Shaw Extends Recycling Guarantee Worldwide

Dalton, GA, October 17, 2008 – Shaw Industries said it has expanded its Environmental Guarantee worldwide.

Introduced nearly 10 years ago, the Environmental Guarantee pledges that Shaw will take back its tile and broadloom products backed with EcoWorx at the end of their useful lives and recycle back into new EcoWorx carpet backing.

Extending the guarantee beyond the continental United States helps ensure an economically and environmentally viable alternative for all Shaw customers, said Shaw Vice President of Sustainability Rick Ramirez.

“Cradle to Cradle products such as EcoWorx carpet backing are designed to be collected, deconstructed and remanufactured back into new product at the end of their useful life. We want customers to return their used EcoWorx product to us because we can turn it back into new EcoWorx over and over again, reducing our demand for new raw materials in the process,” Ramirez said.

The decision to take the guarantee global comes in response to growing demand from Shaw’s worldwide customer base for help closing the loop with carpet reclamation and recycling, according to Shaw Vice President of Commercial Sales & Marketing Tim Baucom.

“Questions regarding a product’s sustainability – especially when it comes to what happens to a product at the end of its useful life – are not limited to the U.S. building industry,” said Baucom.

The guarantee states that Shaw Industries, Inc. guarantees the transportation and recycling of any tile or broadloom carpet made with EcoWorx backing at no cost to customers within the United States, Canada and Mexico. All other international locations will incur transportation costs from their site to the nearest international port, from which point Shaw then guarantees the transportation costs and recycling expenses.

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