Whether you’re a carpet industry manufacturer, retailer, installer or cleaner, The Carpet and Rug Institute is dedicated to providing the facts, guidance and resources you need.
- The Carpet Primer As a successful designer, specifier, facility manager, or end-user, it is important to make the most in-formed carpet decisions to create a visually pleasing and long-lasting environment. The Carpet and Rug Institute’s Carpet Primer details the fundamentals of carpet–how it is made, specified, installed, and maintained–the basic technical knowledge you need to make sound carpet decisions. Also included is carpet’s role in environmental issues, specifically indoor air quality and recycling.
- Model Specification for Commercial Carpet Finding the right carpet for your facility or commercial space is made easier with this guide from carpet manufacturers.
- Carpet Asthma and Allergies – Myth or Reality A comprehensive review of the current literature relative to influences of floor coverings on asthma and allergies.
- Carpet Maintenance for School Facilities A thorough instruction manual for properly maintaining and cleaning carpet in schools.
- Cases of Effective Carpet Cleaning This paper examined several studies of the effects of cleaning carpet and other flooring materials on the indoor environment. All reviewed studies showed beneficial effects from cleaning of all flooring materials, and that the cleaning processes had few but, at worst, very transitory adverse effects. A variety of environments were studied in the reviewed papers.
- Comparison of Biocontaminant Levels in Schools – The Impact of Carpet vs Smooth Floor Covering This study examined two non-problem elementary schools in North Carolina that were well-matched for all attributes other than floor covering type, over an entire school year.
- Ergonomic Design Issues and Carpet a Review This is a comprehensive review of ergonomic issues related to flooring. It addresses the needs of the aging population relative to each issue. All reviewed attributes showed carpet provides positive benefits in most cases.
- Measurement of Airborne Fungal Spore Dispersal from Three Types of Flooring Materials This study examined the behavior of fungal particles when deposited over three types of flooring disturbed by walking, under controlled laboratory conditions.
Downloadable Fact Sheets
Quick Facts About the Carpet Industry
- Carpet accounts for 48% of the total U.S. flooring market.
- The carpet and textile industry employs nearly 50,000 workers Georgia.
- Georgia is also home to 9 of the top 20 carpet manufacturers in the U.S.
- On the list of the top 50 manufacturers of all U.S. floor covering, there are 14 carpet manufacturers located in Georgia.
- More than 85% of the U.S. carpet and rug market is produced by mills located within a 65-mile radius of Dalton, for an estimated $8 billion in business activity.
- Georgia supplies more than 45% of the world’s carpet and rugs.
- In 2018, CARE (Carpet America Recovery Effort) members diverted 281 million pounds of carpet from the landfill. (In 2013, CARE initiated a newer and more accurate method of counting collections.)
- In 2018, CARE members recycled 155 million pounds of carpet.
- Since it was founded in 2002, CARE members have diverted over 5.2 billion pounds of post-consumer carpet from landfills in the United States.
Industry-related Resources
Organizations, Associations and Industry-related Resources
American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC)
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)
Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE)
Carpet Cushion Council (CCC)
Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI)
Floor Covering Installation Contractors Association (FCICA)
FLOOR360
Georgia Association of Manufacturers (GAM)
Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)
International Certified Floorcovering Installers Association, Inc. (CFI)
International Interior Design Association (IIDA)
Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP)
North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD)
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI)
StarNet Commercial Flooring Cooperative
The WoolSafe® Organisation
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
World Floor Covering Association (WFCA)
