What Makes a Carpet Environmentally Friendly?

In January, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that Earth’s surface temperatures in 2015 were the hottest they had been since record keeping began in 1880. In recent years environmental concerns have become more pressing than ever, and it seems everyone is pitching in to do their part for the planet, including carpet manufacturers. There are more environmentally-friendly carpet options on the market than ever, but they don’t all take the same approach to going green. Let’s take a look at your choices.

DuPont Sorona

This product is a biopolymer which contains 37 percent renewable, plant-based ingredients. This significantly reduces the amount of fossil fuels required to produce the polymers in carpet strands. It also produces 63 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions and takes 30 percent less energy to produce than conventional nylon carpet strands. You can find this plant-based polymer in Mohawk’s Smart Strand carpet.

PET Polyester  

Rather than plant matter, PET Polyester is made of recycled plastics! AS many as 10 billion plastic bottles are recycled each year to make this comfortable, durable carpeting material. Not only is it environmentally friendly, PET is also more stain and abrasion resistant than conventional polyester. PET is probably the most widespread eco-friendly carpeting material on the market. Shaw uses PET polyester in their line of Eco-Smart carpeting.

Want to learn more about how to make the flooring in your home more environmentally friendly? Give us a call today to speak with the experts at Carpet Closeouts.