CM/Spotlight: Carpet Care Selecting And Maintaining Sustainable Carpet By: Bethany Richmond Being green is now expected, including in the carpet and flooring industry. M Bethany Richmond is The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) director of communi-cations. Find out more at www.Carpet-Rug.org. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Carpet Care . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select DIRECTORY from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Sustainability . Manufacturers Sustainability starts with the manufacturers, who have been steadfast in reducing their environmen-tal footprint for the past several decades. From a manufacturing viewpoint, assessing a carpet’s sustainability takes into account a number of the processes and resources used to manufac-ture that product, said Paul Murray, vice president of sustainability and environmental affairs for Car-pet and Rug Institute (CRI) member manufacturer Shaw Industries. June 2014 It’s easier than ever before to enjoy the benefits of making sustainable choices when it comes to flooring. 30 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® Image courtesy of Purestock/Thinkstock Millions of people go in and out of schools, hospi-tals, retail establishments and office buildings ev-ery single day, not realizing how environmentally-sustainable the floors they walk on have become. There’s little doubt these days that being green is increasingly expected. Businesses and consumers alike want to be good stewards of the environment, to conserve natural resources, to create more healthy indoor environments and to benefit from products that are made to last. This is particularly true in the carpet industry, where sustainable manufacturing has become the norm and where recent innovations in product de-velopment have resulted in flooring products that are more stain resistant, more durable and longer lasting than ever before. But what exactly makes a carpet product sus-tainable? And how can public venues like schools, health-care facilities, hospitality centers and the like make sure they’re getting what they desire in terms of sustainable attributes, performance and value? Those include, “Stewardship of natural resources such as water; effective management of energy and related carbon emissions; the types of materials used in products and their environmental and hu-man impacts; the ability to recycle products at the end of their useful lives; and a manufacturer’s track
CMM – Archives June 2014: 30
