Responsible products are a major focus of the industry. Even though carpet is already one of the lowest-emitting products as far as indoor products go — it should be noted carpet is the lowest VOC emitter among such indoor products as paint, floor adhesive, floor wax, wall covering, sheet vinyl, and resilient VCT — CRI initiated emission-testing programs for carpet, carpet-cushion and adhesives. Since 1990, the industry has voluntarily lowered the maximum permissible level for the Green Label certification four times.

The latest enhancement to CRI's indoor air quality (IAQ) testing programs came with the unveiling of a brand new program called Green Label Plus. This new testing program for carpet meets, and even exceeds, California’s indoor environmental quality standards for low-emitting products used in commercial settings such as schools and office buildings.

Working in coordination with California’s Sustainable Building Task Force and the Department of Health Services, Indoor Air Quality Section, the carpet industry voluntarily upgraded its Green Label testing program to meet or exceed testing protocols used by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), designed to help achieve good indoor air quality.

Under the agreement between CRI and the California agencies, Green Label Plus will be accepted in lieu of Section 01350, the CHPS low-emitting materials criteria for use in schools. A school that selects such materials qualifies for points. Twenty-eight points are necessary to qualify as a CHPS school. The CHPS Web site (www.chps.net) has a Green Label Plus link, which lists manufacturers and carpet products that have been tested and are considered as 01350-equivalent and that meet or exceed the CHPS Low-Emitting Materials Credit 2 for use in a typical classroom. The CRI website listing is consistent with the “09680 Carpet” section of the CHPS Compliant Materials Table on the CHPS Web site.

The CRI Green Label testing program assures customers that approved carpet products meet stringent requirements for low chemical emissions. Green Label Plus was designed for architects, facility administrators and others who want greater assurance of good indoor air quality. Every carpet receiving Green Label Plus certification has been tested for emission levels for all chemicals as required by Section 01350, plus six additional chemicals, utilizing a 14-day test. Subsequent annual tests target 13 chemicals, and quarterly tests will measure for the total level of volatile organic compounds (TVOC). The emissions standards are based on stringent criteria outlined in Section 01350. Green Label Plus expands on Section 01350 in several respects, including annual testing for the specific chemicals, a chain of custody process, and an annual audit of the testing laboratory.

Air Quality Sciences, an Atlanta-based, independent laboratory — the only lab certified for Green Label Plus — that employs the most up-to-date, dynamic environmental chamber technology, performs testing for Green Label Plus.

Another Green Label program certifies vacuum cleaners to insure their ability to remove allergens and particles, and contain them properly, without damaging the carpet face fiber.

Aside from the Green Label programs the industry has initiated, many studies have been done that confirm carpet’s inherent ability to trap contaminants and allergens within the fiber of the carpet itself. Contaminates will settle on a carpet where they remain until they can be removed by vacuuming and periodic extraction or cleaning. When these particles settle on a smooth floor, anything moving across the floor will stir them up into the breathing zone.

In other words, carpet can actually work to improve indoor air quality.