Can a
carpet
backing
have
moral
fiber?
Can a carpet backing have moral fiber?
Millions and millions of square yards
of backing say yes. Character is doing
the right thing. Even when nobody’s
looking. Like EcoWorx backing system.
®
This high-performance cradle-to-cradle
backing works hard, gives back and
lives up to every one of its promises. Day
after day, generation after generation.
Design is moral.
upstanding underfoot
Cradle-to-cradle
broadloom. Doing
the right thing goes
beyond the square.
Three high-performance
cradle-to-cradle backings
performance attributes:
to meet your every need.
100% PVC-free with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification
from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC)
ensuring safety for human health and the environment
Cradle-to-cradle
broadloom
with moisture
protection.
Stands up to the
most intensive use
environments.
performance attributes:
100% PVC-free with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification
from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC)
ensuring safety for human health and the environment
Lighter weight than traditional broadloom backing for
easier installation and more efficient shipping
Lighter and more flexible than traditional highperformance backing for easier installation and more
efficient shipping
12-foot broadloom with superior performance to traditional
broadloom backing with excellent pattern match
12-foot broadloom with superior performance to 6-foot
backing with fewer seams and excellent pattern match
Lifetime commercial warranty against edge ravel,
zippering, delamination and moisture degradation
Impermeable moisture barrier prevents stains and liquid
contaminants from ever reaching the subfloor
Contains 20% post-consumer recycled content
Lifetime commercial warranty against edge ravel,
zippering, delamination and moisture degradation
Contributes to LEED credits for recycled content,
low emitting materials and innovation in design
Low VOCs meeting CRI Green Label and Green
Label Plus Certification
Backed with an environmental guarantee for
cradle-to-cradle recycling
High-performance cradle-to-cradle technology—
sustainable at no additional cost
Each dutiful backing system is backed by a lifetime
commercial warranty and an environmental guarantee.
Contains 20% post-consumer recycled content
Contributes to LEED credits for recycled content,
low emitting materials and innovation in design
Low VOCs meeting CRI Green Label and Green
Label Plus Certification
Backed with an environmental guarantee for
cradle-to-cradle recycling
High-performance cradle-to-cradle technology—
sustainable at no additional cost
The industry’s
first fully
sustainable,
non-PVC carpet
tile backing
system.
performance attributes:
Cradle-to-cradle
broadloom. Doing
the right thing goes
beyond the square.
Cradle-to-cradle
broadloom
with moisture
protection.
Stands up to the
most intensive use
environments.
performance attributes:
performance attributes:
00% PVC-free with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification
1
from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC)
ensuring safety for human health and the environment
00% PVC-free with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification
1
from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC)
ensuring safety for human health and the environment
00% PVC-free with Silver Cradle to Cradle Certification
1
from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC)
ensuring safety for human health and the environment
eighs 40% less than traditional carpet tile backing for
W
easier installation and more efficient shipping
ighter weight than traditional broadloom backing for
L
easier installation and more efficient shipping
4" x 24" tile size allows for large design elements
2
and installation efficiency
ighter and more flexible than traditional highL
performance backing for easier installation and more
efficient shipping
2-foot broadloom with superior performance to traditional
1
broadloom backing with excellent pattern match
uperior performance to traditional PVC tile backing with
S
8x greater tear strength, 5x greater tensile strength, and
2x greater delamination strength
2-foot broadloom with superior performance to 6-foot
1
backing with fewer seams and excellent pattern match
ifetime commercial warranty against edge ravel,
L
zippering, delamination and moisture degradation
Impermeable moisture barrier prevents stains and liquid
contaminants from ever reaching the subfloor
Contains 20% post-consumer recycled content
ifetime commercial warranty against edge ravel,
L
zippering, delamination and moisture degradation
®
ifetime commercial warranty against edge ravel,
L
zippering, delamination and moisture degradation
®
®
Contains 40% recycled content
ontributes to LEED credits for recycled content,
C
low emitting materials and innovation in design
ontributes to LEED credits for recycled content,
C
low emitting materials and innovation in design
ow VOCs meeting CRI Green Label and Green
L
Label Plus Certification
ontributes to LEED credits for recycled content,
C
low emitting materials and innovation in design
ow VOCs meeting CRI Green Label and Green
L
Label Plus Certification
acked with an environmental guarantee for
B
cradle-to-cradle recycling
ow VOCs meeting CRI Green Label and Green
L
Label Plus Certification
acked with an environmental guarantee for
B
cradle-to-cradle recycling
igh-performance cradle-to-cradle technology—
H
sustainable at no additional cost
igh-performance cradle-to-cradle technology—
H
sustainable at no additional cost
Contains 20% post-consumer recycled content
acked with an environmental guarantee for
B
cradle-to-cradle recycling
igh-performance cradle-to-cradle technology—
H
sustainable at no additional cost
cradle-to-cradle
“Waste not. Want not.”
-Benjamin Franklin
A backing that wastes nothing. How frugal.
This hardworking cradle-to-cradle backing
works just as hard for the environment as it
does for your floors. And when EcoWorx
®
reaches the end of its useful life, it’s
recycled into more backing­—without
wasting a single ounce.
abundantly beneficial
Healthy, wealthy & environmentally wise.
The first and only high-performance cradle-to-cradle backing system ever created,
EcoWorx® is everything you want in a commercial carpet backing—only safer.
Assessed down to 100 parts per million (ppm) through the
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry Protocol, EcoWorx is
proven safe for people and the planet. To put that in perspective
for you, the Consumer Product Safety Commission allows paint to
be labeled “lead-free” even if it contains 600 ppm of lead.
Mighty. Clean.
Not only does EcoWorx outperform traditional PVC backings, it cleans up after
itself, too. By weighing less, contributing to LEED credits, and never, ever making
it to a landfill.
Eco-effective, meet cost-effective.
This incredibly industrious, eco-intelligent backing won’t cost you a penny more.
Compared to PVC, EcoWorx is safer, more durable and price-competitive.
We’re in perpetually good company.
Shaw Industries isn’t alone in our quest for sustainability. Recently, several other
industry leaders have instilled rigorous cradle-to-cradle protocol for their products.
The United States Postal Service, Method, Herman Miller, Kiehl’s and Steelcase, to
name a few.
Ground-up EcoWorx during the
cradle-to-cradle process. Who knew
dirty work could be so clean?
Measurable acts of human kindness
EcoWorx is lighter than PVC saving
®
884,000
gallons of gasoline
x10,000
since its introduction in 1999
EcoWorx tile smart
packaging conserves
3,550
x50
trees each year
Since introduction, EcoWorx has
saved enough energy to power
x700
46,000
homes for one year vs. PVC
Based on LCI results comparing EcoWorx to Permabac.
1,328,951
x16,500
pounds each
pounds of EcoWorx
have been diverted from landfills
ecoworx over time
Our good values get
better and better.
Post-consuer recycled content of EcoWorx broadloom
and performance broadloom increases to 20%
July 2009: Post-consumer recycled content added
to EcoWorx tile
In 1999, we introduced the first non-PVC, fully cradle-to-cradle carpet tile
backing ever to grace the floor. Since then, demand for EcoWorx has grown
and our commitment to elevating this innovative product along with it.
EcoWorx broadloom enters the scene
EcoWorx tile pilot
recycling facility opens
Shaw ceases
production of PVC
products altogether
Shaw recieves the
Presidential Green
Chemistry Award
EcoWorx performance broadloom debuts, offering a
cradle-to-cradle solution for the broadloom market
Shaw introduces EcoWorx tile
with 40% recycled content
EcoWorx tile recycling
facility goes full-scale
November 2009: EcoWorx performance broadloom/
EcoWorx broadloom pilot recycling facility opens
tile
hard-wearing sustainability squared
Beautiful on the outside.
Moral to the core.
EcoWorx® tile is the strongest, sturdiest, most
well-behaved backing available today.
• EcoWorx is an ideal flooring choice
for virtually any commercial setting.
• Tougher than traditional carpet tile
backing with 8x the tear strength,
5x the tensile strength and 2x the
delamination strength.
• EcoWorx backing is backed by a
lifetime commercial warranty against
edge ravel, zippering, delamination
and moisture degradation.
• Weighs 40% less than traditional
PVC tile, saving on shipping fuel
and easing installation.
EcoWorx beauty knows no boundaries. This good-looking, good-acting tile is available
in over 30 collections, 100 styles and 1,500 colorways from Shaw Contract Group.
broadloom
performance broadloom
mindfully thorough
Environmentally
conscientious broadloom.
Roll with it.
Seventy percent of all commercial floor covering is broadloom carpet. Good
thing EcoWorx® thinks outside the square. EcoWorx broadloom and EcoWorx
performance broadloom. High-performance cradle-to-cradle is bigger than ever.
EcoWorx broadloom and EcoWorx performance broadloom both contain postconsumer recycled content that earns LEED Credit 4.1 for recycled content.
return policy
We want it back.
We take full responsibility for our backing. Actually, we take it back. As
soon as you’re finished with it, call us and we’ll come get it from anywhere
in the world. That’s right, we’ll take back our backing to our EcoWorx®
Recovery Technology Facility in Cartersville, Georgia, and turn it into well,
more backing.
But there’s no hurry. Chances are, it’ll wear out its welcome long before
any signs of wear or tear.
[ e n v i r o n m e n ta l g u a r a n t e e ]
When any EcoWorx®-backed product has reached the end
of its useful life, Shaw will pick it up and recycle it into
more EcoWorx.
Continental U.S. Guarantee: Shaw will take back 500 yards
or greater of EcoWorx material at no cost to you.
Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and Mexico Guarantee: Shaw will
take back 5,000 yards or greater of EcoWorx material at no
cost to you.
International Guarantee: Shaw will take back 5,000 yards or
greater of EcoWorx material from any international port at no
cost to you.
For complete terms and conditions or to schedule a pickup,
visit shawcontractgroup.com or dial 800-509-7429.
becoming more ecoworx
Which brings us right back where we started...
We’re making good on our cradle-to-cradle promise.
broadloom
performance broadloom
tile
start the revolution
start the revolution
pelletized polymer
6 pelletization
pelletized polymer
1 size reduction
1 shredding
5 pelletization
recovered
dissolving
solution
evaporation
elutriation
dissolution
2 dissolution
recovered
backing
polymer
2 grinding
evaporation &
5 polymer recovery
3 separation
4 recovered backing
3 elutriation
4 particulate &
solids removal
What about the moral fiber on top?
Eco Solution Q® nylon goes on
to our Evergreen Nylon Recycling
Facility to continue a cradle-tocradle cycle all its own.
recovered
fiber
separated
solution
the facts
Tried, tested—and
truly remarkable.
Pentagon to
the Environmental
Protection Agency,
From the
EcoWorx performs in our country’s
chief government facilities.
Truth be told, EcoWorx backing is hard at
work on the floors of government, workplace,
education and healthcare environments.
®
90%
Fortune
100 companies
Two-thirds of
have EcoWorx products on
their floors. Among them Bank
of America, Home Depot,
Microsoft and TimeWarner.
Nine of the largest
healthcare
purchasing organizations
include EcoWorx products
on their contracts.
90% of the largest U.S.
public
university
systems
have specified EcoWorx.
Nine of the ten leading U.S.
Government and
Institutional design
firms have specified EcoWorx
products. Environmental
sensitivity starts at the top.
Interior Design Giants
83 of the top 100
have specified EcoWorx products.
better everywhere
EcoWorx performs in
®
221,000 projects
across 75 countries.
Millions square yards of sustainability—
and counting. How’s that for leadership?
Shaw Industries.
Eco Solution Q® >
Sustainability through innovation.
EcoWorx isn’t our only moral material.
By now you’ve picked up our practice of good intentions. EcoWorx backing
is our high-performance cradle-to-cradle
®
is one initiative. Our Environmental Guarantee is another. At Shaw we are also
Eco Solution Q premium branded nylon
answer to traditional carpet fiber.
committed to reducing waste 90% by 2011, reducing water-use 25% by 2014,
recycled paper & soy-based ink >
reducing energy-use 25% by 2017 and the continued development of closedloop technologies.
This book is printed on 100%
recycled paper with inks made
But there’s more. Lots more. Initiatives focused on bringing about
from soy, which have low
environmental, economic and social change. At Shaw Contract Group,®
VOCs and make paper easier
that’s what we call human kind.
to recycle.
yellow grease >
At Shaw Plants 11, 14 and 16, we’re working toward switching over from natural
gas to Yellow Grease (YG), an alternative fuel collected from food preparation.
Once cleaned, this renewable energy source can be used as boiler fuel.
waste to energy facility >
evergreen facility >
At the end of its useful life, our Eco Solution Q premium branded nylon ends up at
our Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility in Augusta, GA. There, old nylon 6 fiber is
turned into new Eco Solution Q over and over again.
We’ve replaced our fossil fuel boiler at Plant 81 with
a facility that turns carpet waste into energy, saving
us a million dollars a year—and 2,250,000 gallons of
untouched fuel oil.
ISO 14001 >
Shaw is committed to measuring itself against thirdparty standards for operational excellence. Our carpet
tile manufacturing facility in Cartersville, GA, has
received ISO 14001 certification, a distinct validation of
our Environmental Management System.
safe
cradle-to-cradle
human kind
lighter
LEED credits
eco-friendly
superior performance
we’ll pick it up
no waste
shawcontractgroup.com 877.502.SHAW 410 Old Mill Road Cartersville, GA 30120
Printed on recycled paper © 2009 Shaw, a Berkshire Hathaway Company SCG-023-NPA