Born Regenerated to be Regenerable by Aquafil: Introducing Circular Carpets

The “Born R2R” project is a new way of eco-designing carpets, also considering their end-of-life.

We have embarked on a journey toward full circularity by collaborating closely with our partners to rethink and redesign the carpets of the future.

Created out of the necessity to lower the impact of carpet manufacturing, the “Born R2R” project aims at engaging manufacturers in the carpet industry to co-design with us carpets, made of ECONYL regenerated yarn, that instead of being disposed of in a landfill at their end of life, can be fully regenerated and repurposed into something new, closing the loop.

Eco-designing the carpets of the future

The first step of the eco-design process begins at the end.

Today, materials are often blended and mixed, making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recycle and regenerate a product at the end of its useful life.

We can avoid this unnecessary waste by thinking, in the design phase, how the materials can be recycled into something new.

3 keypoints:

1. The materials used in the construction of the carpet affect the recyclability of the product, so we must put special attention to selecting the right ingredients that have a lower impact.
2. The production process must aim to reduce waste, lower energy consumption and keep emissions low.
3. Different ingredients should be mixed in a way that it will then be easy to disassemble them once the carpet will reach the end of its useful life.

All products created through the Born R2R program will be marked with the R2R logo, in order to be easily recognizable along the supply chain. Once the carpet will reach the end of its useful life it’ll start its journey of regeneration. For sure, the parts made with ECONYL nylon will be recovered and sent to AquafilSLO in Ljubljana to become new ECONYL nylon.

The Concept

1. ECONYL regenerated nylon is 100% made of waste and has the same quality and performance as fossil-based Nylon. It can be also recycled, again and again, endlessly.
2. “Born R2R” carpets and rugs are eco-designed to be fully disassembled at the end of their life. They are made with ECONYL regenerated nylon and other materials compatible with the ECONYL regeneration system.
3. “Born R2R” carpets are suitable for several applications: residential, commercial, contract, hospitality, and transport. IMO certified Born R2R carpets can be installed on cruise ships and vessels as well.
4. When “Born R2R” carpets reach the end of their useful life and are removed from the floor, they can be delivered to our premises in Slovenia or to our USA Carpet Collection Locations.
5. In AquafilSLO and in Aquafil USA the carpets will be dismantled and the parts made with ECONYL yarn will be recovered and recycled into new nylon fibers through the ECONYL regeneration process.