KENNESAW, GA.—Reinforcing its commitment to providing customers with an expansive collection of sustainable carpet for contract interiors, several of The Mohawk Group’s numerous product platforms have achieved SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) Sustainable Choice Platinum and Gold/Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification.

Platinum and Gold are the highest levels of achievement recognized under the new national Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard, NSF-140-2005. The standard is the industry’s new sustainability benchmark for ensuring environmentally and socially responsible carpeting products.

“Providing our customers with high quality sustainable products has always been a driving force in The Mohawk Group’s design and manufacturing processes,” said Jim McCallum, president. “With third-party certification programs like SCS Sustainable Choice as an industry standard for excellence in sustainability, we will continue to improve upon and develop new innovative products and technologies that enable our customers to specify the very best in environmentally responsible carpeting.”

The carpet and rug industry is the first category of building products to earn SCS Sustainable Choice certification. The NSF-140- 2005 standard was developed on a consensus basis, building upon previous EPP standards by which carpet manufacturers certified their products.

“With the coveted distinction of such a diverse portfolio of sustainable, certified Environmentally Preferable Products,” said Diann Barbacci, vice president of sustainable design for The MohawkGroup, “we are helping our customers purchase the products they need with confidence to meet their individual sustainability requirements.”

With four notification levels, including Platinum/EPP, Gold/EPP, Silver and Bronze, the multi-faceted rating system is designed to address the key stages of carpeting products’ life cycle, and evaluates products against six categories of criteria: public health and the environment; renewable energy and efficiency; bio-based or recycled materials; environmental and social responsible manufacturing; reclamation and sustainable reuse and end-of-life management.

Among Mohawk’s certified product platforms, several were also certified by SCS to meet the California Platinum and Gold Sustainability Standards.

In other news, Mohawk took a deep look into its carpet packaging—all the way to the core. The company discovered conventional paper carpet cores would sometimes fail and damage carpet. It also discovered it had plastic scrap material that just might have a new use. Mohawk began recycling carpet edge trim, soft drink bottle caps and stretch film that comes as shrink wrap on pallets into tough, durable plastic carpet cores. The new plastic cores are more resistant to breakage and last three times longer.

By using the cores from recycled plastics, Mohawk estimates it saves more than 68,000 trees per year. When the plastic cores reach the point where they are no longer useable, they are ground up and mixed with other scrap to make new plastic carpet cores. “It’s always a positive when you can reduce your company’s waste,” said David Duncan, vice president of marketing for Mohawk. “It’s an added bonus when you improve your product and customer service when you do so.”

Mohawk recycles much of its own waste—and that of others—into useful product streams. The company recycles plastic soft drink bottles into polyester for carpet fiber. It turns waste carpet and yarn into carpet cushion. It recycles old tires into door mats. Sustainability initiatives like these and others are under way for residential and commercial product lines.

For more about Mohawk and its sustainable initiatives, call 800.554.6637.
—Louis Iannaco