Interesting Product: FLOR
Recently, Emily and I decided to remove the carpeting in our living room, kitchen, and entry way, and stain the concrete underneath. At the same time we started this project (it got derailed temporarily by the scorching summer heat and high humidity...not nice times to have the windows open), I was reading about this carpet company called Interface in the book Natural Capitalism (see my sidebar for a link). Interface started out as a relatively conventional carpet company, catering to business customers with its modular carpet-square design. After reading The Ecology of Commerce, Interface's founder determined to remake the business into a green leader. Perhaps most importantly, Interface dedicated itself to the goal of reducing its petrochemical inputs to zero - not an easy thing when a large portion of your product is made from oil derivatives. This goes beyond normal recycling, where the life of an input is extended through reincorporation into lower and lower quality products. Instead, Interface's goal is to directly recycle their own carpet from their clients at the end of its life, and make it into new carpet. Along with this, the company is taking steps to continually improve energy efficiency in the process.
FLOR is a product we're planning to order for the house, now that we have a concrete floor. Since it comes in squares, FLOR is perfect for use as area rugs or a runner for the hallway. This product is really pretty remarkable. It's designed so you can pick up individual squares and run them under the tap if you spill something, and if you have problems with high-traffic areas, you can replace only those affected squares. And what do you do with those old, worn out carpet squares? Call FLOR; they'll help you recycle them! And the stuff comes in a wide array of textures, from something that looks like astroturf to the plush, deep-pile carpet you're used to.
This company has come a long way from its industrial roots, proving that you can have the comforts of home without surrounding yourself with toxic chemicals or contributing to the mountain of waste accumulating at the local landfill. Emily and I are both really excited to see this stuff in action.
For more information, see the website.