Dan Frierson, chairman of the Dixie Group

By Matthew Spieler
Las Vegas—While the flooring industry’s overall commitment to being environmentally friendly was abundantly clear at this year’s Surfaces, it was the carpet companies and their fiber suppliers who took the lead in this area.

For more than a decade the carpet category has been at the forefront of environmental activism, such as the creation of Carpet America Recovery Effort ( CARE) in 2002 to develop market-based solutions for the recycling and reuse of post-consumer carpet.

Individually, the majority of effort by the mills and their fiber suppliers have been either behind the scenes, such reducing the use of natural resources during the manufacturing process, or in producing products for commercial use.

While these initiatives persist, Surfaces showed the green crusade has moved full force to the residential side of the industry. From products containing recycled content and those designed to stay out of the landfill longer to exhibitors touting their in house efforts to better the environment, green was certainly on display at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.

Helping to lead the charge was Anso. The fiber supplier was showcasing a full assortment of products containing recycled content. In fact, the familiar blue Anso logo was redesigned under the theme, Blue is Green to show the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

“We are dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship throughout the flooring industry,” said Mike Leary, director of external fiber sales and marketing for Shaw Industries, the parent company of Anso.

To emphasize the point, all 2007 Anso nylon products will carry the Shaw Green Edge identification ( FCNews, Dec. 11/18). In addition, new Anso nylon products will carry N6 identification to educate consumers products are not only recyclable, but the carpet contains post-consumer recycled carpet content.

“Acceptance by the dealer base has been good,” Leary noted. “They see it all over and it is something that consumers are interested in. They understand the reality and importance of this initiative.”

At the Blue Ridge Industries booth, the carpet mill was sharing space with Nylene Canada to show off its new line of Natiq Envirohome carpet (see related story on page three). David Moore, Nylene’s director of marketing, said all Natiq fibers are 100% recyclable.

Originally developed when the company was part of BASF and its 6ix Again program, he said the firm has a 40-year history in this area. “We’ve been depolermerizing since 1966 and have a proven track record.”

Up to now, that track record was in the commercial arena, with Blue Ridge, it was launching its first residential line made with recycled fibers. The reason? “Anything you read today has some story about the greening of America, and people are beginning to ask about the market opportunities. It’s still in the very early stages, but there is no denying that it is coming.”

Milliken made it a point to show that every initiative it has on the commercial side has been incorporated into its residential offerings. “No one has a longer eco heritage than Milliken,” said Dave Caples, president, “we’ve been dedicated to preserving the environment for more than 100 years.

“The difference is,” he added, “on the residential side, carpet is not the driver for green as it is in commercial. But that’s changing and we want to make sure that when someone wants a green home, we have the products to meet their initiative.”

Eye on fashion

While environmental friendly products and initiatives played a large part in what carpet mills were doing at Surfaces, there was no shortage of fashion-forward goods. Technological advancements from better fibers to manufacturing processes have allowed companies to create broadloom to coordinate with any of today’s decor trends.

In conjunction with putting forth stylish products, mills were emphasizing how they were doing things to help make the whole selling process easier—from ordering goods via B2B to the actual displays they are shown in.

“We want to be the company that is easy to do business with—from top to bottom we want to go the extra mile,” said Ralph Boe, president of Beaulieu’s residential business. “We’ve committed a large amount of resources in areas such as sales support, all with the purpose to make life easier for the dealer.”

He noted the two displays launched at the show were selling well as “dealers have been amazed at the amount and variety of product we packed into a small footprint while still allowing the carpets to be shown in their proper context.”

When it came to product, Boe pointed to the new Stainmaster Tactesse and Extra Body products featuring Beaulieu’s LuxuryBack as examples of giving dealers goods that are not only stylish but easy to handle and install.

Alan Wolk, president, interiors, for Invista, the maker of Stainmaster, said “part of our strategy is to bring innovation to manufacturers so they can use their tufting technology to create fashionable items for the consumer.”

Steve Griffith, vice president of residential flooring for Stainmaster, added that approach is working as there were 178 carpet introductions, or close to 50% of all the new items at Surfaces featuring the fiber company’s yarns.

Wolk noted, “we put innovation behind everything we do with the aim to enhance the profitability of the mill and dealer while bringing value to the consumer.”

One of those new items, Stainmaster Home and Office, was introduced by the Dixie Group’s Dixie Home division in a similarly titled collection. The brand extension was designed to handle two to three times the normal traffic conditions of a typical residential product “so it is not just a crossover,” Griffith explained, “it was specifically designed for this use.”

Dan Frierson, Dixie’s chairman, said dealers “were really responding to the collection, especially because it featured the Stainmaster brand.” The piece dyed line of 10 products offers the performance of commercial carpet with the softness and color choices associated with residential goods.

Another company who understood the fashion message was Stanton Carpet with numerous offerings including special displays for particular selections such as the Woven Plush Pattern unit to product additions to many of its popular collections including Shalimar. All items in this series are hand carved and are available in broadloom as well as runners.

“Style and color are at the core of everything that we do,” said Jonathan Cohen, Stanton’s executive vice president. “That’s why top designers from around the world are attracted to our brand and products.”

(Editor’s note: Due to the breadth of product and programs introduced at Surfaces, FCNews will go into further details about what the individual companies had to offer in the next issue.)