Tricycle Now on 100% Recycled Paper

Chattanooga, TN, June 20, 2006--Sustainable design company Tricycle, Inc., announced at this year's NeoCon World's Trade Fair that its SIM from Tricycle print samples are now available on 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. Mohawk's commercial carpet brands have signed on to be the first to offer the recycled paper prints to architects and interior designers. SIM from Tricycle digitally models color and texture realistic carpet, for use by interior designers during the early rounds of design choices. In today's market of increased pattern sizes, modular carpet tiles and wide range of color and pattern options, SIM can be viewed online or as color accurate paper prints delivered within 24 hours of request, at any scale and installed into room settings. SIM allows designers to explore creative options on a short turnaround time and with much less design waste. "The main strength of the paper on which we print SIMs has been that it enables color accurate representation of products," said Tricycle president and COO Jonathan Bragdon. "However, as a company whose stated purpose is to enable sustainable design, it has always been frustrating that the only paper we could find that accurately holds ink for color and texture precision has low recycled content. But all of that changes now." SIM has gained a great deal of attention in the past year. An average carpet sample requires 1 quart of oil to produce and, since samples are by their nature short-use products, contributes 1.5 lbs of carpet to landfill. An estimated 1 million pounds of samples are landfilled annually in the United States. SIM requires zero oil, 95% less water and energy, and is 100% recyclable into other paper products. "We have been saying, 'SIM is 100% recyclable' for four years," said Bragdon. "It's a banner moment for Tricycle to be able to say, 'SIM is 100% recycled.'" Specifiers now have a choice of archival or 100% post consumer waste paper when ordering a SIM. For many designers SIMs and samples alike only have a life of minutes before they are rejected or accepted, moving the project closer to a final specification choice; for these designers, a recycled content paper sample is preferable. Others file SIM in a central filing system or on resource library shelves, since SIM takes about one-thirtieth the space of a standard sample and holds its color for years; for this use, archival paper SIMs are preferable. Either way, as with all sampling there is no cost to the designer; Tricycle has also committed to making the recycled content SIM available to manufacturers at no additional cost. The Mohawk Group has signed on to be the first company to use the 100% post-consumer waste recycled SIMs. Beginning with Lees Carpets, over the course of 2006 Mohawk will bring recycled SIMs to Karastan Contract, Durkan Commercial, Mohawk Commercial, Merit Hospitality, and Bigelow Commercial. Lees Carpets implemented Tricycle's SIM system in 2001 and has produced over 25,000 simulations since, via their "Accelerated Design System"--which services their Thought Patterns program, custom sample requests and product development (as of this week, Thought Patterns has been updated with more patterns and a new look, while Lees' Design Studio brought home a Best of NeoCon Innovation Award). SIM was implemented across all of the Mohawk Group's commercial brands' design departments in January 2006, as well as custom strike-off facilities with the goal of reducing physical strike-offs by a minimum of 25% in 2006. "We are committed to eliminating design waste across all Mohawk Commercial brands by making technology the basis of responsible and sustainable design development," said Allen Parker, vice president of custom development for the Mohawk Group. "Our primary focus for simulation is color accuracy; the introduction of a 100% recycled paper stock that allows us to confidently maintain the level of color accuracy is a great step forward."

Related Topics:Mohawk Industries, Karastan

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