Interface Carpet Tiles

The story of CEO Ray Anderson is pretty amazing. I became aware of this company from two different directions and only now realize that they are the same.

Ray appears in The Corporation, a great documentary which discusses the neurotic, manic, profit-seaking activities of corporations. My arm hair stood on end when I heard him confess (paraphrasing), "I realized I was operating in the way of the plunderer .. people would someday go to jail for what I was doing."

And then in an issues of Ready Made, I saw an ad for FLOR, which this article speaks of. The stuff is pretty cool, check it out.

I think that the interface carpet tiles are Brilliant! They have a awesome, very Modern look! Being an interior design student, I think that it is Very important that people be aware of these types of products to build with. The earth is precious, and more people need to start taking responsibility, and respect our plant. Not to mention- How nice would it be if you spilled something on your carpet tile, you could pick it up and throw it in the washing machine! Love it!!!

I'm very disappointed with this entry, it is certainly not worthy of treehugger.com: It is poorly informed and lacks critical thought.

From an environmental perspective, carpet tile is disastrous: the vinyl backing contains more weight per square foot than virtually any non tiled carpet. And this is not counting the special adhesive required for removable installation. Pair that with the fact that carpet tile is designed to have a short life cycle (most users cite a replacement cycle of under 5 years). If you had to choose between a replaceable synthetic product and a resilient natural product, which would you choose?

As for the 'benefits' stated in the article - you cannot replace individual carpet tiles and expect your carpet to look the same: dye lot variation, colour fading from exposure to light, and uneven wear will all exaggerate the difference between the new and old tiles. Plus, you mention that the carpet is all "recyclable" or "compostable" - this may be a claim, but do a Google search on "carpet recycling statistics" and you'll find that carpet is one of the top inhabiters of dumps in the USA and that less than 40% of carpet in North America is actually recycled (Interface does have facilities to recycle their vinyl backing, but not the face). Plus, how long does it take vinyl to biodegrade?

Ray Anderson seems like a man with great intentions. But really, are oil wells sustainable?

John Goodhew.....you have no idea what you are talking about. Go and research Interface then make an "intelligent" post. I would like to clear up a few of the inaccuracies in your comment.

1. Interface has carpet without dye lots so you can replace them at any time without having one tile stand out more than another. These products are called I2. Look it up!

2. Interface does have the ability to recycle type 6,6 nylon face fiber. All other face fibers and action backed carpets are recycled into something else also known as downcycling (not the best way to do things but at least it keeps the carpet out of the landfill).

3. "Compostable" must be referring to the PLA fibers used in some Interface products. These carpet tiles should still be sent back to Interface for recycling rather than thrown in a landfill.

4. Carpet tiles (from any manufacturer) are designed for performance...15 plus years. Not 5 where did you get that information??

5. It is the enduser's responsibility to make sure that the carpet being removed from their facility is sent back for recycling just like anything else. If you throw an aluminum can in the trash does it get recycled.....same goes for carpeting.

6. Interface does not use adhesive!

Google interface and mission zero. you will see that they are trying to get out of using virgin materials all together by the year 2020.