The Future of Workplace Wellness Starts on Every Surface
Why Circular Terrazzo Slabs Matter
August 5, 2025 - Why Circular Terrazzo Slabs Are Redefining Workplace Wellness
A wellness forward workplace kitchen island clad in Eco-Terr® Slabs Kluane Lake.
Did you know that the materials we touch every day from desks to counters to walls can significantly affect indoor air quality, wellness, and long-term building performance? In the evolving world of modern commercial interiors, surfaces are no longer just aesthetic elements. They are foundational to workplace wellness, sustainability, and even organizational values. And as material health, climate impact, and third-party certifications move from back-of-house checklists to front-line strategy, circular design materials like terrazzo slabs are leading the shift. Clean Air Begins with Clean Materials According to Harvard’s Healthy Buildings research, indoor materials play a critical role in air quality. Surfaces that off-gas VOCs or contain hidden toxins can compromise occupant health for years after installation. That is why forward-thinking firms are specifying Eco-Terr® Slabs, a PFAS-free, resin-free, and zero-VOC terrazzo surface engineered to support better air quality, enhanced safety, and low embodied carbon design goals. Whether used on reception counters, kitchen islands, walls, or collaborative tables, Eco-Terr® offers verified sustainable materials that contribute to both beauty and well-being in the workplace. PFAS-Free, Third-Party Verified, and Transparency Made Easy PFAS, sometimes called "forever chemicals," are still widely used in architectural surfaces. But the tide is turning fast. California has banned PFAS in textiles and coatings, and global markets are shifting toward chemistry transparency and standardized sustainability criteria. Eco-Terr® Slabs are proudly third-party verified, with full Health Product Declarations (HPD v2.1), and can contribute to multi-attribute certifications such as WELL and LEED. For designers, it means peace of mind and spec with confidence decisions. Eco-Terr® supports Level certification, supply chain transparency, and is sustainable by design, making it a smart choice for projects requiring Declare labels or stringent vetting. Circular Materials with a Second Life Global marble supplies are dwindling, and quarrying takes a heavy toll on the planet. Yet marble remains one of the most beloved materials in design. Eco-Terr® solves this tension by turning reclaimed stone into high-performance slabs giving old materials a future. Each Eco-Terr® Slab is made using post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content, including fragments of rare marble and granite from closed quarries or demolished buildings. These are combined with recycled cement and fly ash that would otherwise enter waterways—supporting end-of-life responsibility and reducing carbon emissions. This is product circularity in action. Beauty, performance, and extended producer responsibility (EPR), all in one slab. Designed to Meet Global Standards and Green Building Goals Eco-Terr® is not only a material with integrity—it is a system-friendly solution. Designed for alignment with international sustainability standards and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, each slab supports the growing demand for net zero interiors and climate-positive materials. Architects and designers working toward LEED and WELL find Eco-Terr® Slabs exceptionally easy to specify. They offer: This makes Eco-Terr® an ideal choice for institutional design, health-focused design, and NeoCon innovation projects alike.
Close-up of a cut corner of Eco-Terr® Slabs in Kluane Lake, showing the dense composition of reclaimed marble and granite chips embedded in a cool gray terrazzo matrix.
Product Highlight: Eco-Terr® Slabs Kluane Lake Inspired by the glacial stillness of Canada’s Kluane Lake, this slab features a cool gray matrix scattered with reclaimed marble chips in soft beige, green, and dark charcoal. It evokes natural calm while supporting low-VOC surfaces for high-touch environments. Available in honed, polished, and Riverwash finishes, Kluane Lake is ideal for office kitchens, counters, lobbies, and wall panels where smart material selection meets timeless aesthetic. Looking Forward: Wellness and Circularity Built In The most impactful surfaces of the future will be more than just beautiful. They will be designed for disassembly, engineered for material health, and documented for transparency made easy. Eco-Terr® Slabs are ready for that future now. As the architecture and design community embraces spec-ready materials that meet rigorous performance and sustainability criteria, circular terrazzo surfaces offer a clear way forward. Because the best workplaces are not only designed for people they are designed with the planet in mind.
"When you design with the earth in mind, people thrive too." — CoveringsETC Did You Know? Eco-Terr® diverts pre-consumer fly ash from polluting waterways and transforms it into cradle-to-cradle architectural surfaces with long-lasting performance. Every slab is an investment in both environmental and human health.