Mohawk Donates Vinyl to Habitat for Humanity

Orlando, FL, November 12, 2007--Mohawk Industries Inc. donated a tractor-trailer full of vinyl, about 10,000 pounds worth, to the Seminole County Habitat for Humanity organization last week.

The donation will keep the organization stocked for the next several years, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

It’s enough vinyl to cover the floors of about 270 Habitat for Humanity homes, said Gayle Horner, an office administrator with the housing group.

A month ago, the company decided to discontinue distributing vinyl flooring through its Orlando warehouse, said Richard Owen, Mohawk's district manager.

There were tons of vinyl left over, Owen said.

Rather than throw the flooring into a landfill, the company identified Seminole's Habitat for Humanity as a group that could use flooring, Owen said. County

"Vinyl is like plastic, so it doesn't disintegrate like other things would," Owen said. "It would've been a big clog in the landfill for years. My thought was that we could help needy families," Owen said.

The housing group spends nearly $600 on vinyl to go in the average three-bedroom home; the donation saved the group thousands of dollars, Horner said.

"That was so great of Mohawk," she said.

Some vinyl will be sold in the Habitat for Humanity shop, Thrift & ReStore, in Sanford, Horner said.

The profit from the vinyl and other furniture and housing materials goes back to the organization.

The donation is a part of Mohawk's green initiative in recycling and caring for the environment, Owen said.

The company recycles about 3 billion water bottles a year to make carpet fiber and uses recycled tires to make doormats.