Tandus Launches Sustainable Portfolio System

Dalton, GA, June 1, 2010--Tandus Flooring said it has launched a new, sustainable product portfolio system that is completely reusable and features a more detailed spine description with Microsoft Tag technology.

The first of the new binders shipped on May 14 with many new styles launching this summer. Tandus said its portfolios will be the first in design libraries to have this fresh new look with Tag technology.

Tandus Flooring conducted focus group surveys with key designers in New York, Atlanta, Dallas and San Francisco to gain insight into important factors to consider for sampling efficiency and sustainability.

“The design community is operating in a different economic environment today and their challenges are considerably different than they were three or even five years ago,” said Tom Ellis, Tandus vice president of marketing.

“Across the country, the information was consistent and invaluable. We spend millions of dollars on sampling, why not get it right for those that need it and also for our environment?”

Each year carpet sample books produce thousands of pounds of waste because there is no designed reusability after the first style is produced due to the use of glue and non-recyclable materials. Tandus Flooring’s portfolio design is reusable from the spine to the contents.

Each book features trays that allow for perfect placement of the flooring sample that can “pop” out and “pop” back in because there is no glue or other fastener—only the use of friction.

Samples “in use” do not make the book obsolete since they can be reordered so the book never has to leave the shelf. Further, to reduce the need for shipping full size samples, replacement samples fit back into the tray. Shipping small replacement samples saves shipping costs, fuel, embodied energy and other valuable resources, not to mention design time.

“We also had to address the concerns of product photography,” said Kim Andrews, Tandus senior project manager.

“We consider the new product photography a piece of literature that designers can use for project presentations. The convenient literature pouch within each portfolio allows the literature to be used and easily replaced. More importantly, it can be reordered if it is critical to the project presentation or the client.”

In the event a style is dropped, the book can be reused as Tandus will take the books back, recycle the samples, add the new label to the spine and put in new samples with literature.

If the books are ever abused beyond reuse, Tandus will take them back (pay for shipping), separate the trays from the binder so the whole thing can be recycled, and then recycle the samples—adding to the 165 million pounds of flooring the company has recycled since 1994, which includes that of competitors.

Clients also have access to Tandus.com directly from the spine with use of the Microsoft Tag. When the Tag is photographed with a Smartphone camera, users are directed to Tandus.com on the mobile device giving customers a direct link to Tandus.com simply by taking a photo or scanning the tag.

Tandus will feature the portfolios at NeoCon.