Roll Out the Sustainable Carpet

We lie on it, our babies crawl on it and our dogs and cats roll around on it. Shouldn't it be free of nasty chemicals and easy to recycle when it's worn out?

A new set of standards for environmentally friendly carpet was unveiled at the 2007 Greenbuild International Conference in Chicago.

Similar to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifications, the Green Label certification program, developed by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), will award carpets with platinum, gold and silver certifications.

The standards address chemicals and materials used in manufacturing carpet, the energy used in production, the use of recycled or bio-based content, disposal or reuse options for the end of the carpet's life and the overall environmental performance of the manufacturers.

The first certified carpets should hit the market by April of 2008.