The world of green carpet is a little goofy right now. It's really not about "green" carpet per se it's more about who's green is greener and who can make up stuff to make people think they are doing green things. Don't get me wrong, it's really nice to see that manufacturers are even engaging in this dialog and direction, but it's the marketing babble that starts to separate the green from the lime from the ugly hunter green colors. I mean really, who wants hunter green anymore even if you did plant a few trees to get it.
Planting trees are nice and really good for the environment(as well as at Christmas time), buying wind power is cool, using solar power -good too, running plants off of bio-diesel-very nice, spending capital on carbon credits - yes, yes, recycling the trash from your cafeterias, reducing paper, going electronic, blah, blah, blah. Yes, yes, all of us sustainably minded people love all that. But what about the carpet you make? That's talking about the sustainable things you do to run your company, not about the carpet being green. True, some of those things are part of being a green carpet but if you make unsustainable crap that falls apart in 3-5 years how green is that really?
To me, green carpet is about the carpet being sustainable, fully recyclable, we'll take it back when your done, we won't let you throw it away in your neighbors back yard landfill, we won't pollute the environment with bad chemicals like pesticides, nasty adhesives, and destructive materials. Green carpet that uses less materials but performs for a veritable lifetime and is made with quality materials that are sustainable. And actually may come in some very nice green colors. (just kidding, that's a joke for those of you that are grimacing because you are so serious about the subject that you lay awake at night wondering about where your carpet is going) Chill out, there are manufacturers that do a great job of this. Then there are those that babble on about being green while dumping chemicals into children's schools via the floor.
Simply put, green carpet should be about the carpet, not the money you spend on feeling better about yourself because your carpet isn't really very sustainable. I mean really, doesn't green really mean sustainable and friendly to the environment? Think about that while your eating a nice pistachio ice cream cone. But please, recycle the wrapper.
I agree with your comments and enjoy your fresh outlook on this topic. Every aspect of the manufacturing process should be examined to figure out how "GREEN" a product is in the market place.
ReplyDeleteCompanies that are: using solution dyed yarns instead of using water to dye white yarns, reducing the amount of energy being used by using alternatrive fuel sources, and using recycled content to reduce its carbon footprint should be recognized and rewarded. I have been to many plants and Tandus is the only recycling plant that is running daily. They are changing the game in the flooring industry.