New Standard for 'Environmentally Friendly' Carpet Announced
The
carpet may be "green," but it does not have to come in that color. A
new standard for assessing the environmental-friendliness of carpet was
announced at the 2007 Greenbuild International Conference, held Nov.
7-9 in Chicago.
The new sustainability standard, approved by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI), addresses chemicals and materials
used in manufacturing carpet, the energy used in production, the use of
recycled or bio-based content, methods of disposal and/or reuse and the
overall environmental performance of manufacturers.
"The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards
for buildings suggested that standards were an effective strategy for
encouraging competition and providing an objective way of evaluating
sustainability claims made in the marketplace," said Matthew Realff, an
associate professor in Georgia Institute of Technology's (Georgia Tech)
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering who served as chair of
the committee that developed the standard.
This new standard aims to help consumers sort out the complex
sustainable attributes and encourage manufacturers and their suppliers
to seek out or develop environmentally preferable processes, practices,
power sources and materials.
NSF International (http://www.nsf.org),
an ANSI-accredited standards development body, created the standard,
and it was approved by a committee consisting of carpet and rug
manufacturers, end users such as interior design professionals, state
agencies responsible for environmentally preferable product procurement
practices, academics and non-governmental organizations.
The sustainability standard builds on earlier efforts by the carpet
industry to address environmental issues. The Green Label certification
program developed by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) that required
carpets to meet emissions criteria for volatile organic compounds and
other chemicals is part of the new standard.
Silver, gold and platinum certification levels will be awarded to
manufacturers based on the number of points earned, with a total of 114
points possible. In addition, some categories mandate that specific
requirements be met to achieve the higher certification levels.
Matthew Realff: http://www.chbe.gatech.edu/fac_staff/faculty/realff.php