back then, synthetic carpeting was a boon-made of nylon, polyester, and polypropylene, it was more affordable than wool, less itchy, and miraculously stain-resistant. Now we're learning that those carpets were releasing a toxic mix of formaldehyde, benzyne, and toluene; trapping dusts, molds, and other allergens; siphoning petroleum for their manufacture; and clogging our landfills with some 4 billion worn-out tons of non-biodegradable wall-to-wall per year. But things are looking up for synthetics.

The greening When it comes to offgassing, the glues and finishes used in the manufacture and installation of synthetic carpets are the main culprits. Now, the Carpet and Rug Institute has established a Green Label Plus classification for carpeting that uses lower-toxicity adhesives and paddings. (The older Green Tag system is widely considered to be inadequate.) And some manufacturers are recycling old carpet into backing (if you're replacing old synthetic, ask your supplier about pickup) and making new carpets out of recycled materials.

Look for soda-bottle carpet, made by, among others, Mohawk. (The greenest synthetic is made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the plastic in recycled soda bottles. It's soft, tough, naturally stain-resistant (so it gets no chemical treatment) and cheaper than wool at around $15 per square foot. As a bonus, because synthetic materials take up dye more readily than natural materials, it comes in a rainbow of saturated and pastel hues.

Cotton rugs
Just because cotton is natural doesn't mean it's environmentally friendly. Sure, the product is sustainable and biodegradable, but cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops, and dyeing it guzzles water and can pollute streams.

The greening Eco-manufacturers are emphasizing environmentally friendly cotton products-and not just clothing. Even Wal-Mart is selling recycled cotton shag rugs (around $2.25 per square foot).

Look for recycled or organic cotton, undyed or vegetable-dyed. Be aware, though, that if you're looking for great colors and patterns, you might have to go with something commercially dyed. Console yourself: At least cotton rugs don't have chemical finishes! You can get plenty of green points with an Amish organic cotton rag rug woven from scrap fabric. And you can green your rug even more by making sure to use a natural rubber grip pad underneath it.

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