GREEN WITH EMMY:  MOHAWK EVERSTRAND™ CARPET GETS/GIVES

STAR TREATMENT AT AWARDS SHOW

Recycled Fiber Highlighted During the Broadcast

DALTON (October 18, 2007)—One of the stars of the 59^th Annual Emmy Awards didn’t arrive on the red carpet.

It was the carpet.

Mohawk’s EverStrand™ carpet made from recycled soft drink bottles was selected as the flooring for the Emmy awards ceremony.  The show aired on FOX on September 16.

The producers chose Mohawk EverStrand as part of their “Green with Emmy” effort to stage an environmentally sound production.  The Emmys used a variety of products and practices to show what can be done to protect and improve the environment.  For the first time ever, the Emmys were carbon neutral.

Emmy production company AEG Ehrlich Ventures purchased Mohawk EverStrand  carpet in several shades of blue for the entire interior of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, creating a stunning showcase for television’s best.  Mohawk carpet was also used for the press room and other areas of the facility.

According to Ron Basile of AEG Ehrlich Ventures, the carpet “was beautiful and performed beautifully.”

Mohawk’s EverStrand fiber is a staple polyester produced entirely from recycled soft drink bottles.  Mohawk is the largest recycler of soft drink bottles in the country.  One out of every four bottles recycled in North America becomes Mohawk carpet.  Mohawk recycles more than three billion bottles every year.

Because the US Food & Drug Administration requires top quality PET (polyethylene terephthalate) for beverage bottles, the recycled product offers superior performance characteristics over many fibers in in making other brands of carpet yarns.  On average, 30 plastic bottles are recycled to make one square yard of Mohawk EverStrand carpet.

The carpet’s recycled story didn’t go unnoticed.  During the broadcast, announcers highlighted Mohawk EverStrand and its environmental benefits to an audience of more than 13 million viewers.  After the ceremony, the carpet was again “recycled”—it  was donated to various groups and individuals for ongoing use.

A Carefully Orchestrated Environmental Effort

The Green with Emmy Campaign encompasses all major Television Academy and Fox events.  This includes the Primetime Emmy nominations announcement ceremony, the 59th Primetime Emmys arrivals and telecast, the Creative Arts Emmys, the Governors balls, and the Fox Primetime Emmy Awards after-party. The goal of the effort is to reduce the carbon footprint created by the production.

In addition to Mohawk’s EverStrand carpet, The Shrine Auditorium used clean “Green Power” generated from 100% renewable resources from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The stage sets were reusable rentals.  Biofuel generators, which use organic oils such as soybean or canola, provided backup during the production of the show. Hybrid and Flexfuel vehicles transported talent to the Awards.  Lighting on and off stage was reduced by 15 percent.

Glass, plastic, metal and paper recycling bins were located throughout the Awards site.  All paper used for the event had recycled content. Instead of sending DVD copies of nominees to voters, Academy members were encouraged to view nominations online to reduce waste.

Mohawk’s own ongoing environmental effort, Mohawk Greenworks, is an umbrella program that places all green projects under a single platform for management and information.  Mohawk Greenworks communicates the effort that goes into the company’s scores of environmental practices.  Mohawk Greenworks covers the spectrum of environmental practices—the “5 Rs”—recycle, renew, reuse, recover, and reduce. 

Mohawk’s environmental efforts have been cited by government agencies as a model for other industries to follow.  Mohawk is the largest recycler in the flooring industry.  It currently diverts more than three billion pounds of pre- and post-consumer waste from landfills every year.  More than 500 Mohawk products—carpet, carpet tiles, cushion, laminates, and ceramic tile—contain recycled materials.  These materials come from manufacturing, discarded tires, roofing, old wood furniture, soft drink bottles, and various other sources.

To learn more, visit www.greenworksblog.com.

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Mohawk is a leading supplier of flooring for both residential and commercial applications. Mohawk offers a complete selection of broadloom carpet, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone, vinyl, rugs and other home products. These products are marketed under the premier brands in the industry, which include Mohawk, Karastan, Ralph Lauren, Lees, Bigelow, Dal-Tile, American Olean and Quick-Step. Mohawk's unique merchandising and marketing assist our customers in creating the consumers' dream. Mohawk provides a premium level of service with its own trucking fleet and over 250 local distribution locations.