Home Green Design The Story of the Carpet You Choose is Worth Knowing

The Story of the Carpet You Choose is Worth Knowing

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Glenn Hasek

The carpet making sector has been one of the most aggressive in our industry when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of the products they sell. They have been among the most innovative and visionary regarding sourcing, design, manufacturing, and recycling and taking back product at the end of its life. Companies within the sector should be so progressive and held accountable for the products they make. Their new carpeting covers billions of square feet every year. Carpet is made from nylon—a polymer (a plastic) so its carbon impact is significant. Over the years it can be treated with chemicals and vacuumed hundreds or even thousands of times. It can be a home for dirt, allergens, dust mites and whatever else your guests and/or their pets have brought in.

Your choice of carpeting can be one of the most environment-impacting decisions you can make. Choose modular carpeting with its own integrated backing and base and you choose a product whose squares can be easily replaced without replacing the entire carpet configuration. Choose the right broadloom carpeting and padding—lines that include recycled content—and you can also reduce your environmental impact.

Talk to just about every carpet maker today and they will tell you a fascinating environmental story. I will share a couple of stories with you.

Shaw Achieves Carbon Neutrality

First, just last week, Shaw Industries Group, Inc. announced that it has achieved carbon neutrality in its commercial carpet manufacturing operations. The achievement encompasses all commercial carpet manufacturing facilities that Shaw owns and operates globally, including those for Patcraft, Philadelphia Commercial, Shaw Contract and STS.

Shaw achieved carbon neutrality across its commercial carpet operations by first reducing its energy consumption, then switching to cleaner fuels; producing renewable energy at its own facilities; and incentivizing additional renewable energy development and usage through the purchase of renewable energy credits. These efforts include installing a 1 MW solar array atop its carpet tile manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Ga. in 2013.

Companywide, Shaw’s greenhouse gas emissions have improved approximately 25 percent compared to 2010 and the company has a target of reducing both the amount of energy it uses and the amount of GHG emissions it produces by 40 percent by 2030 (per pound of finished product).

Interface’s Carbon Negative Carpet Tile

The second example is Interface’s Proof Positive carpet tile that the company says is carbon negative. According to Interface, after the tile is made, there is less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than if it had not been manufactured in the first place. Every day plants pull carbon out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis but release it when they decompose. Interface has taken specifically selected plant-derived carbon and converted it into a durable material that stores that carbon for at least a generation. The carbon is stored in the materials that make up the Proof Positive tile.

The tile’s materials can be recycled to create new carpet tiles at the end of the product’s useful life. Keeping this carbon in Interface’s recycling system through ReEntry ensures that this carbon stays in a closed technical loop where it belongs, rather than in the atmosphere where it has negative effects on climate.

Interface’s Proof Positive prototype tile achieves a negative carbon footprint through design and manufacturing, not by purchasing carbon offsets. Since 1996, Interface has reduced its cradle-to-gate product carbon emissions from an average of 20.0 kilograms of carbon per square meter to just over 7 kilograms per square meter in 2016. Interface’s concept tile proves that it is possible to store carbon in products rather than emit more carbon into the atmosphere in the process of making those products.

There can be many upsides to carpet—from a design to a sound insulating standpoint. Unfortunately, a carpet’s story can also be a waste-filled one. The next time you need to replace your carpet, make sure you know its story’s true beginning, middle and end.

Green Lodging News Adds PlushBeds to Product & Service Directory

Green Lodging News has added PlushBeds to its Green Product & Service Directory in the “Mattresses” category. PlushBeds is a leading online 100 percent natural latex mattress provider. An early pioneer of the bed in the box industry, PlushBeds uses a state-of-the-art machine to compress roll its mattresses to prevent any warping, and ships factory direct, saving the consumer nearly 50 percent what the price would be for a natural latex mattress on a showroom floor. Unlike its competitors, PlushBeds has a no-gimmick 100 percent moneyback refund policy if you are unsatisfied with your purchase. Call (888) 213-3145 or e-mail pgunther@plushbeds.com for more information.

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Who is Your Sustainability Champion?

Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Looking for Guest Columnists

Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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