Mohawk Group Debuts Five Living Products At NeoCon

A commitment to handprints over footprints brings inspired flooring to contract interiors
Jun 18, 2018 10:15 AM ET

CHICAGO, June 18, 2018 /3BL Media/ — Mohawk Group, a leading commercial flooring company known for cutting-edge and innovative flooring solutions, debuted five new Living Product Challenge Petal certified flooring products last week at NeoCon in Chicago. These sustainable offerings include biophilia-inspired floor coverings that span several categories and are all unified under a commitment to leaving more “handprints” than footprints. All five are carbon-neutral and give more back to the environment than they take in their entire life cycles.

“We believe that great design emerges when we challenge ourselves to expand our ideas about what a more thoughtful approach can bring and what our flooring solutions can achieve,” said Jackie Dettmar, vice president of design and product development for Mohawk Group. “It is very fulfilling to design products that we know are creating a better world instead of taking from it by helping to shape a healthier, culturally rich and ecologically restorative future.”

The Living Product Challenge (LPC) is a program of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) that provides a framework for manufacturers to reimagine the design and construction of products to function as elegantly and efficiently as anything found in the natural world. All Living Products are created to be net positive and benefit people and the environment. Additionally, Petal Certification dictates that products be free of toxins, informed by biomimicry and biophilia, and socially responsible and respectful of the rights of workers. Mohawk Group is leaving a handprint through innovations in materials, manufacturing and community involvement, including a smartflower™ solar energy partnership with Groundswell and a water conservation program with Hampton University in Virginia.

Mohawk Group’s Nutopia carpet plank system is inspired by the idea of “urban fabric,” where humankind coexists with buildings, streets and other infrastructure. Its biophilic design is realized in the processes that take place when nature and the manmade collide, including natural occurrences like oxidation. Complementing Nutopia, Nutopia Matrix carpet plank presents two coordinating lower-profile flat loop patterns. Each Nutopia Matrix plank features Mohawk Group’s newest generation of dematerialized Red List-free EcoFlex Matrix backing. Both Nutopia and Nutopia Matrix are manufactured using Heathered Hues, a sustainably-sourced yarn system that is dematerialized for a low environmental impact and no water is used in its production. Mohawk Group’s direct tuft technology minimizes energy and carbon dioxide impact while also making the fiber easy to recycle. The yarn system was honored at the show with the Best of NeoCon Gold Award for the Carpet Fiber category.

Pivot Point Red List-free ERT represents a true change in direction for sustainable resilient flooring. The carbon-neutral enhanced resilient tile (ERT) is manufactured using alternative chemistry. In this hard surface collection, design and color draw inspiration from fresh, natural materials and biophilic influence. Pivot Point ERT features four wood and four textile patterns in a plank format and four natural stone visuals in a square tile. Pivot Point ERT was also honored at the show with a Metropolis Likes at NeoCon Award.

The visuals in Sunweave broadloom and Sunweave area rugs are influenced by women weavers of indigenous cultures around the world. Mohawk Group’s latest woven collection evokes natural patterns found in baskets, blankets and textiles, and derives inspiration from the notion of shadow being nature’s handcraft. Subtle color and value shifts mimic the sun’s daily progression. Like Nutopia and Nutopia Matrix, Sunweave is also manufactured using the sustainable Heathered Hues yarn system.

Mohawk Group also designed and manufactured the first Living Product Challenge Petal certified floor covering, the Lichen carpet plank collection, which debuted at NeoCon 2017. Now celebrating its 50th year, NeoCon is North America’s largest design exposition and conference for commercial interior design professionals, offering ideas and introductions that shape the built environment today and into the future. To learn more about Mohawk Group’s latest Living Product Challenge Petal certified flooring showcased at NeoCon, visit NeoCon.MohawkGroup.com.

Contact:
Luke Chaffin
762-204-5607
luke_chaffin@mohawkind.com

About Mohawk Group
As the world’s leading producer and distributor of quality commercial flooring, Mohawk Group believes that better floor coverings emerge from better design, innovation, sustainability, project solutions and operational excellence. Mohawk Group addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in contract interiors with a comprehensive carpet and hard surface portfolio of all types and price points. As the commercial division of Mohawk Industries, the company has a heritage of craftsmanship that spans more than 130 years. To learn more about our full line of flooring products, please visit MohawkGroup.com.

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