Mohawk is the largest recycler in the flooring industry, and the industry leader in recycled and renewable flooring.  More than 500 Mohawk products contain some type of recycled material.

Through Mohawk GreenWorks, the company has numerous environmental and sustainability projects underway.  In carpet, Mohawk recycles more than 3 billion plastic bottles each year, converting them into high quality EverStrand™     PET fiber.  That’s one in every four bottles recycled in North America.   

Mohawk SmartStrand® fiber made with DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced polymer replaces petroleum with sustainable material.  37% of the polymer for this product is made from renewable sources such as corn sugar.  SmartStrand takes 30% less energy to produce than nylon 6, and reduces greenhouse gases by 60%.  For every seven yards of Sorona carpet produced, the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline is saved.

Mohawk’s new residential Home & Office tile line features Mohawk’s Encycle backing.  Encycle is unique-it’s a non-PVC carpet tile that can be completely recycled back into itself in a single process.  Old Encycle carpet is melted down and made into new Encycle backing without separating the face fiber from the backing layers.

Many Mohawk hardwood products are certified sustainable, which helps ensure resources are not obtained illegally or from poor practices such as clear cutting.  Certified products (verified by a third party) ensure that the purchase made is one that is environmentally and socially responsible.  Mohawk is also reclaiming wood such as antique elm and heart pine flooring from structures in the United States and Asia and using it for premium engineered flooring.  This process maximizes the use of the reclaimed wood.

In laminate, Mohawk diverts more than 680 million pounds of material from landfills each year through recycling into quality laminate flooring.  Mohawk’s domestically produced laminate has an average pre-consumer recycled content of 74%.

Ceramic also has a strong environmental story.  Mohawk recycles waste fired tile, diverting 64 million pounds of material from landfills each year.  Virtually all ceramic tile contains recycled material.  Recycled content is 40-51% in floor tile, 32-46% in wall tile, 7-40% in mosaics, and up to 20% in quarry products.  A number of Mohawk ceramic plants also recycle 100% of all wastewater from manufacturing. - Jenny Cross, Senior Sustainability Manager, Mohawk Residential


To learn more about Mohawk GreenWorks, visit their website: www.mohawkgreenworks.com.

Mohawk is also sponsoring the first annual GreenWorks Dealer of the Year Award for flooring retailers who practice sustainability and recycling.  For details, visit www.mohawktoday.com.