C&A Earns Platinum/EPP and Gold/EPP Certifications under the New Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard (SCAS); Carpet Manufacturer Earns EPP Certification on Its Standard ER3(R) Modular Tile, Ethos And ER3 Cushion Products.

DALTON, Ga. -- C&A Floorcoverings (C&A), a Tandus company, announced today that it has earned Platinum Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certification on two entire product lines, ER3(R) modular tiles and ethos(TM) cushion rolls and Gold EPP certification on its ER3 cushion rolls and ER3C-10 (ER3 Cushion rolls containing 10% post consumer content) product lines. Additionally, ER3 modular tiles, ER3C-10 and ethos cushion rolls have achieved certification to the California Gold Sustainable Carpet Standard.

"At Tandus, we have long asked our customers to measure us by our accomplishments - not by our goals," said Mac Bridger, CEO of Tandus. "These certifications are the result of many years of hard work and demonstrate that what is right environmentally can also make very good business sense."

C&A earned product certifications to the new Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard (SCAS) under Scientific Certification Systems' (SCS) Sustainable Choice(TM) Program. SCS, an internationally respected, neutral third party testing and certification organization, is dedicated to evaluating a wide variety of environmental and food safety claims. C&A pioneered the use of third-party certification in the floorcoverings industry in 2000 when it began working with SCS to certify the recycled content and recyclability of its products. 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.

ONE STANDARD FOR CARPET EPP CERTIFICATION

The carpet industry is working to standardize one "environmental standard" for carpet, the Sustainable Carpet Assessment Standard (SCAS), also referred to as Draft Standard NSF-140:2005. SCAS has four certification levels -- Bronze, Silver, Gold/EPP and Platinum/EPP. The standard is designed to address all key stages of the product life cycle and incorporate environmental and human health issues. The standard evaluates a product in six key areas: Public Health and The Environment; Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency; BioBased/Recycled Content; Manufacturing; Reclamation/End of Life Management; and Innovation.

"C&A was the first carpet company to truly embrace independent, third-party certification of environmental claims. At the core of any 'innovative new product' is an innovative company that is willing to break new ground and pursue strategies that ultimately benefit the end user," said Kirsten T. Ritchie, PE, Director, Environmental Claims Certification for SCS.

Third-party certification of products assists customers in making informed decisions about the environmental attributes of building materials and can be included in specifications as a part of the product evaluation and submittal process. For more information regarding the standard, visit the SCS website at http://www.scscertified.com.

CALIFORNIA GOLD

The State of California's Department of General Services developed and implemented a modified version of SCAS that includes additional requirements called the California Gold Sustainable Carpet Standard. This standard requires products to meet, at minimum, the Gold/EPP level of the SCAS standard and contain 10% total post consumer content, among other requirements.

The California Gold standard applies to broadloom and tile purchased by the state of California. This standard raises the bar for environmentally preferable carpet products and will encourage manufacturers to increase the environmental attributes of their products. The state hopes implementation of the standard will reduce the amount of carpet going into California landfills.

C&A'S CERTIFIED PRODUCTS

Housed at Tandus' internationally recognized Center for Environmental Innovation, C&A's recycling program recycles any post-consumer vinyl-backed carpet, regardless of original manufacturer, into recycled content backing for new floorcoverings. All C&A products receiving certification are 100% recyclable today and are currently being recycled in C&A's existing closed-loop carpet recycling process.

The following C&A product lines received SCAS certification:

ER3 Modular Tile Products (Platinum/EPP and California Gold)

--Overall recycled content ranges from 30 to 50%, depending on the style with an average of 10% post consumer content.

--100% recycled content backing made from recycled carpet and post-industrial waste.

Ethos (Platinum/EPP and California Gold)

--Overall recycled content ranges from 30 to 52%, depending on the style, and includes a minimum of 30% post consumer content

--The ethos backing contains 76% post consumer content and is made from polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film recovered from car windshield and safety glass. Until the development of this technology there had been limited applications for PVB film, and most PVB waste was destined for the landfill. C&A is the first manufacturer to recycle this thermoplastic resin into a carpet backing.

--Ethos meets the performance of similar carpeting made with traditional PVC backing and does not contain chlorine.

ER3C-10 Cushion Rolls (Gold/EPP and California Gold)

--Overall recycled content ranges from 34 to 51% with a minimum of 10% post consumer content.

--98% recycled content backing made from recycled carpet and post-industrial waste.

ER3 Cushion Rolls (Gold/EPP)

--Overall recycled content ranges from 34 to 51% with a minimum of 5% post consumer content.

--98% recycled content backing made from recycled carpet and post-industrial waste.

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.

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 carpet.

--Obtain third-party verification for recycling its products back into carpet.

--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), 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.

As part of Tandus, C&A works in tandem with sister brands Monterey and Crossley to provide customized interiors solutions for its customers. Tandus is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); National Recycling Coalition (NRC); Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS); IIDA; AIA; and EPA's Performance Track. Based in Dalton, Ga., Tandus is a leading commercial floorcoverings company. Find us online at www.tandus.com.