Shaw Contract uses the cradle-to-cradle principle to design carpets that can be closed-loop recycled.
Global carpet recycling initiative
Through the re[TURN]™ global carpet recycling program, U.S. carpet manufacturer Shaw Contract commits to recycling every carpet it sells. Semiflor Co., Ltd., as Shaw Contract’s general agent in Taiwan, assists in collecting used carpets in Taiwan and transporting them to the recycling plant in Georgia, USA, where they are dismantled into yarn, backing materials, and broken down into pieces before becoming new carpet material. The customer is not responsible for any recycling costs during the entire recycling process (except for the necessary expenses during carpet removal).
Adopting a modular design and recyclable materials
Shaw Contract carpets feature a modular design and are affixed using self-developed glue guns and carpet stickers in place of traditional adhesives, making carpets easy to install, replace, and recycle. These carpets utilize PVC-free EcoWorx material, enabling every Shaw Contract carpet to be returned to a closed cycle of the same quality.
Benefits
- While the embodied carbon emissions of conventional nylon carpets are 12.5 kg CO2 eq/m2, that of Shaw Contract carpets is significantly lower at 42% less. In particular, carpets fabricated using the newly developed EcoSolution Q100 nylon yarn made of 100% recycled materials has an average embodied carbon emissions of just 4.69 kg CO2 eq/m2.
- This production model not only reduces construction waste, natural resource extraction and carbon emissions, but also helps customers save waste disposal fees. Taking 10,000 square meters of carpet as an example, this solution saves approximately NT$1 million in garbage disposal fees.