CARPET Defining “Green” Carpet According to the Carpet and Rug Institute, the Sustainable Carpet Assessment (NSF-140) is the leading sustainability standard for carpet that uses reputable auditors to certify products, such as Scientific Certification Systems and NSF, International. The standard evaluates carpets based on five attributes: Public Health and Environment, Energy and Energy Efficiency, Bio-based and Recycled Content, Manufacturing, and Reclamation and End-of-Life. The standard established a point-based, tiered certification system with three increasing levels of certification: Silver, Gold and Platinum. SCS only certifies to Gold and Platinum levels. The State of California initially created one of the strongest environmental purchasing standards for carpet in order to comply with state laws. Called the “California Gold Sustainable Carpet Standard,” this standard is now incorporated into ANSI/NSF 140 at the Platinum level. Because of this, we recommend carpet at the Platinum level. Many public purchasers have required environmental attributes for their carpet contracts. The University of California and the States of Massachusetts and Illinois have all required recycled content, recycling services, and other environmental attributes. We have created seven questions, listed in spreadsheet format, that can be integrated into your pricing template or used in other formats if you wish. These questions address basic environmental issues that we thought would be of concern to your members. These questions are separable, meaning you may choose to use all questions or just a few. We were thinking that if these questions are answered by the suppliers, you might be able to integrate the answers into the information customers receive about the final contract products and suppliers. You customers could then use that information to make more informed selections when choosing products to use in their facilities.

Question

Question Details

Does this product meet NSF-140 2007e Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard at the Platinum level?

Y/N. Y = This product meets the Platinum level of the ANSI/NSF-140 Standard. See http://www.nsf.org/business/newsroom/pdf/Sustainabi lity2.pdf for more information. N = This product does not meet the Platinum level of NSF-140 Standard. If this product is certified to meet NSF-140 at the Silver or Gold levels, the answer to this question should be No.

Is this product certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label PLUS program?

The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label PLUS program is different from the CRI Green Label Program. For products certified by the CRI Green Label Program, but not the CRI Green Label PLUS program, answer should be No. For more information see http://www.carpetrug.org/drill_down_2.cfm?page=8&sub=3&requesttim eout=350 .

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Preferre d Answer

Yes

Yes

Rationale: Why ask suppliers this question? The Platinum level is the only one that meets the standards prepared by California when the State created the CA Gold Sustainable Carpet Standard. NSF-140 addresses a wide variety of environmental and sustainability issues, including toxic emissions during manufacturing, toxic components of the carpet, reclamation, durability, and other issues. This question addresses how the carpet will affect indoor air quality after it is installed. The CRI Green Label PLUS program integrates the CRI's Green Label Program (which sets restrictions for volatile organic compounds and other specific chemicals released by carpets) with the California CHPS 1350 program, which sets limits for emissions of chemicals for which the state of California has set chronic reference exposure levels from certain building products.

Other considerations related to this question

The standard works on a point system, so that while the standard covers many of the issues addressed in the other questions suggested below, the manufacturer might meet this standard but still may answer no to all of the other suggested pricing template questions we have suggested here. Our research indicates that there are probably 7 manufacturers with hundreds of products that can meet the standard at this time. See http://www.nsf.org/Certified/Sustain/index.asp and

Bolyu Contract, Collins & Aikman, Lees Carpet, Mohawk, Milliken, and Shaw all offer PVC-free carpets with this certification. Note this certification does not address semi-volatile organic compounds like phthalates and halogenated flame retardants, nor does it address other non-volatile compounds.

Does this product contain at least 10% Post-Consumer Recycled Content?

Is this product free of Halogenated Organic Chemicals?

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Y/N. Y = At least 10% of total weight of product is made up of post-consumer recycled materials. N = less than 10% of the total weight of the product is made up of post-consumer recycled materials. All claims must comply with US Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm .

Y/N. Y = Product and product components contain no intentionally-added halogenated organic chemicals. Halogenated organics are chemicals that contain chlorine, bromine, fluorine, or iodine bonded to a carbon atom. Examples of halogenated organic chemicals include polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, brominated and/or chlorinated flame retardants, chlorinated or brominated organic antimicrobials, and perfluorinated organic coatings (usually used for stain resistance). N = Product and product components may contain intentionally added halogenated organic chemicals. Intentionally-added includes all chemicals intentionally added or known to be present as byproducts or contaminants by any manufacturer along the supply chain of any component of the carpet.

Yes

Using post-consumer recycled materials saves resources and creates markets for materials that are collected for recycling.

Yes

Halogenated organic chemicals tend to be toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative, or have byproducts that are. Toxic brominated flame retardants are building up in the food chain, and the perfluorinated compounds used for stain resistance are also generally persistent. For more information on halogenated flame retardants, see What Health Care Purchasers Can Do To Reduce Flame Retardants at http://www.noharm.org/details. cfm?type=document&id=1108 .

Post-industrial recycled material has not been used by a consumer but is usually factory clippings or waste. Total recycled content refers to the total of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content In their RFPs, In 2005, Massachusetts required 10% total recycled material, Illinois required 20% post-consumer recycled materials, and the University of California required 30% total recycled content for broadloom and 40% for modular carpet. We believe that 10% post-consumer content should be a differentiating factor, pulling out the high achievers. Alternatively, if you are willing to have a numerical answer instead of a yes/no answer, you could ask suppliers to answer with the actual percentage of post-consumer and/or post-industrial recycled content. This would allow customers to have more information when comparing different products. The question would then be: Provide the percentage, by weight, of postconsumer recycled content in this product. Bolyu Contract (Nexterra carpet) and Mohawk (UPS and UPSBlock Carpets) have told Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) that these carpets are halogen free. Some manufacturers will not know this about their products. If you wish to ask a narrower question, you could ask just about halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) instead of halogenated organics. Collins & Aikman (ethos® backing), Lee's Carpets (Unibond and Unibond RE), and Shaw (EcoWorx) have told HCWH that their carpets are free of HFRs. That question would be: Title: Free of halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) Explanation: Y/N. Y = Product contains no halogenated flame retardants (HFRs), N = Product contains HFRs. Halogenated flame retardants are chlorinated, brominated, or fluorinated carbon-based flame retardants, such as Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), CAS 79-94-7; Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), CAS 25637-99-4; Deca-BDE (Decabromodiphenyl ether), CAS 1163-19-5; Tris(2-chloroisopropyl phosphate) (TCPP), CAS 1367484-5; and Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), CAS 115-96-8.

Is this product free of perfluorocarbon s (PFCs)?

Y/N. Y=Supplier knows this product does not contain PFCs. N=Supplier knows this product contains PFCs.

Does supplier offer functional Recycling Program for this product?

Y/N. Y = Supplier will, free of charge (included in the purchase price), arrange for collection of all used carpet (carpet that is replaced) from all installation jobs, and provide documentation to the purchaser that the collected carpet has not been landfilled or incinerated, but has instead been recycled or refurbished for reuse. This can be done directly or though third party. This program must have in place a toll-free number customers can call for information and instructions on where to ship the used carpet. Waste-to-energy is considered incineration. Exceptions include where there are no markets available to recycle lower-end carpet products [e.g. polyolefin, polyurethane backed] and/or severely contaminated carpet. In those cases, documentation must include why such products cannot be recycled. N = Supplier cannot document that all used carpet will be recycled or refurbished, and not landfilled. See exceptions above.

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Yes

PFCs are a family of chemicals characterized by a long chain of carbon atoms strongly attached with a fluorine atom. PFCs are used in many products including non-stick surfaces and stain-resistant treatments for carpet. PFCs have been linked to cancer and birth defects in animals.EPA is looking closely at one derivative of PFC, Perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8 and perfluorooctanoate, as they have been found to be persistent in the environment, have health effects on animals and are found in low levels in the blood stream in the general US population.

Yes

Carpet is a large-volume product that contributes to the solid waste stream. Many suppliers are now making efforts to collect and recycle carpets, and to design carpets that can be recycled or refurbished, which will reduce landfilling and incinerating waste carpet.

For more information on PFCs, http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/actionpla ns/pfcs.html

The State of Massachusetts required its vendors to offer a recycling program for all carpet that is replaced, and the University of California has done the same but required that the program be free to the purchasing agency. Note that requiring this to be included in the purchase price may increase prices.

Does this supplier have adequate Previous Recycling Record?

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Y/N. Y = During the last 12 months, supplier collected waste/used carpet in an amount equivalent to at least 5% of the total production in pounds of this product and prevented the waste/used carpet from going to a landfill or incineration through recycling or refurbishment. Waste-to-energy is considered incineration. N = During the last 12 months, supplier collected and prevented from entering the solid waste stream waste/used carpet in an amount equivalent to less than 5% of the total production in pounds of this product. All claims must comply with US Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm . NOTE that any amount of collected carpet can be used only once when calculating the percentage for any carpet product. The same collected carpet cannot be used to calculate the percentage for more than one carpet product.

Yes

This question can help separate the suppliers that are successfully recycling carpet from those who only have a nominal program.

This question is adapted from the University of California RFP. Based on Health Care Without Harm research, we believe a percentage of 5% or above, at this time, indicates a successful program.

Is product Currently Recyclable/ Refurbishable?

Y/N. Y = This carpet is currently being recovered for recycling or reuse through an existing program owned and operated by the manufacturer. "Recycling" is defined as the recovering a product or material or otherwise diverting it from the solid waste stream and reusing it in one of several ways. Recycling does not include alternative fuels, incineration or waste-to-energy, but may include closed loop recycling, where the carpet is recycled back into carpet product and/or carpet product components; or recycling into feedstock (raw material) for other value-added products. "Recovery" is defined as obtaining a material for the express purpose of reusing or recycling, and diverting the material from solid waste disposal. "Reuse" is defined as recovering carpet in a manner that retains the original purpose and performance characteristics of the carpet. N = This carpet is not currently being recovered for recycling or reuse through an existing program owned and operated by the manufacturer as defined above. Note if a third party owns or operates the recycling program, the answer to this question is no. All claims must comply with US Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm .

Part of this question is adapted from the Massachusetts RFP. Massachusetts required their vendors to offer only carpet that would be recyclable or refurbishable at the end of its life.

Yes

Copyright © 2010 Practice Greenhealth (040110) This resource produced with the support of Practice Greenhealth’s EPP Supporters.

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This question verifies that manufacturers are supporting a functioning recycling program that will keep this carpet out of the solid waste stream at the end of its life.

The qualification that the program must be owned and operated by the manufacturer is to allow customers to prefer carpet made by manufacturers who have a financial incentive to manufacture a carpet that is easily recycled, and manufacturers who are vested in ensuring the success of the recycling operation. The italicized words could be omitted from this question ("owned and operated by the manufacturer") if you do not wish to favor those manufacturers who owned their own programs. Alternatively, this could be separated into two questions, one phrased as written and one with the italicized phrases related to manufacturer-owned programs omitted. The first question, with the italicized portions included, would indicate which carpets are recycled by the manufacturer, and the second would indicate which carpets were recycled, regardless of the owner of the program. Of course, any manufacturer answering yes to the first question would also answer yes to the second.