Tech's Matthew Realff served as chair of the committee that developed the new sustainable carpet standard.

Don't call it "green" carpet, call it sustainable carpet.

A new standard for assessing the environmental friendliness of carpet was announced at the 2007 Greenbuild International Conference in Chicago.

Matthew Realff, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, served as chair of the committee that developed the standard.

"The LEED standards for buildings suggested that standards were an effective strategy for encouraging competition and providing an objective way of evaluating sustainability claims made in the marketplace," Realff said.

The new sustainability standard addresses chemicals and materials used in manufacturing carpet, the energy used in production, the use of recycled or bio-based content, methods of disposal and/or reuse and the overall environmental performance of manufacturers.

This new standard aims to help consumers sort out the complex sustainable attributes and encourage manufacturers and their suppliers to seek out or develop environmentally preferable processes, practices, power sources and materials.

The Green Label certification program requires carpets to meet emissions criteria for volatile organic compounds and other chemicals as part of the new standard.

Silver, gold and platinum certification levels will be awarded to manufacturers. In addition, some categories mandate that specific requirements be met to achieve the higher certification levels.