Shaw, Anderson To Alter Wood Floors for Canada

Dalton, GA, Jan. 11, 2012 -- Shaw Industries has discovered that Canadian law prohibits the importation of products that have been manufactured using prison labor.

That makes some Shaw hardwood products, along with products made by subsidiary Anderson, ineligible to be imported into Canada.

Shaw and Anderson both use voluntary prison labor in South Carolina to produce random handscrape visuals that are popular with customers. Anderson has used South Carolina's prison industries program for a number of years, and Shaw began using the program after it purchased Anderson four years ago.

Shaw vice president of hard surface flooring Scott Sandlin said the companies have notified their Canadian customers and are making other arrangements to produce products with similar visuals for that market. They should be available in the first quarter of this year.

Canadian law makes no distinction between forced and voluntary prison labor.

Sandlin said that while handscrapes are not a large part of the Canadian market, they are growing quickly.

For more information, listen to today's FloorDaily interview with Sandlin.

Related Topics:Shaw Industries Group, Inc.