Number

155-EN

Section

General Section

Use

Abstract

Carpet comprises two main elements, nylon face pile and backing. Backing systems represent a significant investment in materials, engineering and performance.Shaw’s goals were to re-engineer the carpet following “Cradle to Cradle” design principles to eliminate hazardous chemicalsand to facilitate recycling of the face pile and backing at the end of its life.The use of industry standard PVC backings was incompatible with these goals. The polyolefin replacement backing meets all PVC product and price performance criteria while allowing the product to be fully recycled.

Substituted substances

Alternative Substances

Reliability of information

Evidence of implementation: there is evidence that the solution was implemented and in use at time of publication

Reason substitution

CMR
ED
other toxic effects

Hazard Assessment

Substances to be substituted: PVC is not listed in the SUBSPORTplus database and has no harmonized classification according to Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation). Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate is on the REACH Restriction List according to Article 73 of Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006. (REACH Regulation) and is listed in the Hazardous Substances Database according to the SUBSPORTplusScreening Criteria (SDSC). Benzyl butyl phthalate is a substance of very high concern and is on the REACH restricted list according to Article 73 of Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006. (REACH Regulation). Polyester is not listed in the SUBSPORTplus database and has no harmonized classification according to Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation). Alternative substances: The alternative material disclosed do pass the SUBSPORTplus screening criteria and holds no harmonised risk classification according to Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation).

Description of Substitution

The company Shaw was among the first manufacturers to recognize a rising demand for sustainable products and moved early to re-engineer its carpet tiles along 'Cradle to Cradle' design principles and to evaluate environmental, qualitative and economic performance compared to its existing carpet tile products. The product design strategy embodied life cycle considerations for a cradle to cradle product that puts technical nutrient recovered materials into repeated use while evaluating the ecotoxicity of each raw material. The use of PVC and plasticize backings had been standard and performed well on the floor.However flexible, PVC was a cause for concern from the viewpoint of the potential hazards associated with its manufacture, use and disposal. The use of nylon 6 as a face pile material offered the advantage of potential limitless re-use through a depolymerisation process in which all dye was removed and a colourless caprolactam monomer was recovered for use again as nylon 6 pile fibre in new carpet.However, the presence of even small levels of PVC plastisol were incompatible with the depolymerisation process due to contamination of the yarn. Nylon recyclers are generally reluctant to take PVC-contaminated nylon for non-carpet applications where equipment could be damaged by the potentially corrosive effects of any HCL generated by processing PVC.The chemical recycling of nylon 6 is also unforgiving of the presence of any PVC residues due to the contamination of the caprolactam monomer yield from the breakdown of the PVC plastisol. The company Shaw had identified the potential of metallocene-catalysed polyolefins basedbackings to make it possible to recycle both the face pile and backing components into the next generation of face and backing components.Development work was undertaken in cooperation with the suppliers -Dow Chemical Corporation.The resulting backing became the EcoWorx® backing system.EcoWorx utilises Shaw’sEcoSolution Q® nylon 6 premium branded fibre. This fibre is designed to use recycled nylon 6 in its make-up and now contains around 45% of pre consumer and post-consumer material.The base polyolefin resin in EcoWorx complies with food contact plastic regulations and in this aspect alone the material safety of the EcoWorx backing polymer is built upon a well-established foundation.All of the materials used in the carpet have been assessed down to the 100 ppm level under the Cradle to Cradle Certification criteria based on their intended use and their impact on human/environmental health, according to stringent criteria which ensures that they and present little to no risk for use in its intended application.(See link in appendices.) The EcoWorx product matched or outperformed the previous PVC backed product in all of the environmental, performance and economic criteria against which it was benchmarked. The finished product is around 40% lighter than the PVC version it replaced, which allows more efficient shipping and installation. It shows 8 times greater tear strength, 5 times greater tensile strength and twice the delamination strength. This has all been delivered at no additional cost to the consumer.This design was unique in the carpet industry and was recognised in 2003 by the US EPA.EcoWorx received the 2003 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in the Designing Safer Chemicals Category. In 2011 Shaw received the GSA Evergreen Award, a major award from the US Government’s Procurement service. GSA selected Shaw for its comprehensive leadership within the flooring category and its bold commitment to investing in waste reduction strategies, both in manufacturing and in product design. Specifically, GSA cited several initiatives that distinguished Shaw above other award applicants in 2010, including: • The production and delivery of the one-billionth square foot of EcoWorx®, which the company will also recycle at no charge. • The reclamation and recycling of over 500 million pounds of post-consumer carpet through Shaw’s extensive reclamation program; thus, preventing that material from entering the landfill. Commercially the story is equally impressive.EcoWorx has been chosen by two thirds of Fortune 100 companies including Microsoft, Google and Apple Corporation.90% of the USA’s largest universities have EcoWorx installed.In all EcoWorx has been specified for more than 221,000 projects in 66 countries around the world all of who benefit from Shaw’s free post-consumer take back guarantee. The EcoWorx substitution took place at the main manufacturing facilities in the USA beginning with the opening of a carpet tile pilot plant in 1999 leading to a complete switch to polyolefin backings and a withdrawal from the use of PVC in the manufacturing of carpet tile in 2004.A full scale tile recycling plant opened in 2005. In 2008 the backing system was developed for broadloom carpet and in 2009 a broadloom recycling pilot plant was opened.

Case/substitution evaluation

This case story shows a substitution of PVC driven by the objective to produce recyclable carpets. The substitution did not lead only to safer materials but also to other benefits such as better quality, lower weight, recyclability and commercial success. We do not have the full content of the alternative material (EcoWorx) to evaluate, the materials disclosed (98% of the backing) passes SUBSPORTplus criteria. The full material has been "Cradle to Cradle" certificated and the company has received a number of sustainability awards based on the material.

State of implementation

Full capacity

Date and place of implementation

1999-2009 USA

Availability ofAlternative

On the market

Producer/Provider

http://www.dow-dupont.com

Type of information supplier

User

Contact

https://shawinc.com

Further information

Link zu den Cradle to Cradle Kriterien Zeitschriftenartikel: Segars et al. 2003. “EcoWorx” Green Engineering Principles in Practice” Band. 37, Nr. 23 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY DOW Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) ResinsDOW: SDS Finder

Date, reviewed

November 26, 2021