Homemaker Industries Rolls Out PLA-based Rugs, NCGA Notes (12-14-05)

The use of polylactic acid (PLA) continues to rise, with more companies creating environmentally friendly products using this corn-based polymer, the National Corn Growers Association notes. Homemaker Industries, a throw rug manufacturer, has joined the growing list of companies seeking to create a distinct niche market with its corn-based rugs and satisfy an increasing demand by an American public for biobased products.

Homemaker Industries, located in Cary, Ill., is marketing PLA rugs in a variety of sizes, styles and colors for use around the home. The company introduced the product line in October to retailers. In January, Homemaker will begin to sell the rugs through retail and catalog channels. It is testing 100 percent PLA rugs and hopes to have those on the market in the next year or two.

The rugs are made with Ingeo, a fiber produced from PLA by NatureWorks. The PLA displaces polypropylene, a petroleum-based compound, many rugs are made from.

“When 100 percent PLA rugs hit the market, for every 5 feet by 8 feet PLA rug made, one-third of a gallon of oil will be displaced,” said Jeffry Vaughn, Homemaker senior vice president of sales and new business development.

He estimates the company will sell more than 600,000 5-foot by-8-foot rugs in 2005. If it sells this same amount in PLA, that would conserve more than 4,700 barrels of oil.

NCGA Director of Business Development Nathan Fields noted that PLA technology is taking off.

“In the past six months, we have really seen the market for PLA expand, and Homemaker’s rugs are just another one of the many corn-based products hitting the market,” said Fields. “Wal-Mart’s announcement that it would replace its plastic clamshells with PLA for produce and bakery goods was a hallmark for technology. Now, other companies are realizing the many applications PLA has and the stability gained through use of U.S. agricultural-based products.”

The rugs will be found at various stores in 2006, including J.C. Penney, Target and Land’s End.

Interface Flooring Systems also has created PLA carpeting for larger, more commercial purposes. Its PLA content is 15 percent. One of the company’s largest projects has been installing the flooring for the Wabash County Historical Museum in Indiana.