Shaw's nylon rugs totally recyclable
Company runs recycling center in Georgia
Lissa Wyman -- Furniture Today, December 11, 2007
DALTON, Ga. — Major rug resource Shaw says all its nylon area rugs are now totally recyclable, thanks to advances in technology and the company’s Evergreen Nylon Recycling Center in Augusta, Ga.
Nylon rugs account for half of all Shaw’s area rugs. The company introduced the industry’s first recyclable nylon rugs in July 2007 with the Premiere and Natural Expression collections.
"These rugs allow the consumer to make an easy, eco-friendly choice for her home, without sacrificing style, color or convenience,” said Kimberly Barta, Shaw Living's brand manager. "And the consumer doesn't have to pay more for the recyclable rugs. It's a simple, feel-good selection for the consumer.”
The nylon rugs are recycled in a closed-loop process known as cradle-to-cradle recycling. This means that, after a product’s useful life is over, it’s broken down into its raw building blocks, and an identical product is rebuilt over and over again without the loss of performance or aesthetic qualities.
Shaw does this at its Evergreen Nylon Recycling Center, breaking down Type 6 nylon rugs into the original material, called caprolactam, and using it to make virgin-like nylon.
When a consumer wants to dispose of a Shaw nylon rug, a label on the rug directs them to the Web site www.Shawfloors.com/recycle, where they can find the nearest carpet collection site. The label also tells Shaw's environmental story.
All the company’s nylon rugs can be recycled, whether machine woven, tufted or printed. Recyclable nylon rugs are available in Shaw's designer collections, including Kathy Ireland First Lady, Kathy Ireland Young Attitudes, Tommy Bahama, Jack Nicklaus, Mary-Kate and Ashley, Antiquities, Renaissance, Modernworks and others.
