Not sure what toxic elements you are referring to, but wool carpets usually have flame retardants, moth repellents and stain proofing, as well as non-wool backing and padding. So a wool carpet may not be what you are looking for.

Linoleum with a wool area rug on top? I'm not aware of rugs being pumped full of flame retardant, unless they do that for cheap mass-produced ones.

Or get whatever carpet and let it off-gas in the garage for a while before installing it.

Thanks for the tips on wool, Partim.

I had no idea and this was floated as a healthier option.

QV: Carpet is full of carcinogens and VOCs. I’m looking for alternates to this. Allowing to off has in the garage is not an option as it is covering a large area.

Thanks!

Yeah I don't like carpeting either (will soon be ripping out the cheap gross carpet in the bedrooms of the old house we recently bought and replacing with hardwood). Even if you get the purist least carcinogenic carpeting, don't forget about the horrific amount of particulate filth that will accumulate out of reach of your vacuum over the years.

If you don't want VOCs or weird crap in your flooring, I think that just leaves you with hard surface options like linoleum or terrazzo (made from non-plastic natural materials), wood (pre-finished or site-finished with non-toxic finishes like shellac or tung oil), or stone or ceramic tile. Then get the wool rugs.

There are wool carpets that do not contain chemicals of any sort such as those by Earthweave. You could also look at other natural fibers such as sisal and jute, but they won’t be as soft underfoot. Also, be aware that most of these non-toxic carpets use natural rubber/latex as the adhesive in case that’s a concern. Have you considered cork?

Edit: You can also look for low VOC carpets that carry the Green Label Plus certification.