OBJECT CARPET has received the prestigious UKSFA Award in the “Circular Economy Initiative of the Year” category for its NEULAND carpet tile collection. The award, presented by the UK Sustainable Flooring Alliance (UKSFA), recognises innovative projects, initiatives and solutions that make a measurable contribution to greater sustainability and circularity within the flooring industry.
Jury commends holistic sustainability approach
The jury was particularly impressed by the NEULAND collection, which is based on the innovative DUO technology. “A strong signal of central importance for the future. The manufacturer tackles circularity at its roots by designing products for clean disassembly from the very beginning,” the jury stated. With NEULAND, circularity is embedded throughout the entire product lifecycle, from the very first design decision to the end of its service life. The concept combines eco-design, clean manufacturing, validated material health, a high share of recycled content, a full-loop life cycle assessment, and initial pilot projects. The jury explicitly praised this holistic approach, highlighting OBJECT CARPET’s clear commitment to scaling the concept across its entire carpet tile portfolio by the end of 2027.
The jury also recognised the company’s efforts to drive industry-wide transformation through licensing models promoted by OBJECT CARPET, as well as its consistent alignment with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems. “OBJECT CARPET demonstrates a profound understanding of the future framework shaped by political and legislative developments. Moreover, the company acknowledges that no single organisation can overcome these challenges alone.” Daniel Butz, CEO of the Denkendorf-based company near Stuttgart, welcomed the award with great enthusiasm: “We are proud that our efforts have received such high recognition, including internationally. The UKSFA Award reinforces our ambition to develop sustainable innovations that combine environmental responsibility with outstanding product quality. This award is a wonderful recognition of the commitment shown by our entire team and our partners.”
A new construction principle for carpet tiles
With the launch of the NEULAND carpet tile collection, OBJECT CARPET addresses one of the flooring industry’s most pressing challenges. Although the carpet sector is increasingly moving towards circular solutions, most products currently entering the market are still not designed for high-quality material recovery. This makes effective take-back systems difficult to establish, not only from a technical perspective but also economically, as complex material streams often lack sufficient residual value to support viable recovery models. NEULAND is the first carpet tile collection to be developed entirely according to circular principles from the ground up. It demonstrates how eco-design, material health and value retention can enable a new generation of circular systems.
A paradigm shift in material separation
At the heart of the collection is the innovative DUO construction principle: a radically simplified material design based on just two polymer families, joined together using a reversible polyester bonding technology. By eliminating complex multi-material combinations, the carpet tiles can be separated into two high-quality material streams at the end of their service life. This represents a paradigm shift. Products are no longer designed with disposal in mind but are instead created to preserve their value across multiple life cycles.
DUO is enabled by NIAGA technology, which replaces conventional coating methods with a thermoplastic bonding approach. The backing is manufactured without latex, fillers, solvents or process water. According to internal production data, this process requires up to 95 percent less energy than the production of conventional carpet tile backings. The result is a low-energy manufacturing process that reduces environmental impact from the outset while maintaining the material purity required for high-quality recycling.
Open-Loop recycling
This focus on value retention fundamentally changes the economics of circularity. Because the face layer and backing of NEULAND can be separated into distinct material streams, both materials can be reused as secondary raw materials for further applications. This creates the foundation for open-loop recycling, allowing materials to be used in a wide range of applications beyond flooring. As a result, high-value uses become possible while preserving material quality and preventing downcycling. Ultimately, circular systems can become financially attractive not only because of regulatory requirements but because of the intrinsic value of the recovered materials themselves.
A comprehensive transformation
NEULAND is not an isolated initiative but the starting point of a comprehensive transformation. OBJECT CARPET has set itself the ambitious goal of converting its entire carpet tile portfolio to the DUO platform. This commitment ensures that circular design, clean materials and full circularity evolve from the principles of a single collection into a company-wide standard. In turn, this enables economies of scale in recycling, logistics and material recovery. With this approach, OBJECT CARPET is making a significant contribution to shifting the flooring industry away from a waste-based economy towards one focused on value retention, creating systems in which materials are not discarded but continuously recovered and reused.