Mohawk Group, the world’s leading producer and distributor of quality commercial flooring, delivers industry-leading style, cutting-edge innovation, unmatched service and superior sustainability. As the commercial division of Mohawk Industries, Mohawk Group has a heritage of craftsmanship that spans more than 130 years. The company’s enduring family of brand – Mohawk, Karastan and Durkan – are widely regarded as the most trusted names in the commercial flooring business. Together, these brands function beautifully, delivering the perfect flooring solution for all markets and price points.

Mohawk believes that they can build a better world by listening to Mother Nature. Mohawk is redefining flooring with products that not only minimize climate impacts, but also foster beauty and allow people to thrive. This commitment extends to their customers, employees and communities – because believing in better is good for everyone.

Sunweave woven carpet responds to current desires for artisanal materials in the built environment. Inspired by women weavers of indigenous cultures around the world, Sunweave evokes natural patterns found in baskets, blankets and textiles. This year marks Karastan’s 90^th anniversary. The brand was born April 8, 1928 at 2:02pm when the first rug rolled off an innovative groundbreaking loom created by American retailer and textile manufacturer, Marshall Field, in Eden, North Carolina, where the company remains based today. Touted as the Karastan “Wonder Rug”, this elegant machine-made design rivaled handmade imported counterparts and quickly gained patronage for its unique quality, beauty, and durability.

The creation and specifying Sunweave has a net positive impact for people and the environment, through innovations in materials, manufacturing and community involvement. It is truly sustainable, leaving a handprint rather than a footprint; giving back more to the environment than it takes. To receive this prestigious certification, the Sunweave Collection met five Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, and Beauty.

3-YEAR PLAN

In order to offset the cradle-to-grave impacts of the Sunweave Broadloom, Mohawk has developed 3-Year Life Cycle Net Positive plans for Water, Energy, and Climate. In continuing to Believe in Better, we have chosen community based partnerships in our journey to create net positive products.

PLACE PETAL

01. RESPONSIBLE PLACE AND HABITAT IMPACTS IMPERATIVE

In achieving the Place Petal, Mohawk looked for ways to create a healthy coexistence between the manufacturer and the natural environment. Built in 1913, the facility is located on approximately thirty-seven acres employing two hundred fifty associates.

Mohawk Group’s commercial woven plant in Eden, North Carolina borders the Dan River amidst its biodiverse and environmentally significant surroundings allowing the employees to experience nature in their daily lives. Leakesville Landing, a public water access on the Dan River, is adjacent to the facility. Mohawk is in the process of a 1.25 acre land donation to the City of Eden to create a public trail along the Dan River.

02. HABITAT EXCHANGE IMPERATIVE

As part of the Habitat Exchange Imperative, Mohawk will be contributing towards The Trust for Public Land White Marsh Project. The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, they have protected more than 3.3 million acres and completed more than 5,400 park and conservation projects.

For over 25 years, The Trust for Public Land’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office has focused on protecting land along the key rivers that feed into the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States and one of the most productive bodies of water in the world. While establishing new public access to these rivers and the Chesapeake Bay has always been at the heart of their work, they have also achieved significant conservation gains through securing conservation easements along large shoreline properties. Protection of the 389-acre White Marsh property in Caroline County through the acquisition of a conservation easement supports the land protection goals of the multi-state and federal Chesapeake Bay partnership, including the protection of wetlands and forestland with high ecological value.

WATER PETAL

03. NET POSITIVE WATER IMPERATIVE

The Eden, North Carolina area experiences a generally temperate climate with warm summers, and cold, but not severe, winters. Annual average minimum temperatures 48.8 (F) and average maximum temperatures are 69.3 (F). The majority of water consumed during manufacturing comes from the City of Eden. This water is stored in an open reservoir for use in manufacturing processes, steam generation, equipment cooling, domestic purposes, and fire protection. Since the facility uses an open reservoir, it gains about 160,000 gallons of water in annual precipitation offsetting the amount used in manufacturing of the Sunweave Collection.

As part of the Living Product Challenge certification, Mohawk conducted an LCA analysis on Nylon Woven Broadloom. Based on the blue water usage of 0.0396 m³, the total footprint for the purposes of this certification is 237.6 m³.

3 YEAR HANDPRINTING PLAN

For the Water Petal, Mohawk sought to create a positive impact by developing a strategy for water savings that will exceed the 62,767 gallons per year used for manufacturing the Sunweave broadloom product. To achieve that goal, Mohawk has expanded its efficient fixture program initially a partnership with Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. To offset the water needs of Sunweave, Mohawk will partner with Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia by installing 152 low flow showerheads in various dormitories on campus. The average annual water savings for all showerheads equates to 4 million gallons of water, meaning that annually the handprint of the low-flow showerheads is greater than the cradle to gate footprint of the product.

WATER HOTSPOTS

1. Yarn
2. Manufacturing Electricity
3. Warp Yarn
4. SBR Latex
5. Filling Yarn

ENERGY PETAL

04. NET POSITIVE ENERGY IMPERATIVE

Mohawk’s Eden facility, built in 1913, has structural limitations for on-site renewable energy generation. In order to overcome this hurdle, Mohawk, along with our consultant WAP Sustainability, developed a creative solution to meet our intent of creating an environmentally and socially positive impact. Our strategy was to implement community focused renewable energy projects and to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates.

3 YEAR HANDPRINTING PLAN

Mohawk Group is partnering with Groundswell to develop community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment, beginning with the installation of four smartflower™ solar systems in 2018 in communities of concern or educational institutions with STEM programs in New York City, Chicago, Eden North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. In the next three years, Mohawk Group will add an additional six smartflower™ solar systems at STEM schools and community center throughout the United States.

ENERGY HOTSPOTS

1. Yarn
2. Manufacturing Electricity
3. Thermal Energy from Natural Gas
4. SBR Latex
5. Filling Yarn

HEALTH & HAPPINESS PETAL

Mohawk as a company is constantly evaluating health and wellness programs for our employees and is committed to creating a healthy and safe workplace. In North America, Healthy Life Centers (HLCs) and biometric screenings are the centerpiece of our wellness initiatives. Currently, we have 17 HLCs at our largest facilities that log more than 4,000 visit per month. The Eden facility has a HLC that provides preventative and acute care to employees and their families. As part of our wellness program we provide employees with health coaches to guide them in them in achieving their goals. Additionally, the plant has a stretch and flex program in place to be practiced by employees before their shift. This program involves stretching exercises to warm up muscles and help prevent soft-tissue injuries. The health and wellness of our employees is top priority.

05. TRANSPARENT MATERIAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

To meet the Transparent Material Health Imperative, Mohawk conducted an inventory research for all of the raw materials that are in Sunweave’s supply chain to verify the absence of any red listed chemicals.

Mohawk worked with third-party assessors and a toxicologist to conduct in depth-analysis of all chemicals that are part of the product’s supply chain.

06. HUMAN THRIVING IMPERATIVE

Mohawk’s Eden North Carolina woven facility borders the Dan River amidst its biodiverse and environmentally significant surroundings allowing employees to experience nature in their daily lives. Leakesville Landing, a public water access on the Dan River, is adjacent to the facility. Mohawk is in the process of a 1.25 acre land donation to the City of Eden to create a public trail along the Dan River. The trail will connect a parking lot to the Leakesville Landing.

MATERIALS PETAL

For Sunweave, Mohawk used a special innovative yarn system called Heathered Hues, which is an expansion of its existing Duracolor yarn bank. This fiber was designed to be textured and blended to provide visual texture and dimension when tufted, allowing for a variegated wool-like appearance, our most natural looking nylon fiber to date. The system was designed to do more with less. The yarn itself is dematerialized and has a low environmental impact. As a solution dyed fiber, no water is used in production. Finer yarns are used for performance at lower weights, which minimizes resources. Mohawk also practices “Direct Tuft”, where the extruded yarn goes directly to the tufting loom with no additional processing. This minimizes energy and carbon dioxide impact, and makes the fiber easy to recycle. This is the same yarn that makes Mohawk’s award-winning Lichen Collection, the world’s first Petal Certified Living Product Challenge flooring product achieved by meeting stringent sustainability requirements.

07. RED LIST IMPERATIVE

Mohawk has evaluated all ingredients in its nylon woven broadloom against the Red List.

08. LIVING ECONOMY SOURCING IMPERATIVE

100% of the product’s total materials budget is sourced from within a 2000km radius.

09. RESPONSIBLE INDUSTRY IMPERATIVE

FSC Certified wood is challenging to source in this facility’s region. Mohawk’s current suppliers ensure that the materials for packaging are responsibly sourced and managed. Mohawk conducted due diligence as part of the certification and will continue to seek responsible sourcing packaging alternatives.

DECLARE ID: MHK-0023

EXCEPTION USED: I09-b: Due Diligence

10. NET POSITIVE CLIMATE IMPERATIVE

The Dempsey Ridge Wind Farm, LLC is located in Beckham and Roger Mills counties in Western Oklahoma. The wind energy farm sits on over 7,500 acres of agricultural and grazing land. The project has a capacity of 132 MW, consisting of 66 wind turbines.

Mohawk Group is partnering with Groundswell to develop community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment, beginning with the installation of four smartflower™ solar systems in 2018 in communities of concern or educational institutions with STEM programs in New York City, Chicago, Eden North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. In the next three years, Mohawk Group will add an additional six smartflower™ solar systems at STEM schools and community center throughout the United States.

CLIMATE HOTSPOTS

1. Yarn
2. Manufacturing Electricity
3. Thermal Energy from Natural Gas
4. SBR Latex
5. Waste Water Treatment

12. PRODUCT FIT TO USE IMPERATIVE

The woven broadloom product is designed to last as useful, functioning products for at least the average lifetime for its product category, as documented in the ILFI’s online Product Life Database. The Hexapod Rating System reflects data in connection to specific performance warranties. The following collection traditionally receives ratings of 3.0+, which correlates to Mohawk’s Heavy Foot Traffic recommendation.

13. USEFUL LIFE DISPOSAL IMPERATIVE

Mohawk’s ReCover program offers the opportunity to recycle the old carpet domestically. Depending on the project location, we will recycle old carpet through our network of carpet recyclers across North America. We will take any carpet, regardless of the manufacturer. We handle containers and coordinate shipping. Recycling your carpet helps us ReCover a valuable resource for the future of our planet.

EQUITY PETAL

14. EQUITABLE PRODUCT ACCESS IMPERATIVE

New construction and/or renovation projects in the residential market rarely-if-ever specify or require commercial products. Despite that Mohawk would be willing and pleased to provide the following products at a discounted price to affordable housing projects (at a price comparable to similar products).

15. RESPONSIBLE CO-PRODUCTS IMPERATIVE

Mohawk Group demonstrates consistent responsible manufacturing across its entire operation. We are not involved with the manufacture of weapons or armaments, tobacco products, violent video games, or illicit drugs. Additionally, we are not involved with fossil fuel extraction; nuclear energy production or nuclear weapons manufacturing; facilitate payday lending, gambling, or patenting of life; charge interest rates significantly in excess of market peers for comparable offerings.

Mohawk Industries Annual Report: https://www.mohawkind.com/_pdf/Mohawk_2017_Annual_Report.pdf

16. EQUITABLE INVESTMENT IMPERATIVE

As part of the Equitable Investment imperative, Mohawk Group will be contributing towards Groundswell. Groundswell develops community solar projects and subscriber management programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment for marginalized communities.

Groundswell’s community solar programs enable neighbor to work together to Share Power© through community solar, offering substantial energy savings to low income households. They develop community solar projects and subscriber management programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment for marginalized communities. They believe that clean energy is a necessity, not a luxury; we’re all in this together, and we can’t afford to leave our neighbors in need behind.

BEAUTY PETAL

18. POSITIVE HANDPRINTING IMPERATIVE

Through the installation of 10 smartflower™ solar systems throughout the United States, and combining that with the purchase of carbon credits, Mohawk Group is offering carbon neutral living products.

19. BEAUTY + SPIRIT IMPERATIVE

Sunweave by Mohawk Group is a woven broadloom carpet collection of two biophilic styles that merge the time-honored craft of woven construction with today’s desire for artisanal materials in the built environment. Born from both tradition and experimentation at our Karastan mill in North Carolina, the largest plant of woven flooring in the United States, Sunweave merges design, sustainability, innovation, and performance.

Inspired by women weavers of indigenous cultures around the world, Sunweave captures the vitality and endurance of mankind through natural patterns found in textiles. Weavers have always expressed patterns found in nature through a combination of their own handiwork and natural yarns, colored with natural dyes. This is found in the vast historical examples of baskets, blankets, textiles, and rugs that mankind has used and treasured for centuries.

Both styles derive inspiration from the notion of shadow being nature’s handcraft. Subtle color and value shifts mimic the sun’s daily progression. The movement of light and shadow cast by nature marks moments in time as well as the transformation of the seasons throughout the year. For Shadow Pass, this inspiration was directly translated into a grand scale of ombre shadow that transitions across the loom, and therefore the floor plane. For Threaded Shade, the inspiration came from shadow blocking, or how shadows are cast when hitting objects and creating a new form.

Color is also affected by how light and the seasons change, and the four warm and cool neutral colorways reflect this balance as seen in nature. Additionally, these neutral colors mimic naturally-occurring materials that were derived from botanicals, insects, minerals, etc. and used by artisans through the ages.

To create these effects, we employ traditional Wilton wire looms that use pile wires horizontally across the loom to accentuate the look and feel of weaving on a hand loom gives a flat weave aesthetic that allows for a tight and sophisticated visual most closely associated to these hand-woven textiles and objects.

20. INSPIRATION + EDUCATION IMPERATIVE

LPC PAGE URL: https://www.mohawkgroup.com/sustainability/living-product-challenge