Carpet, Fabric & Apparel to Get Greener

Why is it taking so long for sustainable products of all kinds to be integrated into mainstream society?

The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) has taken on the charge to make it happen. Their goal is to transform manufacturing and retail practices worldwide so that by 2015 sustainable products are available in 90% of the global marketplace. Daunting? Yes, but since the 100 largest companies account for more than 90% of the world’s products, MTS believes its mission is attainable.

MTS – through a process of consensus – develops product standards, and then puts them into practice by establishing purchasing programs, training, and promotion.

They conduct on-going training programs on understanding and implementing their Sustainable Product Standards and Clean Vehicle training.

In December, the group unanimously approved by ballot a standard to sustainably manufacture carpet, fabric and apparel, The Unified Sustainable Textile Standard 2.0.

Years in the making, the standard covers the entire supply chain, product reuse and reclamation of textiles of all kinds. Its textile rating system is based on the level of sustainability over the course of the life cycle. Maximum credits can be achieved if the following criteria are applied throughout the supply chain:

– 100% Reduction of Over 1300 Pollutants covering 12 Environmental Impacts
– 100% Use of Green-e Renewable Power
– 100% Post Consumer Recycled or Organic/BMP Biobased Materials
– 100% Reuse/Product Reclamation
– Social Equity Requirements

The goals of this Sustainable Textile Standard are to:

* Increase the economic value of sustainable textile throughout the supply chain by enhancing market demand for sustainable textile products.
* Provide information that enables specifiers to sort out the complex information on sustainable attributes.
* Identify other consensus based standards and Sustainable Textile
* Educate and instruct all stakeholders in the textile supply chain.
* Encourage competition between manufacturers and their suppliers to seek out or develop environmentally preferable processes, practices, power sources, and materials

This Standard is intended to help raw material suppliers, converters, manufacturers and end-users. Adherence to this Standard and achievement of high levels of sustainable attribute performance can or should result in:

* Cost savings
* Design innovation
* Product differentiation
* Long term customer relationships
* Liability reduction
* Ecological restoration

Milliken’s Earth Square Carpet Tiles are an example of a product certified to the Standard at the Gold level – 99%+ reused carpet that is cleaned, re-dyed and trimmed in a closed loop process.

The Standard has 38 sponsors including the Natural Resources Defense Council, States of California, Wisconsin and Iowa, and the world’s largest building owners/operators including The Pentagon and Johnson Controls. Members of the Sustainable Textile Committee include representatives from Milliken, Shaw, Mohawk, Interface, Nike, Knoll, Invista/Dupont, Herman Miller, Scientific Certification Systems, and the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, and California.

MTS is a nonprofit organization comprised of leading environmental groups, state and local governments, and companies increasing market penetration of sustainable products and gaining the subsequent global, health, environmental, economic, and social benefits.

http://mts.sustainableproducts.com

http://mts.sustainableproducts.com/standards.htm