Inspired by a circa 2019/2020 consulting project with Aquafil, makers of Econyl® regenerated nylon which resulted in a series of five (5) articles here on theruggist.com, I wrote a brief article for COVER Magazine discussing the imperatives required for the use of plastics (and in truth any synthetic) in rugs and carpets. The article Plastic Fantastic appeared in the Autumn 2021 issue of said magazine.
Plastic Fantastic
Original draft submitted to COVER.
‘There is a great future in plastics,’ or so was foretold in the seminal 1967 Mike Nichols film The Graduate. Harbinger of an era of civilization reliant upon the material, the notion of a ‘great future’ must now also carry the caveat that – broadly speaking – constituent plastics themselves have the ability to endure longer than the wares they comprise; they don’t readily biodgrade, they persist, and they often pollute. Said another way, plastics will be with us now and well into the future.
Cited as negatives when juxtaposed against the characteristics of recherché natural materials and traditional methods of carpetry, these intrinsic qualities likewise offer features and benefits far different than those traditional materials, and more importantly from one another. If no two types of wool are equal, it follows no two types of plastic are equal.
For those just becoming familiar with plastics in rugs and carpets, understanding the differences – whether as manufacturer, importer, retailer, consumer or otherwise – is critical to ensuring the wares created and consumed today are both fit for use and designed circularly. Criteria of utmost importance if the industry is to mitigate the aforementioned negatives moving away from an extractive model toward one of sustainability.
Just as wool gave way to cotton as a foundation material due to both its superior suitability as well as its availability via trade, so too must the acknowledgment be made that the breadth of plastics available in the marketplace offer myriad performance characteristics suited to a variety of applications; and they are all available everywhere due to globalization.
Take the indoor/outdoor rug segment for example. It’s hot, consumers cannot seem to get enough of them, and the industry – rightly so – is catering to these wants. But as stated before, not all plastics are created equal. Some, such as PET, also known as polyester, and likewise acrylic, think Sunbrella brand fibres, perform exceptionally well in high moisture or even wet environments and are thus perfectly suited to outdoor use. Others such as the common broadloom carpet fibre nylon are not. This is due to the nature of the materials themselves; the former being materials and and yarns impervious to moisture whereas the latter is porous providing opportunity for moisture retention and thus mildew or more.
Performance is only one part of the calculus however; another is the oft neglected need for circular design and manufacture.
Proponents of circular design argue for a cradle to grave cycle in which the creation, use, and eventual demise of a product are not only planned out, but done so in a manner which allows the component materials to be readily returned to the cycle. Inspired by mother nature itself this is a process which has sustained life for millennia, and it is one the rug and carpet industry must mimic. For plastics it starts by only employing those which can be recycled and regenerated, and it continues through careful product design, long periods of consumer use, and post consumer return to the circular manufacturing cycle.
Of the three synthetics mentioned each offers varying degrees of compatibility with circular design. PET and nylon are both readily recycled and regenerated with varying degrees of commercial success. Kelly Moore, Vice-President of Sales at Mohawk, the largest consumer of recycled PET water bottles in the United States, stresses the importance of high-quality raw materials. ‘The resins used today are far superior to those used just ten years ago,’ thus making the actual recycling more cost effective. Yet he cautions, ‘The logistics of cradle to grave design are difficult.’ This is not due to unwillingness on the part of firms such as Mohawk, rather it is that post-consumer recycling options can be and are limited.
Giulio Bonazzi, Chairman and CEO of Aquafil, makers of ECONYL brand regenerated nylon, understands this dilemma all too well. Through years of research and development which lead to the creation of ECONYL, Bonazzi came to understand that, ‘the circular economy is the only way to have a future.’ Instead of just creating a raw material, selling it, and leaving its future to uncertainty, ECONYL is taking progressive action to help close the loop on circular design in regard to nylon products. The firm now operates numerous broadloom carpet reclamation centres which process post-consumer broadloom, returning it to the manufacturing cycle indefinitely.
This has high appeal to manufacturers who use ECONYL such as Delos Custom Rugs in Calhoun, Georgia, United States. ‘I of course love the fact that ghost nets are being retrieved out of our oceans [as part of the ECONLY regeneration process], but we feel even more strongly about the fact that Aquafil is setting up regional reclamation centres for spent carpets, in order to keep them out of our landfills,’ states company Co-President Leah Phillips who continues. ‘This is something that we felt strongly about investing in, knowing that like-minded individuals would feel the same way. As this program evolves, our goal is that our rugs will be able to be accepted at these sites, so that we become a circular manufacturer.’
Contrast this with the as of yet fully realized recycling of acrylic fibres such as Sunbrella yarns, fabrics, and rugs. While Glen Raven, parent firm of Sunbrella, does offer a limited ‘take back’ program which allows consumers to return products to said firm, the final disposition of the goods is far from certain. ‘How a product is repurposed varies depending on a variety of factors – product, material, level of contamination, etc. Once we assess the item, from there we determine the best partner or recycling journey,’ stated David Dean, Director of Research and Development at Glen Raven, in November 2019. ‘A majority of the material that comes through the Recycle My Sunbrella program is reduced to its fibre state then utilized in industrial products such as automotive insulation and filtration.’
This repurposing as opposed to regenerating is a limitation of many classes of materials – not just acrylics, nor plastics broadly. It is likewise a limitation that must be overcome, as was the case with nylon and PET, if manufacturers are to transition to a circular economic and design cycle. For without a closed loop, the rugs and carpets made today from plastics – and in truth any material – are destined to become nothing more than future fodder for landfill.
In order to reach that point of success, all manner of person must be educated and moreover make wise decisions to the best of their ability. Likewise the prudent and correct use of materials based on their intrinsic properties and associated benefits is key to customer satisfaction as well as circular design. Plastics do indeed offer the rug and carpet industry a ‘great future’ and it seems the ability to do so in an ecologically friendly circular manner is now within reach, not just grasp. The decision to use these materials wisely, appropriately, and circularly is ours.