Carpet positively impacts a student’s ability to learn, making it the ideal flooring solution for classrooms, media centers, common areas, libraries, and lecture halls. Carpet provides a soft place to sit, comfort underfoot and a cushioned surface in case of falls. It creates a fun, less institutional atmosphere, while contributing toward healthy indoor air quality.

Take a classroom’s acoustics, for example. Shaw Contract Group commercial carpet absorbs sound and reduces noise by 24 to 40 percent compared to hard flooring surfaces. Improved acoustics allow students to hear their instructors more clearly, making it easier to concentrate in an environment conducive to learning.

Other positive benefits of carpet include:

• Creates a safe environment by reducing the risk of slip / fall accidents, and reducing the severity of injury from falls
• Reduces maintenance costs when compared to typical hard surface products
• Improves indoor air quality by preventing particulates from becoming airborne
• Offers increased comfort and reduced foot and leg fatigue for educators, administration and students
• Provides improved thermal values to maintain a comfortable room temperature when compared to hard surface materials
• Transitions common areas into "Spontaneous Learning Environments" for group study or collaboration

 

 

Carpet traps airborne allergens within its face fiber, keeping them contained until they are removed via regular vacuuming and maintenance.

View Carpet In Schools white paper.

The appropriate learning environment is critical to a student’s success. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Schools certification program reinforces the importance of clean air, natural light and high-quality acoustics to the ideal physical learning environment. LEED for Schools promotes the building of green schools while focusing on the unique aspect of children’s health issues and learning environments.

By incorporating high performance backing systems like EcoWorx, Shaw Contract Group commercial carpet is designed for optimum performance and unrivaled sustainability. We offer completely recyclable carpet options, providing a model resource to schools that contribute toward LEED certification.

Shaw Contract Group carpet contributes toward LEED for Schools certification in the following areas:

MR Credit 2 – Construction Waste Management
Carpet with recyclable Eco Solution Q nylon and EcoWorx backing pulled from a site contributes to this credit. Shaw will also help facilitate recycling efforts of other carpet products. The Carpet America Recovery Effort named Shaw its 2007 Large Recycler of the year.

MR Credit 4 – Recycled Content (post consumer + ½ pre-consumer)
Completely recyclable EcoWorx tile backing contains 40% pre-consumer content and EcoWorx Performance Broadloom contains 20% post-consumer recycled content. Eco Solution Q nylon fiber has an additional 25% pre-consumer content.

MR Credit 5 – Regional Materials
Projects within 500 miles of Shaw manufacturing in Cartersville, GA can claim carpet toward the 10% minimum. The regionally harvested materials in ClassicBac and TekLok backings also contribute.

IEQ Prerequisite 3 – Minimum Acoustical Performance
IEQ Credit 9 – Enhanced Acoustical Performance
Carpet enhances classroom acoustics by dampening background noise and reducing Reverberation Time. Carpet, fabric-faced wall panels and acoustical ceiling tiles contribute toward this credit.

IEQ Credit 3.1/3.2 – Construction IAQ Management Plan
Our products are CRI Green Label Plus certified which is a prerequisite for this point.

IEQ Credit 4.1 – Adhesives and Sealants
IEQ Credit 4.3 – Flooring Systems
Shaw Contract Group products are CRI Green Label Plus certified and contribute to Adhesives and Sealants and Flooring Systems points.

IEQ 10 – Mold Prevention
EcoWorx products contribute to an IAQ Management Program, which is a prerequisite for the Mold Prevention credit.

ID 1 – Innovation in Design
Shaw Contract Group’s Cradle to Cradle Certified and NSF 140 Platinum Certified products contribute toward this credit.

View LEED for Schools white paper.

Our education products are designed to withstand high traffic areas, with ease of maintenance to ensure lasting appearance retention for years to come. By incorporating market performance requirements into the product development process, we are able to provide products that are designed to meet the demands of high traffic learning environments.

It starts with the backing:

EcoWorx Performance Broadloom is a PVC free, high performance cradle-to-cradle backing ideally suited for schools and universities.

• A complete moisture barrier protects against damage to subfloor from spills and other contaminates
• Contaminants are kept on the surface for easy removal
• 12’ width allows for ease of installation, increases pattern capabilities, and limits the amount of seams required
• 20 percent post-consumer recycled content
• Cradle to Cradle Certified, NSF-140 Certified

 

EcoWorx carpet tile is superior in performance to traditional PVC tile backing.

• 8x greater tear strength, 5x greater tensile strength, and 2x greater delamination strength compared to PVC backing
• 100% PVC free, weighing 40 percent less than traditional PVC carpet tiles, allowing for more efficient shipping and ease of installation
• Contain a minimum 40 percent recycled content
• Cradle to Cradle Certified, NSF-140 Certified

Additional backings Ultraloc Pattern and Teklok deliver high performance pattern matching capabilities ideal for learning environments. All Shaw performance backings are supported by our lifetime commercial warranty against edge ravel, yarn zippering and backing delamination.

Face the facts:

The face of the carpet is the surface that provides aesthetics, sound abortion, improved air quality, slip fall resistance, thermal value, glare reduction and comfort under foot. Our products are designed for ease of maintenance, stimulating visuals and lasting appearance retention.

Eco Solution Q nylon is the building block for our superior performance.

• Leading denier per filament and tensile strength
• Nylon fibers hide soil and are twisted and set into finished yarn systems that excel in high traffic environments
• Finished yarns are constructed into dense patterns utilizing state of the art 1/10th, 1/12th and 5/64th gauge tufting equipment
• All products constructed of 100% Eco Solution Q solution dyed nylon include a Limited Lifetime Stain Warranty
• 25 percent recycled content
• Cradle to Cradle Certified

Shaw Contract Group's commitment to providing the best performing products goes beyond any one element of the carpet. We utilize the most advanced technology including: polymer type, fiber extrusion and yarn construction, tufting patterns, color schemes, stain / soil treatments and backing systems.

Visit the Performance section for technical information and backing specifications.

With installation frequently occurring over holidays and breaks, schools need immediate access to products. Our Quick Ship program ships products in less than two weeks, with tile and performance broadloom products designed specifically for school applications. Design is ASAP.

• Performance broadloom Quick Ship products
• Tile Quick Ship products
• All Quick Ship products