Flooring product being recycled at Mannington’s facility in New JerseyFlooring can make a huge impact on the design of a room. But the materials floors are made from – wood, tile, or vinyl – can impact the planet, as well, and often not in a good way. There can be a lot of toxic stuff in flooring materials, but Salem, New Jersey’s Mannington Mills, owned by the Campbell family for four generations, is proof that this doesn’t have to be the case.
“The two simplest words for us are ‘Actions Speak,’” says Dave Kitts, Vice President of Environment at Mannington. “Rhetoric means nothing, because in the end, it’s our actions that carry the day.” Still, the company proudly lists its “Eight Value Statements,” which include promises to invest in technologies that advance environmental improvement, and to meet or exceed all environmental regulations. “Many of the themes in our original Eight Values handbook, which we wrote maybe 15 years ago, still hold true today.”
Mannington’s flooring products are engineered with these values in mind, such as laminate flooring made with 74% recycled content and company-wide policies and strategies also reflect their commitment to the environment. In the early 1990’s, Mannington became one of the first floor coverings company to eliminate the use of solvent-based inks. In 2002, they signed the National Carpet Recycling Agreement, which outlined a ten-year plan to increase carpet recycling. Their location in Salem houses five healthy colonies of honeybees as well as insect-eating Purple Martin birds (replacing harmful pesticides. From reduced shipping packaging to incorporating recycled drywall into new tiles, Mannington is a prime example of a company for whom sustainability is at the core of their business model.
by Emily Kovach
