Newsline
Volume IV, Issue 2 - January 17, 2003
The Carpet and Rug Institute news for
industry executives
|
Special Edition - 2002 Highlights
|
| In this issue: |
|
|
|
|
CRI Moves to Establish Measurable Goals
Once the CRI Board of Directors identified the new barriers to profitability
and growth, CRI set about defining measurable, stretch goals for each of the
barriers. A nationally renowned pollster will set the baseline for each barrier.
The Barrier Management Champions, working with the Issues Committees, will develop
goals and finalize marketing strategies for each barrier. The marketing strategies
will identify the critical audience for the barrier and the most appropriate
vehicle to get our messages into the hands of the critical audiences. Next year,
the critical audiences will be polled again to determine exactly how effective
we have been at moving the needle. Stay tuned. Contact Werner Braun at 706.428.2100.
Government Issues
Sample Sales Tax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although a resolution of the sample sales tax issue was not realized during
2002, significant progress toward such a resolution was made. CRI and GTMA joined
efforts to discuss and debate the issue on numerous occasions with officials
from the Georgia Department of Revenue in hopes of reaching a satisfactory conclusion.
It became apparent that a legislative solution, permanently establishing the
rates for residential and commercial carpet, would be the best way to address
the issue. CRI and GTMA have drafted a proposed bill that is currently under
review by the appropriate officials within the General Assembly and the Governor’s
office. With the progress forged in 2002, we look forward to a timely resolution
of this issue in the New Year. Contact John Miller at 706.428.2109.
CRI Challenge Prompts EPA to Withdraw Faulty Publication
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In March 2002, CRI wrote a letter to the US EPA requesting immediate withdrawal
of the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Guide “Greening Your Purchase
of Carpet” from the EPA website. Citing inaccuracies within the document,
CRI expressed its objection to EPA’s publication of a carpet-related document
without having consulted with the carpet industry. In response to CRI’s
letter, the EPA withdrew the publication from the website and invited CRI’s
comments for subsequent revisions. As of January 2003, the publication is still
not available on the EPA website, pending final review and approval by affected
stakeholders. For more information, visit
the EPA website. Contact Frank Hurd at 706.428.2136.
Enhanced Government Relations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During 2002, CRI enhanced its Governmental Issues Team (GIT). As part of the
changes, CRI opened a Washington, DC office. This expanded governmental issues
team has engaged policy makers and provided outreach in many states, including
Florida, Texas, California, Connecticut, Maine, Ohio, Washington, South Carolina,
Delaware, Indiana, Wyoming, Massachusetts and New York. An example of success
was in the state of New York. In the spring of 2002, legislation was introduced
in New York de-selecting carpet in all New York public schools. Representatives
from CRI traveled to Albany to meet with the Assemblyman who introduced the
bill. They were able to educate him and the legislation did not advance any
further in the New York House or Senate. CRI’s GIT successes reflect the
increased focus on proactive advocacy for the industry. Contact Jennifer Mendez
at 703.875.0634.
International
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the quest for business reaches around the globe, CRI has intensified its
efforts and awareness toward helping to eliminate barriers to our Member’s
international trade activities. In August, the European Commission was granted
the authority to impose tariffs against a wide variety of U.S. industries including
floorcovering manufacturers. CRI, working in cooperation with its European counterpart
organization, provided persuasive comments to the Commission in an effort to
remove the floorcovering industries from further tariff consideration. Although
a final listing of those industries subject to tariff has not been released,
it is nevertheless encouraging that no additional tariff action has been taken
as of this time. CRI is optimistic that this potential industry barrier can
be permanently eliminated in the early part of 2003. Contact John Miller at
706.428.2109.
Outsourcing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRI continues on the path of improved efficiency and proper stewardship of Member
resources. CRI has now focused its efforts on six barriers. Part of this focus
has been to look at staffing levels and functions and to find ways to contain
the rising costs of benefits. Skyrocketing health insurance costs over the past
few years have placed a strain on the ability to provide reasonable benefits
at a reasonable cost to the employee. CRI has engaged ADP to outsource its Human
Resource, payroll functions and insurance needs. As a result, CRI has reduced
staff by 15% and lowered the cost of benefits by 8% while still being able to
maintain comparable health coverage for its employees. The end result is a more
focused staff and more resources being allocated toward barrier management.
Contact Charlott Coker at 706.428.2127.
Health, Environmental and Technical
Research Completed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Flooring, Humidity, and Mold Growth” – study conducted at Hydrolab,
Inc. determined that clean/dry carpet does not support mold growth “Cleaning
Effectiveness Demonstration in a Carpeted School” – study determined
that a routine maintenance and extraction cleaning program resulted in statistically
significant reductions in contaminants “Comparison of Biocontaminant Levels
in Schools-The Impact of Carpet vs. Smooth Floor Covering” – study
results showed that airborne allergens and contaminants in the VCT tiled school
were significantly higher than in the carpeted school. Worked with the University
of Georgia to conduct/complete “An Analysis of the Benefits of Carpet Use
in Pre-school Learning Environments.” The survey showed that carpet was
overall the most favorably perceived floor covering by teachers, children, and
parents. These results provide information that can be used in the successful
marketing of carpet which will lead to increased market share and improved product
image. Contact Ken McIntosh at 706.428.2105.
IAQ Green Label Carpet Products Included in Green Building System Program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gained inclusion of approved CRI
IAQ Green Label carpet products in the US Green Building Council’s
“Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design” (LEED) Green Building
System program. Specification and installation of CRI IAQ Green Label carpet
constitutes one full point toward building certification. This accomplishment
has resulted in more and more architects and designers specifying CRI IAQ Green
Label carpet in their projects. Contact Ken McIntosh at 706.428.2105.
All Major Vacuum Cleaner Manufacturers in CRI Vacuum Cleaner IAQ Testing Program
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The CRI Vacuum
Cleaner IAQ Testing Program was expanded to include five additional vacuum
cleaner manufacturers. All major vacuum cleaner manufacturers are now participating
in the program. The program has been successful in assisting manufacturers with
the modification of their vacuums to reduce airborne particulate emissions during
operation thereby meeting the CRI Vacuum Cleaner IAQ Testing Program Standard.
Contact Carroll Turner at 706.428.2106.
CRI-104 and CRI-105 Revised
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Completed revision of both the CRI-104
Standard for Commercial Installation and the CRI-105 Standard for Residential
Installation. Contact Carroll Turner at 706.428.2106.
Trade Shows / Conferences
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Health, Environmental & Technical Issues personnel participated in approximately
20 trade
shows/conferences which increased communication with facility managers,
designers, school administrators, health professionals, builders, recycling
groups, environmental and indoor air quality professionals. Contact Louise Dobbs
at 706.428.2104.
Sales Personnel Technical Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Initiated a comprehensive program of updating member company sales personnel
with up-to-date technical information to address concerns and misperceptions
about carpet. Contact Barbra Wilson at 706.428.2125.
CRI Consumer Information Line
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Health, Environmental & Technical personnel responsible for the CRI
consumer information line concentrated on supplying appropriate information
to inquiries. The two largest areas of concern were (1) questions related to
selecting appropriate products for specific applications and (2) indoor air
quality issues concerning carpet. Contact Barbra Wilson at 706.428.2125 or Ann
Jones at 706.428.2126.
Environmental Claims Certification Program Established
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Established the foundation for a carpet industry Environmental Claims Certification
program. This voluntary program will include a Certification Board of independent
experts that will review and issue disposition on all claims submitted to the
Board for certification. Contact Ken McIntosh at 706.428.2105.
Joined Textile MACT Coalition
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joined with other textile trade associations in the Textile MACT Coalition to
comment on Federal EPA proposed air emissions rules specific to the carpet textile
industries. Contact Carroll Turner at 706.428.2106.
Issues Communications
CRI Receives American Lung Association (ALA) Award
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRI representative, Barbara Day, accepted a Product Sponsor award from the Minnesota
ALA on behalf of CRI. CRI was recognized as an important contributor to the
ALA Demonstration home. The home was built to ALA’s Level 2 criteria and
meets or exceeds ALA’s proposed guidelines for a healthy home. Contact
Barbara Day at 706.428.2138.
New Alliances will Enhance CRI Marketing Plan In 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During 2002, Issues Communication has initiated several important alliances
with the American Lung Association (ALA), the National Education Association
– Education Support Personnel (NEA-ESP), School Facilities.com, and the
American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). In 2003, CRI will continue to
support these alliances. ALA – Contribute to their Healthy House standards
and guidelines and keep carpet in their Healthy Home Demonstrations. NEA-ESP
– Use the NEA distribution network to reach tens of thousands of school
janitors with a cleaning and maintenance booklet. School Facilities.com –
Develop e-supplements that related to carpet and its benefits for schools to
reach over 400,000 website viewers. ASID – Serve as a founding member of
the InformeDesign website hosted by the University of Minnesota. CRI will be
able to post industry studies, research, and reports on this site which will
then be used as an educational resource tool for architects and designers nationwide.
Contact Steve Phillips at 706.428.2115.
“Parenting and Beyond” to Feature CRI Cleaning and Maintenance Message
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On December 16, 2002, CRI completed the taping of a video to be released in
2003. The video will be a part of the “Home Improvement segment: “Safe
Home, Clean Home” and will be hosted by Jose Bissett. The video will air
on PAX TV, The Food Network, Oxygen, and The Health Network. The closing credits
on the video will include the CRI 800# and website and information about CRI
will also be featured on the www.parentingandbeyond.com
website with streaming video of this segment. Additionally, this video will
be done as a Video News Release for use as in-flight airline programming. Contact
Steve Phillips at 706.428.2115.
Carpet and Schools (Ongoing Research on the Effect of the Physical Environment
on Objective Measures of Student Performance)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two doctoral students at the University of Georgia under the direction of Dr.
Ken Tanner are working on this project. A project update was held on Saturday,
May 25, 2002, in Athens, Georgia. The students presented current status and
outlined plans for this summer’s field work. Site visits and measurements
will be taken to assess classroom status and these will be compared with objective
measures of student performance. The intent is to get as much measurable data
as possible. The two studies involve Georgia elementary schools and Georgia
middle schools. The researchers are themselves teachers at elementary and middle
schools in Georgia. Contact Steve Phillips at 706.428.2115.
Myths Brochure Well Received in Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRI’s recent publication “Myths
& Truths about Carpet” continues to be a hit. The Canadian Carpet
Institute has printed 30,000 copies in French and 20,000 copies in English for
distribution at an upcoming Home Show in Montreal. The brochure has been reproduced
in a French language trade paper called Surface, and will be inserted soon in
Coverings Magazine. It will also be added shortly in both languages to their
website: www.canadiancarpet.org. Contact Steve Phillips at 706.428.2115.
Clean and Dry Message Makes a Hit in Florida
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Florida Education Facility Planners’ Association (FEFPA) in July,
2002, an audience of 110 facility planners heard presentations on the “clean
and dry” message and the Ideal Learning Environment. Many in attendance
asked for multiple copies of information to share with their county school boards
and others. Contact Barbara Day at 706.428.2138.
CRI Vacuum Cleaner IAQ Testing Mentioned in Martha Stewart Living Magazine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the November 2002 issue of Martha Stewart Living, CRI member and manufacturer
of residential vacuum cleaners, Miele, ran a full-page ad that mentions The
Carpet and Rug Institute. The ad copy states that the advertised vacuum cleaner
meets CRI standards for “indoor air quality” and “cleaning ability.”
This magazine has a monthly circulation of 2.4 million. Contact Barbara Day
at 706.428.2138.
Check
our website calendar for other industry related events
