FCA Network regional manager Ted Kuderko discusses new carpet with Jamie Zizzo.

By Steven Feldman
Chicago—FCA Network is jumping on the green bandwagon. The 51-member offshoot of Chicago-based top 20 flooring retailer Floor Covering Associates recently took the wraps off its Green AdvantEDGE brand, which consists of products that come from renewable resources, either recycled or recyclable.

The group created Brookline Mills as an umbrella for all the Green AdvantEDGE products, which include some carpet products, bamboo, cork and engineered hardwood. Any product that bears the Green AdvantEDGE brand is guaranteed to consist of materials that have been manufactured through processes that conserve natural resources and reduce air, water and solid waste pollution. Or, the products consist of naturally occurring resources that are easily renewed such as wool, cork and bamboo.

Several Green AdvantEDGE carpets have a cradle-to-cradle recycling story, consisting of backing and fiber recycled from previously used carpet. In addition, the brand includes carpet made entirely from recycled plastic bottles, or P.E.T resins.

“We are taking the lead,” said Olga Robertson, CEO. “My dealers will benefit. They are smaller dealers in secondary markets, so this will allow them to separate themselves from the competition in a big way as long as they support the program.”

Specifically, there is a carpet tile program from Shaw that consists of eight Main Street and residential applications. The products’ face yarn is from recycled content, and the backing is from ECOWorx, which is 100% recycled material. There are also residential styles from Mohawk constructed of DuPont Sorona fiber and P.E.T. Finally, there are six styles of branded nylon from Anso, where the face of the yarn is 25% recycled content.

As for the engineered hardwood, Robertson said the inner core is composed of wood filler that’s created in the manufacturing process of other byproducts, which would otherwise be burned or put into landfills. “And this puts essential natural materials to good use instead of having them enter the planet’s waste stream.”

Bamboo and cork will join the program early in the second half of the year. There will be steamed and natural bamboo. As for cork, Robertson said the 80/20 rule applies: “We will offer the look that sells. The specialty stuff looks good but simply doesn’t get installed.” She added that there will be about 20 SKUs between the cork and bamboo. As well, recycled ceramic products may be on the horizon.

Other news

Despite the focus on its green initiative, Robertson noted that FCA Network did not abandon its other collections. For example, the SoftTouch Tactesse program from Dixie has been re-vamped and renamed Stainmaster Essentials. FCA is adding eight to 10 Stainmaster extra-body or value products, which, when combined with the Tactesse level cut loop soft yarns, creates a collection with more options.

Robertson was most pleased with member participation, stating that she received almost 100% participation on all programs. “We try to impart on the members that things are changing so rapidly, today a retailer is going to have a tough time staying on top of everything,” she said. “Retailers need the help of a group so they can focus on selling and we can come up with the promotional ideas, merchandising and buying.”

It seems to be working. The 51 members did approximately $65 million in business last year and, according to Robertson, all showed growth. “We increased purchases with our suppliers in a down year.”

The differentiator from other groups, Robertson said, is that “we are retailers helping other retailers. We are in the trenches every day. We at FCA have the same issues our smaller dealers do. We know what buttons to push. If I have a dealer who says he can’t get carpet because the mill has revised production, I know who to call to make things happen. We intervene on their behalf in so many areas.”