Sustainable Carpets

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Sustainable Textile Standard © : Applicable to Carpet and Beyond The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) worked for three years with the textile, design & government communities, producing a Consensus Sustainable Textile Standard © for carpet, fabric & apparel.

Substantial Global Benefits for Carpet, Fabric & Apparel - Environmental, Social, & Economic Textile Rating System: Certified, Silver, Gold & Platinum Sustainable Textile Multiple Environmental, Social, & Economic Benefits over the supply chain Business Benefits: cost savings, product differentiation, long term customer relationships, liability reduction, public accountability, employee and shareholder good will Sustainable Textile Standard © Benefits

Market Definition of Sustainable Textile Life Cycle Environmental Performance Requirements for Sustainable Textile Social Performance Requirements for Sustainable Textile over the supply chain Defines Sustainable Agriculture for Textile Available at: Textile Standard Benefits Continued…

Sustainable Choices Reasons to choose carpet –Reduces indoor air contaminants; specify low-VOC carpet products and systems –Low-VOC carpet supports attaining LEED certification –Choose textiles that meet MTS Sustainable Textile Standard ©

ISO compliant Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). LCA identifies multiple product environmental benefits/impacts throughout the supply chain. Product LCAs are required by law for sustainable, green, or environmentally preferable products, because consumers view these products as environmentally beneficially in all respects. Meeting Other MTS Standards…

Carpet Meeting Other MTS Sustainable Product Standards… Publicly Available ISO Compliant LCAs: Antron Fiber Collins & Aikman Carpet Interface Carpet J&J / Invision Carpet Milliken Carpet Mohawk Carpet Shaw Carpet

Carpet Meeting Other MTS Sustainable Product Standards… Carpet & Rug Institute Green Label Plus in US Green Building Council LEED Rating System Incorporates California 1350 air quality criteria & meets LEED Credit

Shaw EcoWorx Backing Tandus Ethos Backing Innovative Carpet Products

A Product Example Meeting Standards Reuse/Renewal of old carpet tiles by Milliken process yields new products labeled:

For 99 +% post-consumer recycled content For extended product Life For 100% take-back/reclamation For transparent closed loop renewal process For achieving social equity Earth Square: Certified Gold Sustainable Textile

EPA Waste Management Hierarchy

Reuse Carpet can be made of recycled materials, i.e. PET bottles, carpet scraps Reused carpet can itself be recycled Recycling process takes up to 34 steps, whereas Reuse takes three steps No escalating landfill costs & diverts waste from landfill Sign of good product stewardship

Reuse/Renewing saves: Bottom-line, reduced first cost Applicable to most carpet tiles Carpet tiles can be reused/ renewed multiple times Cost effective

Additional choices for carpet Choose recycled carpet –Evaluate post- industrial and post- consumer recycled content –Supports attaining 1 LEED Materials point MTS standard defines recycled content as: The amount of material by weight "collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for use in the form of raw materials, in the manufacture or assembly of a new package or product” (16 C.F.R. § (d)) excluding materials that serve as fillers or binding agents.

Designers Manufacturers Distributors / Installers End User / Maintainer Re-user Sustainable Products and Processes: Maximize Extended Product Responsibility

Reuse examples: Harvard University

King County, Seattle

The Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

individuals organizations communitygovernment corporations Collaborations required

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