The “Greenest Red Carpet in the World” is Circulable: OBJECT CARPET’s DUO Makes Its World Debut at the Berlinale 2024
From February 15-25, Berlin will once again be the center of attention. Hollywood stars, film fans and cinephiles from all over the world pose on the red carpet! The secret star this year, however, is a groundbreaking innovation: With DUO, OBJECT CARPET introduces the first fully recyclable carpet. It is made of only two materials – and is completely recyclable over and over again.
No film festival in the world can do without a red carpet: Celebrities from around the globe celebrate their grand entrance, posing in front of cameras and basking in the glow of the spotlight. After paying little attention to the environmental impact of their events in the past, the event industry is now undergoing a remarkable shift in mindset. The organizers of the Berlinale have long been committed to minimizing the ecological footprint of their festival as much as possible. This is why NYLTECC from OBJECT CARPET, whose recycled ECONYL® yarn is made from different types of waste, such as fishing nets, post-industrial waste etc., has been used for years now. In 2024, another decisive step is following: The red carpet will now not only be made from recycled material but – thanks to its pioneering DUO construction – will also be recyclable itself after use, again, again and again!
Designed for endless life – DUO carpet made from just two materials
But what makes DUO so special? The new carpets are made solely of polyester and polyamide (recycled ECONYL® yarn), two materials that can easily be separated and recycled. In comparison: a conventional carpet is made up of more than 30 different materials. The DUO carpets, created through ten years of development, completely eliminate the need for additional fillers. The materials are bonded with an innovative HOTMELT adhesive that quickly detaches when heat is applied directly to it during the subsequent recycling process. This CLICK/UNCLICK technology makes it easy to separate the two fabrics after each use cycle – a real game changer in the carpet industry.
R2R production cycle with supplier Aquafil
Alongside yarn supplier Aquafil, OBJECT CARPET is working to ensure that DUO carpets can be fully reintegrated into the original production cycle. Here’s how it works: During the manufacturing process, the products are labeled on the back with the “R2R” label. This stands for “Born Regenerated to be Regenerable” and ensures that a carpet is recognized as recyclable by Aquafil at the end of its life cycle. This is crucial in facilities with changes of ownership, where the knowledge of which manufacturer supplied the carpet is often lost along the way. Before the recycling process, the two materials of the carpet are separated again by heat. Through a targeted regeneration process, both materials are made reusable and reintroduced into the suppliers’ production cycle for new carpet flooring.
Outstanding life cycle assessment
The Berlinale carpets in the vibrant special color “traffic red” also boast a range of additional features that emphasize their outstanding life cycle assessment. While the substructure is now made of polyester, the upper side is still made of ECONYL® fibers, which are made of 100% recycled polyamide. Compared to conventional methods, the coating of DUO generates no harmful emissions. Additionally, it saves 95 % of energy and no water is used during production.
Practical aspects include about 50 % less weightand easy handling during installation. OBJECT CARPET ensures that at the end of its life, the carpet will be separated and the ECONYL® yarn will be sent to Aquafil for recycling. Furthermore, even the scraps generated during carpet installation are completely reused. They are collected in Big Bags and recycled once again.
Designed for endless life
In addition, the Berlinale carpets are once again extremely robust and highly resilient. This is essential for an event of this size: Over the course of the entire festival, around 100,000 people stroll down the red carpet – in all weather conditions with temperature differences of up to 25 degrees in February.
They share their durability, by the way, with all other flooring solutions from OBJECT CARPET. It goes hand in hand with the desire to create recyclable products whose raw materials can be used again and again. “Designed for endless life” is the credo here. This approach is now being consistently expanded with the new DUO carpets: It is OBJECT CARPET’s aim that by 2026, the company will only offer circular carpets made from one or two materials.
About OBJECT CARPET Since 1972, OBJECT CARPET has stood for quality, design and innovation in the commercial property sector. A sense of aesthetics and color, in combination with advanced production techniques, results in elegant and unusual designs in the form of rugs, carpet tiles and custom-cut carpets (RUGX). With over 1,000 styles and colors as well as individually-customized products, the OBJECT CARPET collection offers a unique diversity for modern interior design, manufactured from high-quality raw materials. All OBJECT CARPET styles are also free from harmful emissions and are bitumen-free, latex-free, and PVC-free. They bear the German Federal Environmental Agency’s Blue Angel ecolabel. OBJECT CARPET products also received the evidence-based recommendation from the TÜV (German Technical Inspection Association) for safe use by allergy sufferers and reduce dust content and particulate matter. Partners and customers around the world, such as Porsche, Daimler, Google and Adidas appreciate this, as do initiatives like “Healthy Seas.”