Helios Carpets receive Wool: Clean Air cert

All of Helios Carpet’s products have been approved to carry the Wool: Clean Air Certified label. Wool: Clean Air Certified is an indoor environmental quality program managed by Wools of New Zealand. Products in the program must pass VOC emissions testing for 13 contaminants.

“Solid scientific backing and high testing standards give the Wool: Clean Air Certified label impressive credibility that we are proud to carry on our products,” said Connie Berry, Helios director of marketing for Helios.

Products containing a minimum of 50 percent wool are eligible for Wool: Clean Air certification. Product samples are submitted by platform, which is dependent upon backing and latex type. Every platform is fully retested on an annual basis.

Murray joins Shaw as sustainability vp

Shaw Industries has named Paul Murray vp sustainability and environmental affairs. He joins Shaw after more than 20 years with Herman Miller Inc., a manufacturer of office furnishings, chairs and desks. During his tenure there, Murray helped established EQAT, the Environmental Quality Action Team. Through that team and other efforts, Herman Miller achieved high-profile recognition for its environmental initiatives, including a Presidential citation and national recognition as an environmentally progressive company.

“Paul’s passion, experience and credibility as both an innovator and a corporate sustainability leader will play a vital role in helping us move forward with our commitment to sustainability through innovation,” said Vance Bell, Shaw ceo.

Murray holds memberships with the Air and Waste Management Association, the National Association of Environmental Managers, the American Society of Interior Design and the West Michigan Business Forum. In 2002, he co-founded the Sustainable Research Group (SRG), an environmental consulting service created to help other companies implement green initiatives similar to Herman Miller’s.

Murray and his family will relocate to the Northwest Georgia area from Hudsonville, Mich.

California group names Shaw/Tuftex plant a top facility

The California Water Environment Association (CWEA) has named Shaw Industries Group Inc.’s Santa Fe Springs, Calif., plant its Facility of the Year. The award recognizes Shaw/Tuftex’s environmental efforts.

“Shaw’s Santa Fe Springs facility stands out in California for its commitment to environmentally conscious practices across all aspects of its operations,” said Paul D. Schmidtbauer, CWEA P3S Awards Committee Chair – South. “From recycling and saving millions of gallons of water to its ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ status, the facility is a model of best environmental practices for our state.”

The facility diverts residual waste from landfills by sending it to a waste-to-energy facility in the City of Commerce, Calif., for energy recovery. Other practices include recycling 100 percent of carpet production waste (including carpet, lint, floor sweepings and yarn) into pre-consumer recycled content and minimizing air emissions through the use of low NOx burners on two ship-scale boilers.

J&J part of Aqua-Chem's wastewater pilot project

Aqua-Chem, Inc., said that the results of a pilot project with J&J Industries conclusively demonstrate that it is both practical and economically feasible to remove dye and other additives from industrial wastewater and to reuse the water in carpet dyeing.

The pilot demonstrated that 70% of wastewater effluents in dyeing operations can be reused in the manufacturing process. The full-scale system is projected to recover 90% of wastewater.

“These are impressive results by any standard,” said Dr. Howard Elder, director of research and environmental affairs at J&J Industries. “Decreasing water consumption is a major focus of ours and we are delighted to participate in the development of this technology.”

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