The carpet green scene

(NC)—A new era is upon us and everywhere you look, the landscape is turning “green” as the pressure for environmental responsibility grows around the globe. For some time, the focus of the soft floor covering industry has been on putting effective initiatives in place, improving the manufacturing process, reducing the use of non-renewable resources, recycling waste and introducing a range of home and office flooring fashion that address our environmental concerns.

What makes a carpet product eco-friendly or “green” is related to the impact or “footprint” it makes on the environment throughout its life cycle. The size of footprint is impacted by a wide variety of factors, from the sourcing of raw materials that go into the carpet, to use of resources and control of waste in the manufacturing process, all the way to the carpet's installation, its contribution to a healthy living space and finally, to the possibilities for responsible disposal or recycling at the end of its life.

Carpet manufacturers are committed to sustainable manufacturing practices and through innovative product development have introduced a growing range of the latest styles of earth-friendly wall-to-wall carpet, now available on the market for homes, offices and schools. For example, Beaulieu Canada, one of Canada's largest carpet manufacturers, for more than the last decade and a half, has taken an environmental leadership position, by researching and developing new eco-friendly products, improving mill efficiency, conserving natural resources, using renewable sources of energy, and by recycling water and waste. More information is available on-line at www.beaulieucanada.ca. Beaulieu Canada has just launched the Enviro Select line of carpets: the latest, most popular looks in floor fashion, each with a green story that benefits home and safeguards the planet.

For today's eco-savvy consumer, carpet choices available on the market offer not only environmentally-responsible designer fashion for the floor but features and benefits for home, health, safety and pocketbook, unequaled by any other type of flooring product. - News Canada