All of the additions are nylon construction, woven in the U.S., and perfectly portray Karastan’s distinguished design principle of creating heirloom-quality floor coverings that stand the test of time.

Carmel Collection

Four new patterns have been created for this collection. They are fresh, fashion-forward looks brimming with botanical motifs and bold geometrics. Monte Vista Fog features a pleasing patchwork of traditional Persian florals in soothing shades of chocolate brown, steel gray and caramel that’s punched-up with paprika and lime green. Whitman Place Brown is a style that elevates a traditional classic to a modern masterpiece with its luminous interpretation of a Persian panel rendered in warm grays and cream with accents of ochre and amber. Bristol Lane Gray is a beauty boasting a Regency inspired fret pattern that caters to contemporary and classic styles with its caramel, ivory and gray tones. Portola Sage resonates with an earth-colored field of philodendron leaves that come to life against an ivory ground.

Knightsen Collection

Designed for connoisseurs of classic who appreciate contemporary compositions, this collection offers time-honored styles that have been enlivened with eye-catching colors. Among the four newcomers is Walnut Park Red, with a pleasing pairing of palmettes and vines that dance across a brilliant red field accented by ivory and chocolate brown. Equally expressive is Westridge Slate/Ivory, which entices with a scene of traditional rosettes and curvilinear vines in coral, yellow and gray. Its counterpart, Westridge Taupe/Plum, offers a similar sensation, yet is bolder in its beauty with coral, gold, purple and gray tones. A more traditional take is Prewett Ranch Fog that incorporates a decoration of spice, lime green and aqua-colored florals found within a gorgeous gray border.

Mohawk’s strand woven styles have been tested to be twice as hard as domestic oak.  The Mohawk products are manufactured using all parts of the bamboo stalk for optimum green benefits, and they meet European E-1 Standards for low formaldehyde emissions.  They can also contribute LEED points to an installation.

“Bamboo regenerates naturally, and can be harvested every five to seven years,” said Roger Farabee, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Mohawk.  “That makes it a LEED recognized rapidly renewable resource.  But the softness of traditional bamboo has been a limitation.  Mohawk’s new strand woven bamboo is sturdy enough to allow the species to be used in both residential and commercial applications.”

Mohawk is introducing two new bamboo lines, Hilea in its Rarity Collection and Kahala in the Artiquity Collection.

Both bamboo lines will be available with Mohawk’s popular Uniclic® glueless installation system.   This patented method allows for fast, easy angled or sliding installation on the sides of the plank. Even when space is tight, Uniclic will ensure a secure locking action. End joints feature a drop-lock that allows for an easy install.

Hilea offers environmentally friendly strand bamboo in natural and baked natural. Natural features Uniclic technology for easy, glueless installation. Baked natural also features Uniclic, but also is available with tongue and groove joints for nail or glue-down installation. Both feature a 25-year residential warranty and a 3-year medium commercial warranty.  The product is either 3 ¾” wide (tongue and groove styles) or nominal 5” wide (Uniclic styles).

The Kahala line features unique handscraped visuals in an elegant nominal 5-inch plank width, showcasing bamboo’s new design options.  Kahala features the Uniclic locking system of installation and has a 25-year residential warranty and a 3-year medium commercial warranty.  Products come in five colors: Chestnut, Rustic Baked Natural, Light Ebony, Warm Cherry, and Warm Chocolate.

“This creates entirely new styling options and applications with bamboo,” Farabee said.  “Bamboo now has fresh looks, new uses, and a powerful green story.  Strand woven bamboo is having a major impact on this category.”

Strand woven bamboo’s sustainability and environmental benefits are another step in Mohawk’s GreenWorks, Mohawk’s umbrella program for environmental and sustainable initiatives.  Mohawk is the leader in recycled and renewable flooring, and one of the largest recyclers in the flooring industry.  Mohawk’s goal is to develop processes and products that allow the company to focus on the five “Rs” of the GreenWorks platform:  reduce, recover, reuse, renew, and recycle.  Strand woven bamboo reduces waste and utilizes a rapidly renewable resource.  Learn more about Mohawk Greenworks at www.mohawkgreenworks.com.

Effective immediately, all of Mohawk EverStrand BCF and Mohawk EverStrand BCF XtraSoft fibers will include post-consumer recycled content from plastic bottles. Additionally, Mohawk will provide On Demand Certification Letters to document recycled content for all EverStrand carpet styles.

David Duncan, Mohawk’s Vice-President of Marketing, said new EverStrand filament styles are being introduced that will contain the new fiber.

“We’re expanding the EverStrand BCF collection, particularly with new products in our EverStrand BCF XtraSoft fiber,” he said.

EverStrand BCF XtraSoft fiber brings a superior level of aesthetics, performance, and feel to the polyester category.  Introduced last year in Mohawk’s “Sensationally Soft” line, the fiber offers “quality, durability and softness that reaches new heights for polyester,” Duncan said.  It also offers a lifetime stain resistance warranty.

Duncan and Cross noted that Mohawk has a heritage in recycling plastic bottles into carpet, and plans to further develop its EverStrand BCF technology to include more post consumer recycled content in the future.

Mohawk has recycled more than 24 billion soft drink bottles for use in carpet fiber, and continues recycling more than 3 billion bottles each year. One out of every four bottles recycled in North America becomes Mohawk carpet. Mohawk’s EverStrand    fiber is a staple polyester that has long been produced entirely from recycled soft drink bottles.

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 used in making other brands of carpet yarns.  On average, 30 plastic bottles are recycled to make one square yard of Mohawk EverStrand carpet. To learn more, visit www.mohawkgreenworks.com.

The producers chose EverStrand as part of their effort to stage an environmentally sound production, Mohawk said.  Everstrand fiber is a polyester made using recycled plastic bottles.

The Emmys will use a variety of products and practices to show what can be done to protect and improve the environment, including recycling, using hybrid vehicles, reducing lighting to save energy, and other tactics.  The production is planned to be carbon neutral.

One out of every four bottles recycled in North America becomes Mohawk carpet.  Mohawk recycles more than three billion bottles every year, making the company the largest recycler of plastic bottles in the country.

“Ricko the Rhino” – not your typical 12-year-old! – is a bold opponent for the SmartStrand Challenge. Once the carpet has been installed, Ricko will live as usual in his enclosure, eating, sleeping, rolling his 50-pound ball around and doing things that just come naturally to a 2,800-pound rhinoceros. All on Mohawk’s SmartStrand carpet!

Four day- and night-vision webcams will be strategically placed throughout the enclosure to capture his life on the carpet. The public is invited to check in on Ricko throughout the SmartStrand Challenge via its website: www.smartstrandchallenge.com. Watch Ricko as he romps and tromps around in his enclosure, giving SmartStrand carpet a run for its money.

“We feel so confident about the Mohawk SmartStrand carpet with triexta fiber that we wanted the public to be able to check in on the Challenge anytime, day or night,” said David Duncan, Mohawk’s Vice President of Marketing. “This will be the perfect demonstration of its durability. . .if SmartStrand can stand up to this wildlife, it can certainly stand up to your wild life.”

Visitors to The Birmingham Zoo and the SmartStrand Challenge website will have the opportunity to purchase t-shirts or plush rhinos created specifically for this event. Profits will be used to support both The Birmingham Zoo and the International Rhinoceros Foundation (IRF).

SmartStrand triexta carpet made with DuPont Sorona is a sustainable flooring option that is also luxuriously soft. Bio-PDO(R), which is made from corn sugar and is a renewable resource, makes up 37 percent of DuPont Sorona. Additionally, SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona provides superior stain resistance due to the way it’s engineered. Stain protectors are built-in the carpet fiber and will never wear or wash off. It will even resist discoloration from bleach.

To go along with the new carpet, Mohawk brought in Chip Wade, designer, expert craftsman and carpenter and cast member of Home & Garden Television’s (HGTV) TV shows “Curb Appeal” and “Designed to Sell.” As the Mohawk SmartStrand celebrity spokesman, he also wanted to be part of the Challenge. Chip has designed and renovated both Ricko’s public viewing area and his indoor enclosure with designs that were inspired by Ricko himself. Ricko’s visitors will enjoy seating while surrounded by vertical shading in the shape of rhinoceros horns ranging from three to 12 feet tall.

About Mohawk Industries:

Mohawk Industries has been a trusted name in carpets for more than 130 years and 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, Columbia, Century, 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 more than 250 local distribution locations.