CALHOUN, Ga.–Woolshire Carpet Mills is upping the green factor of its already sustainable wool carpets by offering an optional EnviroCel backing.
The soy-based backing from Universal Textile Technologies is designed specifically for the installation and performance requirements of high-end residential and hospitality use.
Terry Green, executive vice president of Woolshire, said the company had been searching for an eco-friendly backing to offer with its carpets, all of which bear the Wools of New Zealand label. Green said the “exceptional” quality of EnviroCel fit the bill, adding the sustainable backing “is not affected by water or temperature changes, can withstand repeated wet cleaning, and is able to support heavy foot traffic and furniture.”
The technology behind the product allows EnviroCel to replace more than 90 percent of the petroleum-based polymers in its polyurethane formula with bio-based polymers derived from domestically grown soybeans. The backing also incorporates post-consumer recycled PET plastic from soft drink and water bottles and contains Celceram, a highly refined material recovered from the process of coal combustion in an electric utility power plant. Celceram serves to increase the carpets’ dimensional stability.