New Standard Assures Sustainability in Carpets

A Guide to Specifying Low-Impact Materials
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"Besides," adds Bill Gregory, Director of Sustainable Strategies for Milliken & Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina, a privately held textile and chemical manufacturer, "the total environmental impact including all phases of the life cycle are important in determining product sustainability. Now an architect or specifier can call a manufacturer and say, ‘I want a product certified against the standard to a specific level.' They don't have to do any more research or make value judgments about which ecolabels to trust. NSF 140-2007 has done the work, so choosing green is easier and transparent."

NSF 140-2007 is the culmination of five years of work by a host of diverse stakeholders including carpet and rug manufacturers, end users, interior designers, state and federal agencies responsible for procurement practices, particularly the California Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Task Force's Carpet Subcommittee, the Federal EPA, and academics and non-governmental officials.

Work began in 2003 with the goal of developing a standard that would help purchasers identify carpets with sustainable attributes. The effort resulted in a draft public domain standard administered by NSF International. In December 2005, the jointly developed standard was issued as the Draft American National Standard for Trial Use, NSF 140-2005 Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard (Draft NSF 140-2005). At that time, California initiated its California Gold standard for carpet procurement that was essentially the same as the original draft of NSF 140-2005, with several additionalprerequisites. Following a comment period, the draft, revised as necessary, was submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for approval as an American National Standard. The final NSF 140-2007 was published in the fall of 2007.

"The stakeholders decided it was important to put a stake in the ground and start the process of certification against a benchmark. The draft standard allowed us to begin the journey and at the same time get real world feedback on what was working and what needed to be adjusted or improved. We didn't want to let perfect get in the way of ‘good enough,'" says Peoples, noting that the work on NSF 140-2007 has become a model for several other industries.

With the release of NSF 140-2007, California is planning to transition 100 percent of its state carpet purchases to the NSF 140-2007 Platinum level over the next 12-18 months, eventually completely transitioning from its currently mandated California Gold Standard.

The first carpet products certified against the approved standard are expected to be available in the marketplace by the second quarter of 2008. Currently, 18 carpet products are certified to the California Gold Sustainable Carpet Standard, and an additional 11 products are certified to the NSF140 Draft Standard.

How the Standard Works

A point-based evaluation system comparable to the LEED rating system for green buildings, NSF 140-2007 is based on life cycle assessment principles, and provides benchmarks for continuous improvement and innovation. In order to achieve a sustainable rating, a carpet product must provide environmental, economic, and social benefits while protecting and enhancing the needs of future generations, public health, welfare and environment over its full commercial cycle, from raw materials extraction to final disposition. A sustainable carpet must also provide the equivalent in performance and quality to other carpets.

 

 

Mandatory minimum requirements of sustainable performance are identified, as are three levels of achievement-silver, gold and platinum-by which carpet materials and products can be measured with respect to specific attributes that indicate progress toward sustainability.

The standard allows carpet to be either petrochemical-based or biobased provided that it meets performance requirements, has multiple attributes that protect public health and environment, and fosters healthy and prosperous conditions for human and ecological systems throughout its supply chain.

 

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Originally published in GreenSource.
Originally published in October 2007

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