What are you walking on?
I am not talking literally here; I am addressing what is covering the floors in your home. I raise this subject because there are a lot of alternative floor coverings on the market these days. Manufactures are coming out with products they claim to be made of green or sustainable materials almost on a daily basis.
Some of the things to look for when evaluating claims of green or sustainable materials are the origin of the products. Was the product made locally or was it shipped thousands of miles to get to you? How water and energy intensive is the process to produce the item? I know most people have no idea of what goes into making the tiles on there floor or the carpet, but a little research can go a long way in educating yourself. If you can find locally produced products in most cases you can help to reduce the amount of energy needed to bring that product to market. Tiles made in Italy will cost more just because of the added cost of transportation. Exotic wood flooring will cost more if the product is imported from outside the country. I mentioned these two items because they championed as being green products. Tile and wood flooring do have a green component to them, but it can be negated if they are not manufactured in a sustainable manner. Wood flooring made from slow growing trees is not sustainable as the older trees may be depleted before younger trees have matured.
Some ideas to consider for floor coverings; Bamboo for flooring, it looks great and it is a very fast growing grass. You also might give stain concrete a look, it is very easy to maintain, just make sure you have a professional do the work. Locally produced tiles are a great choice also; they are durable and appealing to most people. Linoleum is also available but be careful where you use it as real linoleum is easily damaged. Also remember when having flooring installed request an adhesive be use that has low VOC content.