Why is Carpet More Sustainable Than We Think?

There is a common misconception that carpeting is not green and is very bad for the environment. That is not necessarily true – the carpet industry has made great strides to become more environmentally friendly. In my opinion, they are one of the leaders in the interior design industry when it comes to sustainability! Here is some important information that would be great to think about and research before purchasing your next carpeting.

Pre-consumer content and post-consumer content can be found in carpeting. Pre-consumer content is often in the fiber, yarn, backing, and sometimes even in the padding and/or cushioning

Post-consumer content can be found in the fiber, majority from PET beverage bottles, backing systems, which is often glass, and padding/cushions.

Much waste is generated during the manufacturing process but they have come up with ways to help reduce it. Backing waste may be used to make carpet cores used during shipments along with the PET bottle caps that are left over when the bottles become the carpet fiber. Yarn waste may find it’s next life in the carpet padding, filler used in building materials or lawn furniture. The high-end carpet pads that include polyurthane foam may have gotten scraps recovered from new mattresses or furniture.

Don’t forget that carpet tiles are becoming more common than broadloom in commerical environments and allows for less waste generated during installation. Replacement when stains occur is easy because you will only need to replace a couple tiles verses the entire carpet in the room. Now that’s sustainable and saves you money!

Some companies have even gone as far as looking at the waste of adhesives used during installation for carpet tiles. This new trend is called Spray-Lock adhesive. It allows for installation that will be instant and troweling is not necessary. A simple spray can contains the adhesive to be sprayed on the floor for an instant bond. It does not allow for shifting of the carpet tile but you are still able to peel off the tiles for replacement. When the adhesive can is empty, it is even recyclable!

Finally, it’s time to think about the carpeting after we are finished with it. The majority of carpet companies have a reclamation program. For a small fee, your carpeting can be hauled away for you and recycled. Most companies will take back the carpeting regardless of who it was originally manufactured by. This helps the carpet companies from having to produce raw materials during production and protects us from filling up landfill space and possibly causing other negative consequences to the environment.

So what do you think?  Do these facts make you re-think what you formally thought about carpeting?