LOOK How Recycled Content Carpet is Saving Lives

Though oceans constitute a whopping 71% of earth’s surface, their omnipotence has not allowed them to escape the harmful human activities that are occurring on land. Sadly, ocean pollution is an ever-growing problem with immense trickle-down effects for the entire global ecosystem. Recognizing the challenge, commercial carpet manufacturer Interface decided to do something amazing to make a difference that every LEED designer should be aware of.

But before I jump to the good stuff, let’s recap a few staggering statistics about just how dangerous ocean pollution is.

• There are more than 500 dead zones - or areas incapable of sustaining any ocean life - covering 245,000 square kilometers.
• Plastic debris causes the death of more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year.
• About 10% of all free-floating ocean debris is made up of discarded fishing nets.

It was this final statistic that most caught Interface’s eye. With a history steeped in environmentally-friendly decisions and products, this billion-dollar corporation that most Americans have never heard of sees sustainability as a necessary pillar of any manufacturing success. So, they created a strategic alliance with the Zoological Society of London to carry out Net-Works, a conservation program grounded in Asia. The two-part program (a) gives fishermen in some of the worlds poorest communities an outlet for their end of life nets and (b) repurposes those nylon nets into carpet yarn for their Net Effect line.

Take a look at this commercial gone PSA created by Interface in which they covered a beach with more than 7,000 pounds of fishing nets and captured people’s - and animals’ - reactions. Forewarning: you may get goosebumps.

But the relationship between carpet and ocean doesn’t end there. Interface is manufacturing what I would consider to be some of the most exquisitely designed carpet tiles, creating blue and tan organic, undulating lines that mimic the surf. It’s as breathtaking as carpet can be, and 81% of it is made completely of recycled materials - which is music to every LEED professional’s ears!