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Carpet and the environment

In 2004 the Carpet Institute of Australia (CIAL) was awarded a grant from the Federal Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources to carry out a strategic planning study entitled ‘Towards Environmentally Sustainable
Flooring Systems.’

Through a process of extensive consultation with industry stakeholders, the project developed an action plan that was endorsed by an industry workshop held in February 2005.

The key elements of the action plan:

An Environment Policy for the Carpet Industry has been developed
An Environmental Training Program for the Carpet Industry will be completed by the end of October 2006
An Independent Life Cycle Study of Environmental Impacts of Carpet will be completed by the end of November 2006
Investigation of Re-use and Recycling Opportunities for Manufacturing and Post Manufacturing Wastes is ongoing
An Environmental Certification Scheme (ECS) for carpet as an extension of the Australian Carpet Classification Scheme (ACCS) has been established.

Australian Carpet Classification Scheme (ACCS)

The ACCS, administered by the Carpet Institute of Australia, is a voluntary industry labeling and grading scheme for textile floor coverings manufactured in Australia or imported for use in Australia.

There are currently 3,200 graded carpets on the ACCS database, making it one of the largest grading schemes of its type in the world.

The ACCS grades carpet according to its suitability for use in residential and/or contract installations in any given traffic environment. The gradings are awarded by a Panel of industry experts on the basis of carpet performance tests carried out by accredited laboratories.

The ACCS is a registered Certification Trademark Scheme, which means that it has been reviewed by relevant Government authorities and found to comply with the requirements of the Trade Practices Act.

Environmental Certification Scheme (ECS)

The ECS introduces three new technical criteria covering Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions, noise reduction and thermal insulation properties that relate to environmental performance.

The VOC criteria were set taking into account the results of a series of trials on Australian made carpets by CETEC, an independent testing organization.
The ECS criteria are more stringent than those of the US Carpet and Rug Institute’s synthetic carpet based 'Green Label Plus' Scheme.

ECS VOC emission limits have been set at, or lower than, the equivalent Green Label Plus limits, and additional VOC’s have been added to the CRI list of 13 ‘chemicals of concern.’

The acoustic criteria for impact and reverberation noise reduction were determined taking into account the results of CSIRO testing on a range of residential and commercial carpets. The selection of the ECS performance criteria for thermal insulation was based on existing research.

Overall, the ECS performance criteria are more stringent than other standards set for environmental certification in the Australasian marketplace.

Manufacturers Code of Environmental Practice

Another important feature of the ECS is that carpet manufacturers must comply with an Environmental Code of Practice. The Code of Practice includes provisions relating to:

Good environmental practices in manufacturing
Bans on the use of environmentally hazardous materials (such as dyes with toxic residues) in line with European Union requirements for textile products;
Product stewardship; and
Reporting of resource usage efficiencies.

Companies must satisfy the above requirements to be licensed to use and display the ECS label. These companies will be independently audited to verify performance claims.

It is also important to note that access to the ECS is not restricted by high annual license fees and throughput royalties.

Status of the ECS

The Board of the Carpet Institute of Australia endorsed the Scheme after extensive consultation with industry.

The ECS is an extension of the Carpet Institute's ACCS registered Trade Mark Certification scheme.

The Green Building Council of Australia has been asked to officially recognize the ECS as an independent product certification scheme for textile floor coverings. The request will be considered in the context of GBCA's annual review of rating tools, and a decision is expected in March 2009.

ECS certified carpets and carpet tiles

ECS certified carpets (xls, 106kb) Last updated April 6, 2009

Classification Categories and Points
The more stars the better the durability and appearance retention properties of the graded carpet.

The Residential labels feature a six-star system:
1 star – Light Duty
2 stars – Medium Duty
3 stars – Heavy Duty (lower to mid range)
4 stars – Heavy Duty (mid to higher range)
5 stars – Extra Heavy Duty (lower to mid range)
6 stars – Extra Heavy Duty (mid to higher range)

The Contract / Commercial labels operate a four star rating system:
1 star – Light Duty
2 stars – Medium Duty
3 stars – Heavy Duty
4 stars – Extra Heavy Duty

Thermal Insulation Performance of Carpet

Carpet has excellent thermal insulation properties. The insulation value of carpet can be up to ten times higher than that of hard floor covering and similar to an insulation batt when conventionally installed with underlay. Carpet can help to reduce energy costs in heating and cooling when there is a temperature differential between the indoor air and that under the floor. For this reason the Federal Government's Green House Office recommends carpeting timber or elevated slab floors to reduce heat loss. Uninsulated floors account for 10 to 20% of heat loss from a home.

Thermal Insulation Performance of Carpet (pdf, 95kb)

Acoustic Comfort of Carpet

Carpet reduces both impact noise and reverberation of noise. Noise attenuation is yet another reason why carpet is the best floor covering choice where functionality and fashion are important.

Acoustic Comfort (pdf, 252kb)