Green building - including green carpet - is no longer a trend; it is a mainstay. Communities, schools, healthcare facilities and businesses recognize the benefits of building green, and governmental entities are even passing laws to mandate future green construction of private and public buildings.

 

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Because people spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, it is important to do everything possible to maintain the quality of indoor air, especially for new construction and renovation.

 

The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) worked with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), academic institutions and independent laboratories to evaluate carpet's role in the indoor environment, resulting in its Green Label program and the more rigorous Green Label Plus program.

These programs, which test for and certify low emissions from carpet, cushion and adhesives, have earned CRI recognition as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) green certification body.

 

CRI has also worked with ANSI and other stakeholders to create a standard for sustainable carpet, NSF 140-2007.

In addition, through CARE and other programs, carpet manufacturers are addressing the "3Rs" of sustainability by recovering, reusing and recycling carpets. With the goal of drastically reducing the amount of carpet going to landfills, the carpet industry is recycling carpet waste back into new carpet and carpet-related products and supporting markets for products made of spent carpet.

Architects and green builders can earn U.S. Green Building Council LEED points by using Green Label Plus carpet and carpet containing recycled content.

 

Projects can earn LEED credits by incorporating salvaged materials—such as refurbished, reused or recycled carpet—into plans for new construction or renovation. Projects can also earn credits by incorporating carpet containing recycled content materials. Recycled content carpet meets the same industry performance standards and carries the same manufacturer warranties as carpet without recycled content.

Green Label carpet is also used as a specification standard for the American Lung Association’s Health House program and the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) in the state of California.

 

About The Carpet and Rug Institute

The Carpet and Rug Institute, headquartered in Dalton, Georgia, is the national trade association for the carpet and rug industry. Its members are manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers, representing over 90% of all carpet produced in the United States. CRI is the source for science-based information and insight into how carpet and rugs can create a better environment — for living, working, learning and healing. For more information, visit the CRI Blog.