Interface Introduces Net Effect™, A Global Carpet Tile Collection That Reflects The Beauty In Sustainability

Inspired by the World's Oceans and Supported by the Net-Works™ Initiative, Net Effect Launches at NeoCon

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Jun 12, 2013, 11:47 ET

CHICAGO, June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Carpet tile manufacturer Interface is no stranger to thinking outside the box. It has journeyed beyond the typical design boundaries of carpet squares and planks. And, it's now breaking through, as well, to new levels of environmental and social responsibility, sustainability and the next wave in product design. A new modular carpet collection, Net Effect™, is inspired both by the ocean's life-giving power and its plight – marine life and habitats that are endangered by discarded fishing nets, acidification, over-fishing, pollution and climate change.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130612/NY30832 )

Net Effect will debut at NeoCon 2013 in Interface's Chicago Merchandise Mart showroom, #10-136, and roll out globally throughout 2013. Manufacturing will take place locally in Interface's North American, European, and Asia-Pacific facilities. This uniform global production allows for specification on six continents.

The collection was born of Net-Works, an innovative global business and conservation association between Interface and the conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Net-Works was launched in the Danajon Bank area of the Philippines in 2012 to tackle two distinct issues: first, to address the growing environmental problem of discarded fishing nets in some of the world's poorest coastal communities, and second, to help solve the problem of finding a viable waste stream to feed the company's ambitious post-consumer nylon recycling goals. Working closely with Aquafil, a key Interface supplier that has refined the technology to recycle nylon waste into new nylon carpet fiber, and NGO Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation Inc, Net-Works is advancing the company's goal of closed-loop manufacturing. End of life fishing nets recovered from the fishing industry supply chain represent some of the world's cleanest and most abundant supply of post consumer nylon, the same raw material as carpet yarn. Developing a local reclamation system for these nets, Net-Works is improving residents' livelihoods and providing the impetus for new community banking institutions that offer long-term solutions to poverty.

"Interface's business is built around inspiration, innovation and the pursuit of true sustainability – economic, environmental and social," said Chip DeGrace, executive creative director for Interface. "Products like Net Effect –- and programs like Net-Works – demonstrate how creative thinking can change the way we do business and move us closer to the ultimate goal of being a restorative enterprise."

Sea Beauties
The Net Effect product collection provides a subtle visual reminder of the sea on its surface, with a design reminiscent of swirling currents. Created by David Oakey, owner of David Oakey Designs, an exclusive designer for Interface, the collection of six modular carpet tile options embraces sustainability in construction and concept.

"Aesthetically, we wanted Net Effect to capture the positivity of the Net-Works partnership and the beauty of the waters it's so closely tied to," said Oakey. "This collection connects people with the emotions and memories associated with the beach, but their enjoyment is its most superficial benefit. What's beneath the surface—including the product's ties to the good work Net-Works is doing—is what makes it extraordinary."

Net Effect's three 50 cm square tiles – comprising a neutral ground, transition tile and textural accent—evoke the sea with a texture that references the moment when waves wash over land. The three tiles can be combined to create design elements including continuous transitions, borders and inset area rugs.

The square tiles' organic forms pair beautifully with three 25 cm-x-1 m skinny plank styles that capture the fluidity of water and convey the expanding and contracting rhythms of the tides with more linear patterns. The square and plank tiles' shared coastal color palette of two blues and six neutrals was drawn from the depths of the ocean, and the sun-and-salt-bleached wood and stone found on shore.

Product With a Purpose
Reflecting Interface's abiding Mission Zero^® promise to eliminate any negative impact it may have on the environment by 2020, Net Effect contains up to 81 percent recycled content with 100 percent of recycled content yarn. The yarn is made from various sources including used carpet fluff harvested from Interface's ReEntry^® program, commercial fishing nets and, shortly, nets from the Net-Works project in the Philippines. Since 1995, ReEntry has processed more than 121,000 metric tonnes (268 million pounds) of used carpet tile and broadloom globally.

As for Net-Works, it provides significant economic benefits to the fishing communities involved, protects marine life and helps clear vulnerable beaches and endangered reefs, thereby providing environmental, economic and social benefits not usually synonymous with carpet tile manufacturing.

Interface will promote Net Effect through a social media engagement campaign that encourages its design audience to share examples of the impact their design and personal choices have on the world around them. A hashtag has been created, #IFneteffect, to help foster the conversation, which has Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram components. To download additional Net-Works information and images, click here.

About Interface
Interface, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial carpet tile. For 40 years, the company has consistently led the industry through innovation, and now leads the industry in environmental sustainability. Interface is setting the pace for development of modular carpet using materials and processes that take less from the environment, and is well along the path to "Mission Zero^®," the company's promise to eliminate any negative impact it has on the environment by the year 2020. Interface's worldwide carpet manufacturing facilities maintain third party registration to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System standard, and the company obtained the first-ever Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the commercial floor covering industry in North America. The company is recognized globally for its commitment to build environmental considerations into its business decisions. For additional information: www.interface.com, www.interfaceflorblog.com

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About Aquafil
Since 1969, Aquafil has been one of the leading players, both in Italy and globally, in the production of polyamide 6. The Aquafil Group has a presence in seven countries on three continents, employing more than 2200 staff at 13 plants located in Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, the USA, Thailand and China. Always committed to taking real measures to protect the environment, in 2011 Aquafil started the ECONYL ® Regeneration System project. It is an innovative industrial regeneration process that produces nylon 6 polymer from:

Post-consumer waste, i.e. end-of-life products made from polyamide 6, including fishing nets, fluff (from the top of carpets and rugs) and textiles;
Pre-consumer waste such as oligomers, scraps, etc., generated from the production of nylon.

About ZSL
Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity whose mission is to promote and achieve the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. Our mission is realised through our groundbreaking science, our active conservation projects in more than 50 countries and our two Zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. For more information visit www.zsl.org

About Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation Inc
Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation Inc.(PSFMCI), is a SEC registered non-governmental organization committed to the conservation of marine ecosystems in the Philippines, promoting its overall health and developing better living conditions of its communities. It began as a seahorse-focused research project under Dr. Amanda Vincent in 1995. Together with local and international partners, including ZSL, it grew up to be an independent organization in 2003 together with other Filipino board of trustees and local staff. Over ten years the organization has assisted 34 Marine Protected areas (MPAs) in various levels of engagements and interventions helping them manage and sustain their marine resources.

SOURCE Interface