Greener Carpet

Join the Movement!

Founded in 1970, the Ecology Center serves one purpose: protecting healthy people and a healthy planet. We believe that the central question of our time is how human beings are going to thrive in the world without destroying the earth's ability to sustain us. This can only be achieved with your support.

Proposed procurement goals:

At least 80% of carpeting (based on square footage) installed per year meets the silver level of Healthier Carpet criteria or greater
100% of carpet adhesives are certified low VOC (volatile organic compound) by a third-party certification program
At least 80% of carpeting also meets one of the following third-party certified green carpet standards relevant to carpet: Floorscore, NSF/ANSI 140 Gold or Cradle to Cradle Silver, GREENGUARD Gold, SCS Indoor Advantage Gold, Berkeley Analytical ClearChem, and Carpet Rug Institute Green Label Plus (CRI+)
Carpet should not be installed in building entryways, laundry rooms, bathrooms, kitchens/kitchenettes, or utility rooms
Preference given to products with publicly available information to encourage the use of building products that are working to minimize their environmental and health impacts
- Material ingredients documentation demonstrating the chemical inventory of the product to at least 0.1% (1,000 ppm) with all content characterized and screened

Resources:

Center for Environmental Health's healthier carpet criteria
Enterprise Green Communities Criteria & Certification section on Ingredient Transparency for Material Health