Step Softly

Eco-conscious carpet manufacturers are introducing VOC-free and recycled ranges with a gentler footprint

- MARK VAN DIJK

If you've ever stepped into a freshly-carpeted room, you will know the distinct odour that comes with it. Kind of fresh, kind of chemically, it's a smell that announces that the decorators have done their jobs, and suggests that anybody entering the room will be asked to leave their shoes in the doorway. It's a dying smell, though. At trade fairs and showrooms across the world, that 'new carpet' smell is disappearing as the carpeting industry finds new, healthier ways to manufacture its products.

The problem with that 'new carpet' smell is that it's produced by the off-gassing of VOCs, like 4-PCH, which is commonly used in carpeting. VOCs are known to cause rashes, eye irritation and respiratory problems.

According to the US non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG), most carpeting around the world is made from synthetic fibres derived from non-renewable petroleum-based sources, while carpet backing is usually made from synthetic rubber derived from respiratory irritants such as styrene and butadiene. The harmful fumes from those synthetic rubbers, fibres, adhesives, bonding agents and stain-resistant finishers are what you are really breathing in every time you sigh with satisfaction at the soft feeling under your feet.

Those chemicals and compounds are also what makes carpeting difficult to recycle. Unable to separate the fibres from the underlay or the various VOCs from each other, many recycling collector/ sorter entrepreneurs do not bother with the discarded carpets that come their way. 'Most people don't understand but carpet is a highly engineered material; Bruce Petrovick, account manager for the Dutch manufacturing company DSM told Fast Company. 'The way it's traditionally made, it contains multiple layers, and each layer contains multiple different types of materials.