Recent Initiatives - Milliken Carpet Europe
Milliken is at the forefront of sustainable carpet innovation with the launch of many manufacturing and product innovations, including those that eliminate waste, increase product performance, preserve resources and shorten the journey to sustainability.
Yarn Sourcing
- Milliken premium products manufactured using Invista Antron® fibre
- 100% of Invista's recycled fibre in Europe is used exclusively in Milliken's fusion bonded cut pile product
- 30 tonnes of waste was diverted from landfill in 2004
- There is up to 30% recycled content in Milliken's fusion bonded yarn
- Invista Antron®* is endorsed by the US Environmental body EPP (Environmentally Preferred Products)
Recycled Cushion Backing
- Milliken's unique high performance cushion backing system, ComfortPlus²®, is manufactured using 85% recycled open-cell polyurethane foam which is post-industrial waste from the automotive industry
- Super-dense chips of foam give characteristic high resilience cushion performance
- Each 100m² of Comfort Plus² reduces the amount of virgin material used by 100kg compared to original Comfort Plus
Millitron® Design Technology
- Millitron enables us to create "visual texture"
- Performance cushion backing + visual texture allows us to reduce face weight for equivalent or even superior performance
- Reduced yarn usage provides significant savings in oil resources
Improved Longevity
- Hard wearing Antron nylon
"The strongest environmental statement any one of us can make is to select products that are durable and can be used longer"
Invista Antron® - Performance enhancements:
StainSmart®- Stain Repel, Stain Resist, Soil Release
AlphaSan® - anti-microbial protection
= Improved appearance retention
- Comfort Plus² - Improved wear performance including a 15 year wear guarantee
- Carpet is renewable at the end of its life through Milliken's unique Earth Square Carpet Renewal Process
Random-Lay Products - OMNI® - Milliken's Omni-directional random lay concept
- Significant reductions in product wastage compared to other patterned carpet as no pattern matching is required
- Seven Omni designs are currently available
MillikenPerformance Systems
- Total waste reduced by 70% since 1995
- Over 80% of our waste is recycled
- Water consumption reduced by 60% since 1995
- Energy consumption/m² reduced by 42% since 2002
TractionBack®: Bio based TractionBack is a remarkable new high-friction coating developed by Milliken Research.
TractionBack is a patented innovation which not only keeps your carpet securely in place but does so without the need for large areas of adhesives allowing for a cleaner much less disruptive carpet installation. Adhesive free installation means there is no risk from harmful VOC’s, no odour and no ventilation concerns.
Environmental Commitment
Milliken Carpet Europe:
- Was the first carpet manufacturer to achieve a BRE Environmental Profile Rating
- Is the only UK manufacturing member of GuT, the European carpet industry environmental body
- Are signed up to London ReMade's "Green Procurement Code"
- Are active members of a number of regional environmental organisations including Sustainability North West and Merseyside ReMade
- Is ISO14001 Certified
First in Key Environmental Initiatives in Carpet Manufacture
- First to have a documented recycling and reuse policy (1900)
- First to formally introduce a written environmental policy (1960)
- First to reduce total weight of modular carpets (1982)
- First to eliminate chlorinated solvents from manufacturing facilities (1986)
- First and founding UK carpet manufacturing member of GuT (1990)
- First to offer renewable carpet (1992)
- First to be at a negative Carbon Dioxide footprint (US) (1995)
- First to win GSA Evergreen Award (US) (1996)
- First UK carpet manufacturer to achieve a BRE Environmental Profile Rating (2002)
- First adhesive-free modular installation system - TractionBack® (2003)
- First to be certified "Cleaner and Greener" by Leonardo Academy (US) (2004)
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* Antron® is a registered trademark of INVISTA™