Interface and Partner Create the CARPETree

Sao Paulo, Brazil, April 22--Interface Flooring Systems has contracted with Florestas do Futuro (Forests of the Future) to create CARPETree, a reforestation program funded by Interface to help restore five key river basins in The Atlantic Forest as identified by SOS Mata Atlântica and the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Interface Brazil will fund the planting of one tree in the Atlantic Forest for every 25 square meters of commercial carpet products sold; an initiative that could involve the planting of thousands of trees per year. The tree plantings are funded solely by Interface on behalf of its customers. Interface pays Florestas do Futuro, a nonprofit organization, to plant trees to restore vegetation on river banks and to preserve natural habitats for endangered plant and animal species. The tree plantings will also help sequester carbon dioxide emissions that could otherwise contribute to global warming. "We’ve created the CARPETree program as an incentive for our customers because we know that they share our appreciation and concern for the Earth," says Luis Ayllon, vice president, Interface Latin America. "Our customers are increasingly concerned about the environment and the impacts of their purchasing decisions. This is just one example of the many initiatives that our company is putting into place around the world in the interest of achieving sustainability." Interface Brazil’s parent company, Interface, Inc., has made the following commitment: "To be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits - by 2020 - and in doing so we will become restorative through the power of influence." Interface customers will receive certificates from Florestas do Futuro certifying the amount of carpet purchased and the number of trees planted in the Atlantic Forest. The tree plantings will be linked to environmental education programs for stakeholders in the communities where the trees are planted, including schools and local businesses. Interface Brazil is a division of Atlanta-based Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFSIA), a global leader in the manufacture of environmentally-responsible floorcoverings. The company is committed to giving the marketplace a wide range of choices for specifying Earth-friendly and certified environmentally preferable products.