TESTING PROTOCOLS

The CRI Indoor Air Quality Green Label program is the industry's most widely recognized test protocol for evaluating total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions for carpet, carpet padding, and adhesives.

The CRI Green Product Label indicates that:
  • The manufacturer voluntarily participates in these programs and is identified by an assigned number on the label.
  • The manufacturer is committed to developing ways to minimize any adverse effects on indoor air quality.
  • A representative sample of the product type is tested by an independent laboratory and meets the established requirements for each program.
www.carpet-rug.com

All products manufactured by InterfaceFLOR Commercial (USA and Canada) and Bentley Prince Street meet or exceed the requirements of the CRI Green Label test protocol for carpet.

The CRI Indoor Air Quality Green Label Plus program is a 14-day test that follows the test protocol Section 01350 of the California High Performance Schools (CHPS) Protocol. The Green Label Plus program measures TVOC emissions as well as setting a maximum concentration level for a number of "Chemicals of Concern" as defined by the State of California's OSHA Proposition 65. The Green Label Plus test protocol goes beyond the requirements of Section 01350 to test emissions of six additional chemicals.

All products manufactured by InterfaceFLOR Commercial (USA and Canada) and all Bentley Prince Street carpet products have been independently tested and verified to meet the requirements of Section 01350 as part of their Environmentally Preferable Product (EPP) certifications from Scientific Certification Systems.

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) is a collaborative with a goal of facilitating the design of high performance schools; environments that are not only energy efficient, but also healthy, comfortable, well lit and contain the amenities needed for a quality education.

CHPS includes an IAQ test protocol that is becoming widely used in California and beyond. Reporting requirements for CHPS include listing all chemicals emitted from the sample that are on the current list of "Chemicals of Concern" in the State of California and ensuring that the levels emitted are within permissible exposure levels.

www.chps.net

The CHPS IAQ Test Protocol has been run on IFC and BPS products in an independent test laboratory as part of those companies' Sustainable Choice™ Environmentally Preferred Product (EPP) Certifications through Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). All products manufactured by IFC (USA and Canada) and all BPS products meet the requirements of the protocol.

Gemeinschaft Umweltfreundlicher Teppichboden (GUT) is an association of environmentally friendly carpet manufacturers based in Germany, with members throughout Europe. GUT aims to be proactive in ensuring its members develop products with minimal impact on the environment and demonstrate their commitment to the environment. GUT sets test standards, which in some cases are more stringent than any national standards. Members' products must meet the standards before they can be sold as GUT registered.

The standards cover three areas: Chemical content of products with an agreed list of materials which must be absent or below strict limits, emission tests with limits for individual chemicals and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions, and odor tests which are carried out in standardized conditions by a team of experts.

www.gut-ev.org

InterfaceFLOR Europe is a founding member of GUT, and its Manufacturing Vice President held the Chairmanship during which time many of the guiding principles were established. All Interface Europe carpet products are registered with GUT and Interface associates contribute to working groups tasked with formulating standards.

The State of Washington Protocol is a test that measures the level of total volatile organic compound (TVOC) emissions in a given area. Carpet samples for the State of Washington Protocol are tested in a similar fashion to those submitted for the CRI Green Label Program, although the State of Washington test is somewhat more extensive.

Interface R&D has the capability to test the company's carpet products according to this protocol.
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