On The Road: Milliken

ON THE ROAD

Our designers visited carpet manufacturer Milliken in Spartanburg, SC to engage in valuable conversations around technology and sustainability.

Interior Designers Kelsey Levitt and Stephanie Wilburn visited Milliken's Corporate Headquarters to learn more about their process, products, and purpose. While at Milliken's campus, they toured the company's Innovation Gallery, participated in Sustainability CEU's, and even popped by the historic Biltmore Estate.

The Milliken Story Milliken is a global manufacturing leader known for specialty chemicals, floor coverings, and textiles for a range of industries. Across their six brands, Milliken offers functional products driven by innovation and sustainability.

The manufacturer's journey dates back to 1865, when general store owner Seth Milliken partnered with William Deering to open a woolen distributor for textile mills based out of Portland, Maine, aptly named Deering Milliken. Seeing continual growth year by year, Milliken moved south and began branching into the global market in the 20th century.

Today, Milliken provides a variety of products to industries across the globe. Milliken's textile collection includes military uniforms, gypsum fabrics, tire and mechanical fabrics, and flame resistant, breathable fabrics that reduce cardio stress for firefighters.

Milliken provides a range of chemical products. This includes colorants and additives used in things like de-icing products, seed treatment, polycarbonate roof products, fiberboard, and insulation products.

Continuing to look for new products and opportunities, Milliken entered the healthcare market in 2019. They now offer bandaging and wound care solutions to the healthcare, veterinary, sports medicine, and consumer retail industries.

Milliken leverages their widespread expertise in a range of industries and products to drive innovation in flooring. Through this intersection of craft, Milliken brings the design industry creative and fresh flooring solutions.

Technical Innovation

Advancements are embedded in Milliken's products, and they strive to offer products whose aesthetics are backed by science. Milliken proved this innovative approach in the 1970s when they revolutionized the flooring industry with carpet printing. Leveraging the technology of the paper printer, Milliken's carpet printer was a fresh, efficient flooring solution. The carpet printing process also reflects how Milliken's flooring benefits from their breadth of expertise, such as their chemical colorant knowledge.

While visiting the Milliken campus, our team learned about the large R&D team behind all of Milliken’s flooring products and how that technology benefits the consumer.

Ergonomics

Milliken's products strive to balance user comfort and function. According to their published reports, Milliken's WellBAC cushion-backed carpet can reduce muscle strain by as much as 25% compared to hardback carpet.

Moisture

Their carpet's WellBAC open-cell backing allows the floor to breath and moisture to evaporate. Both carpet and LVT have one-step no-test warranty options, and don't require moisture mitigation prior to install.

Healthy spaces

The Living Building Challenge's Red List offers the design industry a guide to materials, chemicals, and elements that present major risks to human health and the environment. Milliken's carpet materials are both Red List Free and PVC Free.

Sustainability

Milliken's flooring is carbon neutral, and their WellBAC cushion, which is standard on all Milliken carpet products, can prolong life expectancy of tile by 40%-50% compared to hardback tiles.

Acoustics

The acoustic technology of Milliken's carpet and QuietLife LVT tiles reduce in-room and through-floor noise by up to 50% compared to other flooring. After learning about the science baked into Milliken’s carpet and LVT, our designers saw Impact Insulation Class testing first hand. An IIC testing machine was placed in the room above on Milliken flooring products as well as a competitors PVC backed carpet tile. Milliken Carpet and Quiet LVT were considerably quieter than any of the other options.

Sustainability Research

Milliken's environmental impact is a central focus of their research, and has been a foundational value since 1901, when the company enacted their first recycling policy. While at Milliken's campus, our designers were able to attend "Climate Change as a Force For Innovation," a CEU given by Milliken Global's Director of Sustainability, Dr. Robert MacMeccan. The presentation looked at the macro drivers that are increasing sustainable innovation across industries. They also explored the effect of carbon on the built environment and considered how architects and designers can impact climate change.

Increasingly more of the world’s largest public companies are attempting to meet net-zero targets, and this net-zero economy is expected to be the largest reallocation of capital ever. While in 2022 65% of annual spending was channeled into highemission assets, it's projected that by 2050 70% will be spent on low-emission assets.

Research from Metropolis has found that by 2050, the interior design industry is projected to contribute to over almost one-tenth of the world’s carbon emissions. The majority of that contribution is from building and construction, with building operations and materials contributing slightly less. Interior choices specifically, though, have the greatest impact on a building's carbon footprint over the life cycle of the building.

By engaging in science-based target initiatives and abiding by rating systems and standards provided by organizations like the U.S. Green Building Council, the Living Building Challenge, and the International WELL Building Institute, this impact can be leveraged for the better. Other resources, like Metropolis' Climate Toolkit for Interior Design, suggests interior designers learn more about carbon, discuss it with project teams, consider materials more thoughtfully and creatively, screen products, look for hotspots, sample responsibly, and commit to recycling.

Takeaway

At Milliken, our designers had meaningful discussions about sustainability and learned about the manufacturer's approach to providing products that meet user's needs and drive innovation in the industry. Following the trip, our designers are exploring the technology embedded into interiors products and have a better understanding of how to assess the sustainability of a specific product.