Transcript Document
Sustainable Carpets Sponsored by: 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. Sustainable Textile Standard© Benefits • 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 Textile Standard Benefits Continued… • 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: http://mts.sustainableproducts.com/standards.htm 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© Meeting Other MTS Standards… 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. Carpet Meeting Other MTS Sustainable Product Standards… Publicly Available ISO 14040 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 Innovative Carpet Products Shaw EcoWorx Backing Tandus Ethos Backing A Product Example Meeting Standards Reuse/Renewal of old carpet tiles by Milliken process yields new products labeled: Earth Square: Certified Gold Sustainable Textile • • • • • 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 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 Cost effective Reuse/Renewing saves: Bottom-line, reduced first cost Applicable to most carpet tiles Carpet tiles can be reused/ renewed multiple times Additional choices for carpet • Choose recycled carpet – Evaluate postindustrial and postconsumer 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. § 260.7 (d)) excluding materials that serve as fillers or binding agents. Sustainable Products and Processes: Maximize Extended Product Responsibility Designers Manufacturers Distributors / Installers End User / Maintainer Re-user Reuse examples: Harvard University King County, Seattle The Donald Bren School of Environmental Science & Management Collaborations required individuals corporations government organizations community For More Information • www.milliken.com • www.moea.state.mn.us/ • www.mts.sustainableproducts/standards • www.usgbc.org/leed Thanks to our Sponsors