The carpet and flooring industry is one example of a field embracing the financial and environmental benefits of going green. Day by day it’s getting greener. Today’s offerings include carpet made from recycled fibers and plastics (that bottle you recycle could end up in the carpet in your home) and hard surface flooring made from woods harvested in managed forests, reclaimed wood, and rapidly renewable resources. .In addition to responding to consumer demand for greener products, these practices can save companies money since recycling carpet materials costs less than the increasingly expensive disposal of these bulky, heavy materials and allows manufacturers to avoid the rising cost of materials caused by the ever increasing price of oil, which goes into plastic carpet fibers. As personal and corporate interests focus on the protection of our planet, providing environmentally responsible interior furnishings is a real advantage.
Eco-Friendly Choices Gaining Ground
Empire Today®, a national leader in installed home furnishings, is one provider seeing an increased demand for environmentally friendly carpet and flooring. They’ve found that some of the most popular new Empire Carpet offerings are made from fibers that have been recycled from discarded carpet. Eco-friendly Empire Flooring options include Bamboo and Cork. Bamboo is rapidly renewable and just as durable as oak hardwood. Cork is a favorite because no trees are harmed or felled in the manufacturing process. Window treatments that conserve energy by cutting heat and cooling loss are also attracting attention at Empire because of their energy-saving, and thus money-saving, products.
Beyond Products To Practices
In order to build on this growing consumer demand for greener offerings, save money on disposal costs, and maintain a commitment to going green, Empire Today has joined many other carpet and flooring providers by participating with the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) to initiate a recycling program. CARE is a voluntary, nonprofit effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, various state governments and the carpet industry to increase the amount of recycling and reuse of discarded carpet, and reduce the amount that goes into landfills. In partnership with CLEAR, Carpet Landfill Elimination And Recycling, 100% of the carpet and padding removed that can be recycled will be recycled. As an example of the progress being made by this initiative, In the first quarter, Empire Today has recycled over six million pounds of carpet and padding. Its one example of how the industry is responding, successfully — and hopefully it’s only the beginning.
You can visit this site to learn more about Empire Flooring’s green program and this site www.carpetrecovery.org to learn more about the CARE program.