EXPOSING THE GREENWASH OF THE U.S. CARPET INDUSTRY

The U.S. carpet industry is characterized by high waste, with 89% of discarded carpets ending up in landfills and 6% being incinerated. Despite the existence of the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), only 1% of carpet waste is recycled back into carpet in a closed loop. The report argues that major manufacturers, particularly Shaw and Mohawk, engage in greenwashing and actively lobby against Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation to maintain a wasteful linear model. In California, the AB 2398 law has failed to achieve meaningful recycling increases because it relies on consumer fees rather than producer funding, and is administered by CARE, which the report claims is under the influence of the industry's largest players.

• The U.S. carpet industry is overwhelmingly linear, with 89% of discarded carpet sent to landfills, 6% incinerated, and less than 5% recycled. Of the recycled portion, only 20% is closed-loop, meaning only 1% of all carpet discards are recycled back into carpet annually.
• Incineration of carpets, including in cement kilns, releases hazardous chemicals such as dioxin, mercury, and lead. Dioxin, a proven carcinogen, is specifically created when carpets containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are burnt.
• The use of reclaimed PET fibers in carpets is promoted as environmentally friendly but creates a 'dead-end road' for circularity because it is not economically viable to recycle PET fibers back into fibers, leading most PET carpets to be landfilled or incinerated.
• The U.S. carpet market is dominated by five major manufacturers, with Shaw and Mohawk alone accounting for more than half of all carpets produced. The report accuses these companies of greenwashing by claiming sustainability while maintaining a system where 92.5% of products are wasted.
• The Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is described as being under the control of the industry's largest players, as Shaw, Mohawk, and the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) all hold seats on its board of directors.
• CARE uses its voluntary stewardship program to prevent the adoption of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws; recyclers receiving subsidies must sign an agreement promising not to support EPR legislation or risk refunding all payments.
• California's AB 2398 law failed to significantly increase recycling rates between 2011 and 2015, with the recycling rate actually falling from 12% to 10% in 2014-2015, while the amount of carpet sent to incinerators more than doubled.
• The failure of AB 2398 is attributed to a funding model that charges consumers a flat fee (reaching $0.20 per square yard in 2016) rather than making producers financially responsible, which removes the incentive for manufacturers to design more recyclable products.
• The report identifies a lack of transparency in the industry, noting that most companies refused to provide data on the actual recycled content of their products or the share of their products that can be recycled back into carpets.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2016). EXPOSING THE GREENWASH OF THE U.S. CARPET INDUSTRY. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SWEPT-UNDER-THE-CARPET_high-res-DECEMBER-2016.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. EXPOSING THE GREENWASH OF THE U.S. CARPET INDUSTRY. 2016. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SWEPT-UNDER-THE-CARPET_high-res-DECEMBER-2016.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=EXPOSING THE GREENWASH OF THE U.S. CARPET INDUSTRY |date=December 2016 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SWEPT-UNDER-THE-CARPET_high-res-DECEMBER-2016.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2016exposing, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{EXPOSING THE GREENWASH OF THE U.S. CARPET INDUSTRY}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SWEPT-UNDER-THE-CARPET_high-res-DECEMBER-2016.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }