Ethos by Tandus — Carpet from Cars
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 10.20.05
Tandus is a product line from the combined resources of carpet makers Monterey, C&A and Crossley. Last year, after much research, they released ‘Ethos’ a carpet backing made from polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film. Seemingly, this is recovered from recycled car windshields, the film from which is normally destined for landfillls. So not only does it provide an alternative to the usual PVC backing (boo hiss), but it keeps a useful resource from the tip. The Ethos carpet backing is said to have extremely low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) emissions, over 76% post consumer recycled content in the secondary backing and a guaranteed minimum 30% post-consumer recycled content for the entire product mix. And they reckon that every product is 100% recyclable.
And stress they mean Now. Today. With current technologies and infrastructures. This obviously aggressive marketing stance to be seen to be the greenest in the carpet business is a positive trend. It indicates that competition can drive firms to improve their environmental performance — a benefit to all. Check out the other sustainable initiatives from Tandus ::Tandus Ethos via newsletter from Ideal Bite
