|
LaGrange, GA- “Harvesting yester year’s carpets and other
petro-chemically derived products, and recycling them into new products …” It
was part of Ray Anderson’s first speeches in 1994 about his company’s then-new
journey to sustainability, and that early vision is proving valid as Interface
stakes its claim today with one of the most aggressive and responsible carpet
reclamation programs and an announcement that nearly 60 million pounds
of carpet have been reclaimed since 1995 through ReEntry.
“Rather than abandon over 30 years and 250 million pounds of vinyl backing
already in the marketplace, Interface has made a commitment to recycle carpet
backing,” said John Wells, president of Interface Flooring Systems. “Year over
year growth of our ReEntry program validates that carpet recycling is not only
the right thing to do, but something that the marketplace is demanding as well.
It is good business.”
ReEntry, Interface’s carpet reclamation program, tracks carpet collected from
sites across the U.S. As of June 2004, the program has reclaimed 57 million
pounds of carpet, of which: 52% has been recycled as GlasBac®RE, the
Interface recycled vinyl backing system. 40% has been used for energy capture
and conversion. While not as preferable as pure recycling, this process
keeps the product out of the landfill.
8% has been repurposed, having been removed before the end of its useful
life, carpet is donated to a nonprofit organization.
Addressing concerns about vinyl, Wells stresses that Interface has made a
commitment to exit all virgin petro-chemically derived materials in its
processes. “Science shows us that when vinyl is used as intended, it has no
negative health effects,” explains Wells. “Reclaiming it helps us begin to
close the loop and acknowledges that there is a bountiful supply of vinylbacked
carpet out there for which someone must take responsibility. Interface has
committed to exit all virgin petro-chemically derived materials, not just
vinyl. Any material that relies on virgin petrochemicals has an inherently
negative impact on the environment.” Atlanta-based Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ:
IFSIA), celebrates 10 years of “Sustainability in Action” in 2004 and is a
global leader in the manufacture of environmentally-responsible floorcoverings
and other textiles, through business units including Bentley Prince Street,
Interface Fabrics, Interface Flooring Systems, InterfaceFLOR, Interface Europe
and Interface Asia-Pacific. The company is committed to giving the marketplace
a wide range of choices for specifying Earth-friendly and certified
environmentally preferable products. Interface also introduced the industry’s
first climate neutral carpet, Cool Carpet™, as well as the only carpet product
to be designed using biomimicry, the i2™ collection from Interface Flooring
Systems. The company introduced a residential carpet product (InterfaceFLOR™)
created from the bio-based, plant-derived fiber, Ingeo™. Interface Fabrics
offers the Terratex® brand of commercial fabrics, the first to be made of 100%
post consumer and post industrial polyester and wool; now also available with
bio-based fibers.
For more information on Interface’s environmental initiatives, visit
www.interfacesustainability.com.
|
