Ege Carpets

Ege Carpets is a company based in Denmark that practices circular design – making sustainability and responsible consumption one of their top priorities.

Cradle-to-Cradle Bronze Certified®

Ege Carpets is one of the only manufacturer’s in the world with a 100% Cradle to Cradle Certified^TM variety of carpets. Following circular design principles from the certificate, Ege’s strict sustainable strategies include keeping materials in circulation for reuse, reducing waste and the use of harmful/toxic substances, taking care of our natural resources, reducing carbon emissions, and practicing social fairness.

Carpet backings made from recycled plastic bottles

Ege’s carpet backings are made from a patented Ecotrust felt backing that is made from plastic bottles through their innovative manufacturing techniques. The plastic bottles are first converted into plastic flakes, and then into soft fibres that are part of the PET-felt backing in the manufacturing process.

In addition to the carpet backings being made from recycled materials, the felt is also regenerative – meaning that after the carpet comes to the end if its usefulness, the felt can be broken down into its original chemical formula to become part of a new PET product. Being used over and over again, creating circularity in the material’s usefulness.

ECONYL^® regenerated nylon

Many of Ege’s collections are made from regenerated yarns – meaning that they are manufactured from waste products.

Aquafil, the company that makes ECONYL^® yarns, specializes in collecting used nylon products such as used carpeting that have reached the end of their product life, discarded fishing nets left in the ocean, and that get washed up onto land, and textile waste products from manufacturing to make new nylon products.

All the nylon waste products that Aquafil collects go through a refining processes where they get cleaned, cut into smaller pieces, and then get broken down into their original chemical formula in the form of nylon chips. In this raw material state, the nylon chips can then be included in the manufacturing process to make new nylon products including ECONYL^® carpet yarns.

Guided by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

In 2015, the UN created the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a roadmap for how we can all strategize to improve health and education, reduce inequality, increase economic growth – all while fighting climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

Ege’s Cradle to Cradle product certification also aligns with, and helps Ege to achieve their SDG goals by adhering to strict circular design principles to create products that produce less waste, and reduces the use of our natural resources.

Ege Carpets specifically focuses on integrating 3 of the UN’s 17 SDGs into their everyday operations: 7. Affordable and Green Energy, 12. Responsible Consumption and Production, and 14. Life Below Water.

7. Affordable and Clean Energy

100% of Ege’s electricity consumption is derived from renewable energy that they purchase from offshore wind farms. Ege is also in the process of switching from natural gas to bio gas certificates.

12. Responsible Consumption and Production

Ege uses the Cradle to Cradle product certification standards as a framework for their entire business operations. Using closed loop principles to reduce waste and keep materials in circulation. Ege strives to manufacture their products using only healthy materials that are designed to be reused over and over again.

14. Life Below Water

Plastic in the ocean is one of the world’s most critical climate challenges. Most of the plastic in the ocean never gets recycled, and remains in our land and oceans forever. Destroying marine life, and all other ecosystems in nature that are connected to it.

At Ege Carpets, they work to use large quantities of plastic waste for their carpets and packaging. From the carpet tile felt backings that consist of 100% recycled plastic bottles, to the yarns that consist of regenerated fishing nets and other industrial nylon waste.

Ege Carpets is dedicated to helping to divert plastic waste, processing their wastewater to be reused, and safe enough for drinking, while also striving to become carbon neutral by 2030.

LEED, Fitwel and WELL Building Standard

With Cradle to Cradle Bronze Certified®, Ege Carpets can contribute to credits in LEED certification projects under Materials & Resources category, Indoor Environment/Air Quality category for Fitwel and Materials credit category WELL, reducing human exposure to hazardous building materials for interiors (like VOCs) to create healthy indoor air quality for building occupants.

You can find Ege Carpets technical information for certification credits on their Sustainable Carpets for Commercial Use page.

*all photos are from Ege Carpets.