Product Design

At Mohawk, we believe that the most effective way to implement real sustainability is to build it in from the very beginning - starting with product design. This not only ensures a higher level of sustainability in all our products from the outset, but also gives us a great head start in addressing environmental issues at other stages of the life cycle. We're so committed to our environmental responsibilities that we not only apply sustainability standards to the products themselves, but even to the way that we go about designing them. Our design process has been modified so that, even when we're working on a new product idea, we take fewer critical resources out of the environment and create less waste—effectively reducing our environmental footprint.

• SIMS – This new technology significantly reduces the need for tufted samples during the design process. Instead of needing to work with actual carpet samples, our designers can view simulations of designs, colors, and even textures with remarkable accuracy. Every simulated sample saves one quart of oil and eliminates the fuel necessary to ship carpet samples-all SIM design files are sent electronically.
• ADS – Our Accelerated Design System further reduces the amount of carpet samples needed. It lets our customers and marketing teams view carpet simulations in pre-designed room scenes. The tremendous design flexibility actually improves the customer selection process, making it easier for the customer to get the right carpet, right from the start.
• Recycled Content – One of the ways we increase the sustainability of our products is by incorporating pre-consumer content. Our research and development team is constantly working to identify new types of recycled content that can be used in our products. As a result, we're making carpet products out of everything from carpet waste to automobile glass to plastic beverage bottles.
• Micro Engineering – Using fine gauge tufting machines, we reduce the amount of carpet face fiber in our products while maintaining the exact same level of performance. Less face fiber means that a lot less virgin raw materials are required to produce our carpet.
• Dematerialization – We are constantly looking for ways to do more with less. Our steady shift from resource dependent practices to dematerialization design has enabled us reduce the amount of materials used in production while at the very same time maintaining - or even raising - the level of quality.
• Renewable Materials – At Mohawk, we aim to reduce our dependence on petrochemicals wherever possible. One way we do this is by seeking out renewable materials to use in our products that can be easily replenished. For example, we're now using carpet fibers made from the starch in corn kernels and using soy oil to make backing systems.
• Life Cycle Analysis – LCA is about evaluating the environmental impact of a product at every stage of its life. Through LCA, we have identified and implemented a variety of sustainability measures, including BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) and the eLCie suite of software tools that help us analyze lifecycle data. As a result, we are shrinking our environmental footprint at every stage of the product lifecycle.
• Closed-Loop Recycling – Not only do we choose and develop materials with the lowest environmental footprint when designing our carpet products, but we choose components that will allow our products to be recyclable at the end of their useful lives so as to "live again" with a second, third, or fourth life by using those same recycled materials to make new products.