C&A Earns EPP Certification for ethos Backing; Carpet Manufacturer Also Renews EPP Certification on ER3 Modular Tile and ER3 Cushion Rolls.

DALTON, Ga. -- C&A Floorcoverings (C&A), a Tandus company, announced Monday that it has earned Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification for ethos(TM) Cushion 100 Roll Goods, a high recycled content, cushion backing for six-foot broadloom carpet. In addition the company renewed the EPP certification initially earned in 2004 for its entire line of ER3(R) modular carpet and ER3(R) six-foot structured back broadloom.

"Without question, the market demand for sustainable design practices is increasing exponentially every year. Unfortunately, this otherwise positive direction has encouraged the proliferation of unsubstantiated or ambiguous marketing claims about the environmental characteristics of products," said Mac Bridger, CEO of Tandus. "Third-party certification of our products and processes not only assists our customers in making informed decisions about the true environmental attributes of building materials, but it can be included in specifications as a part of the product evaluation and submittal process."

C&A Continues to Lead the Floorcoverings Industry in Third Party Certification

Working closely with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), an internationally respected, neutral third party testing and certification organization dedicated to evaluating a wide variety of environmental and food safety claims, C&A pioneered the use of third-party certification for the floorcoverings industry in 2000.

"We first engaged SCS more than five years ago. Since then, SCS has analyzed and certified the recycledcontent values of C&A's entire ER3 modular and cushion roll product offerings, ethos Cushion 100 Roll Goods as well as verified our recycling operations and the recyclability of these products," said Bridger. "Since then, SCS has conducted ongoing assessment and analysis of C&A products and on-site audits of C&A's recycling and manufacturing operations."

"The EPP certification program is designed to recognize outstanding environmental performance and encourage continuous improvement by manufacturers," said Kirsten T. Ritchie, PE, Director, Environmental Claims Certification for SCS. "C&A has increasingly sought third-party certification for a widening array of products. They should be commended for their actions."

In a separate effort, C&A is also the first carpet manufacturer to received certification from SCS regarding the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of several primers, adhesives and water-based seam sealers. The certifications verify that C&A's products meet LEED(R) Credit 4.1 for low-emitting adhesives and sealants.

Environmentally Preferable Product Designation for Carpet

SCS offers a certification program for Environmentally Preferable Products and Services to address the growing demand for products that have the least impact on the environment. Program development followed Executive Order 13101, "Greening the Government through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition," which directs federal agencies and their contractors to identify and purchase products designated as "environmentally preferable."

SCS has used a combination of resources including ISO 14024 Principles and Procedures for Type I Environmental Labeling, EPA's Federal Guidance on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and ASTM E2129 Data Collection for Sustainability of Building products to guide the development of the environmentally preferable specification for carpet. The specification is designed to address all key stages of the product lifecycle and incorporate environmental and human health issues relevant to the category, while at the same time provide a flexible framework that recognizes and accommodates the wide range of materials, locations, energy sources, production systems, performance requirements, and corporate initiatives involved in the production of carpet today.

SCS evaluates detailed information about the environmental performance of the products in questions. To achieve EPP certification, five sets of criteria are examined, including Resource Conservation, Product Manufacturing, Product Performance, Extended Product Responsibility, and Innovation. To achieve certification, products undergoing assessment must score at least 75 points overall, and a minimum of 50 percent of each of the possible points in each category except innovation, which is determined case by case. Points can be earned by submitting one or more environmental initiatives for consideration.

Among the environmental initiatives C&A submitted for the ethos certification were:

--Resource Conservation. C&A produces carpets manufactured with EPP-certified Antron Lumena and Legacy BCF, recycled content-certified fiber, and other fibers. The ethos backing for roll goods averages 46% post-consumer recycled content. Overall product recycled content ranges from 30% to 52% and contains a minimum of 30% post-consumer content. In addition, 5.36% of C&A's current energy requirements are derived from active and passive solar, wind and hydro sources.

--Product Manufacturing. Both production plant emissions and key supplier emissions conform to air, water, and waste permit requirements. C&A's manufacturing operations do not release listed PBTs at or above required reporting levels. In addition to having a documented waste minimization plan, the company generates less than 1% waste on weight basis of total production volume. More than 50% of outbound packaging is recyclable and C&A's primary packaging (cardboard) contains at least 25% post-consumer content. C&A also participates in the US EPA Performance Track program and has participated in the BEES programs. The company publicly discloses its goals online at www.cafloorcoverings.com

--Product Performance. C&A's ethos products conform to texture retention, delamination, stain resistance, fire spread and smoke density criteria. The product inclusive of pre-applied adhesive complies with the CRI Green Label Plus Program for Indoor Air Quality. The product also complies with chronic VOC emissions requirements per Section 1350. C&A's backings also conform to the requirements of AATCC 174 for Anti-Microbial Assessments of Carpets; Carpet Moisture Penetration by Dynamic Impact by Spillage, and ASTM Z8114 Accelerated Soil Test.

--Extended Product Responsibility. Every square yard of ethos cushion 100 produced in 2003 contained two pounds of post-consumer material. C&A's recycling rate for post-consumer carpet was more than twice the recycling rate targeted by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). Ethos is currently being recycled into carpet backing using C&A's existing recycling facilities.

--Innovation. In June 2004, C&A introduced a new product, ethos, which has a cushion backing made from PVB film reclaimed from post-consumer laminated windshields and safety glass. The company is the first to manufacture a high-performance carpet backing from this recovered material.

A detailed public summary of the certification is available on the SCS website at http://www.scscertified.com/epp.

A Heritage of Environmental Leadership

For more than 35 years, C&A has been proud of its leadership in innovative technologies that provide functional performance and measurable environmental benefits.

"As interest in sustainable design and construction practices continues to grow, our commitment to our customers and ourselves is to continue building on our long history of technological innovations that lead to a more sustainable future," said Bridger.

C&A was the first carpet manufacturer to:

--Obtain third-party certification of its entire line of ER3(R) modular carpet and ER3(R) six-foot structured back broadloom

--Obtain third-party certification for the recycling of its own products

--C&A's award-winning and internationally recognized Center for Environmental Innovation has reclaimed and recycled almost 100 million pounds of carpet and industrial waste since 1995.

--Publicly embrace and conform to the FTC Guides, national guidelines issued by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with the cooperation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to ensure companies' green claims comply with established standards regarding recyclability, recycled content, biodegradable, etc.

--Proactively provide the industry's only "No Excuses" warranty that guarantees that the products it supplies to its customers will meet the recycled content percentage certified by SCS every single time.

--Proactively provide a guarantee in writing that all vinyl-backed carpet reclaimed for recycling will be recycled into new floorcoverings. No landfills, no incinerators.

--Certify its product attributes (such as recycled content and VOCs) that can contribute toward earning credits in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system.

--Establish a formal program to reclaim vinyl-backed carpet after its useful life, regardless of manufacturer, and pay the customer for it.

ABOUT C&A

C&A manufactures high-performance modular tile and six-foot structured back carpeting for the commercial market. A recognized leader in environmental stewardship and the first carpet manufacturer in the world with a reclamation and recycling program and to produce 100% recycled-content vinyl backing. The company's sustainable warranty guarantees that all carpet returned will be recycled in its entirety and that no portion will be landfilled, incinerated (including Waste-To-Energy) or disposed of in any other way. More information can be found online at www.cafloorcoverings.com.

As part of Tandus, C&A works in tandem with sister brands Monterey and Crossley to provide customized interiors solutions for its customers. Based in Dalton, Ga., Tandus is a leading commercial floorcoverings company.