As sustainability pioneers, we carefully select materials that are not only safe and healthy for both humans and the environment but also promote transparency through third-party certifications.
We are proud to be a 100% PVC-free company, standing firm in our decision to never sell vinyl, setting a precedent in our field. Material transparency is paramount in fostering a trustworthy marketplace, which is why we pursued and published an EPD for Biobased Xorel and provide a Health Product Declaration (HPD) for every product, offering insight into ingredients and their associated health impacts.
Our commitment to third-party certifications underscores our dedication to performance and environmental responsibility, aligning with standards essential for projects pursuing LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge certifications.
Xorel became the first textile/wallcovering product to be Cradle to Cradle - C2C Silver Certified in 2007. In 2013 Biobased Xorel achieved Cradle to Cradle Gold Certification.
This third party certification is considered to be the most comprehensive environmental product evaluation since it considers a multitude of criteria, beginning with a thorough material input analysis.
We strive to continue improving our environmental transparency by bringing forth our third-party verified Environmental Product Declaration for Biobased Xorel® (C2C Gold patterns) in accordance with the international EPD system. Our Biobased Xorel material has an embodied carbon footprint of 1.12 kg carbon dioxide (CO2) per yard.
When it comes to certification, we don’t stop at our products. We continually measure our entire company against the highest corporate standards for sustainability, social fairness and employee compensation/benefits. We’ve been recognized as a Certified B Corp since 2014 and named one of the “Best for the World” in the environmental category in both 2018 and 2019.
Biobased Xorel is the first textile to achieve the Living Product Challenge Certification. The Living Product Challenge is a transparent, holistic framework for rethinking the way we manufacture things, weaving together life cycle assessment, social equity and material health impacts. It helps manufacturers design and offer products with measurably net positive impacts and designers easily select products that give more than they take.
The Declare label lists building products that have declared their ingredients, source and manufacturing locations. Living Building Challenge project teams can also use the Declare label for materials documentation, streamlining the process of project certification. Manufacturers of the products included in the Declare database have voluntarily disclosed their ingredients list and a company head has personally ensured this information is true. Biobased Xorel has the Declare label.
Xorel has achieved SCS Indoor Advantage Gold Certification. The program tests and certifies products for compliance with the indoor air quality emission requirements of California Department of Public Health based on California Specification 01350. Annual site audits ensure continued compliance each year. Protocols related to chain of custody, sample conditioning, air testing, chemical analysis and emission.
Design for Health™ provides design teams access to MSAP rated vendors for use on any project across all segments of the built environment. Created in collaboration with Hospitality Sustainable Purchasing Consortium members, Marriott International, the US Green Building Council, designers, purchasing agents, sustainability experts, and vendors, the MSAP rates social and environmental impacts through product life cycles. Xorel and Biobased Xorel have attained the Leader rating, the highest designation within the MindClick rating system.
This independent non-profit examines and certifies that products are derived from renewable raw materials. Testing under ASTM D6866, the exact renewable carbon content of the material is determined by measuring the content of C14 isotope. Products are rated from a 1 star level to 4 star level, depending on the overall % of biobased content. Biobased Xorel is level 3 or 4 rated, depending on the pattern.
The USDA BioPreferred brand and stringent labeling process reflects and builds upon the credibility, integrity and trust of the USDA. Further, the label requires minimum content levels considered to be meaningful, as well as disclosure of the percentage biobased content. Biobased Xorel patterns are all USDA BioPreferred certified.
Xorel and Biobased Xorel were assessed against the criteria of the Material Health category in the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard and were awarded a Platinum Level Material Health Certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Xorel is GreenSpec Listed. Building Green's product guide, GreenSpec, lists over 2,200 environmentally preferable products, with key insights on the green attributes of each product and the most critical green issues for each product category. GreenSpec conducts its own independent research in assessing manufacturer claims, ensuring that the guide contains unbiased, quality information.
Xorel is Certified by Collaborative in High-Performance Schools. The standard that CHPS uses to determine which products are approved for low-emitting prerequisites and credits in the CHPS Criteria is the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, Version 1.1-2010 (also known as Section 01350). Xorel is an approved product on CHPS projects.
Xorel has The Conformité Européene (CE) Mark, defined as the European Union’s (EU) mandatory conformity marking for regulating the goods sold within the European Economic Area (EEA) since 1985. It certifies that a product has met EU health, safety, and environmental requirements, which ensure consumer safety.
Carnegie is a member of the Health Product Declaration® Collaborative, whose goal is making transparency the norm in the building industry. We provide Health Product Declaration (HPDs) on every product we offer, which provide information about the material’s ingredients and their associated health impacts.