Carpet and Rug Institute hopes to be 'science-based solution provider' for members

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·4 min read

Jul. 28—The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), an industry group based in Dalton, represents the carpet industry's efforts in indoor air quality and sustainability. Those are areas Russ DeLozier knows well.

DeLozier, a veteran of the carpet industry, was named president of the CRI at the start of June, replacing Joe Yarbrough, who had retired after nine years at the helm of the CRI.

DeLozier has held a variety of positions with Dow, Shaw Industries, J+J Flooring and Engineered Floors where he garnered extensive industry experience, particularly within sustainability and carpet recycling. He has served on various CRI panels and twice received CRI's Joseph J. Smrekar Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding volunteer service to the industry.

The Dalton Daily Citizen spoke recently to DeLozier about the state of the CRI and the carpet industry.

DDC: Tell me a little about yourself and your professional background.

DeLozier: I've been in Dalton for 21 years. I love it. It's where I chose to raise my family.

I have a technical background (with a degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech). I moved here with Dow chemical company and was the plant manager of their styrofoam plant. I transitioned from the chemical industry to the carpet industry. Dalton is not a hotbed for the chemical industry, and I was certain I would eventually be transferred to Louisiana or Texas. I wanted to raise my family here. I was fortunate enough to find a job with Shaw Industries helping to start one of their chemical plants. That was the Evergreen process (which processes reclaimed carpet into new fiber).

That's what got me into carpet and also into environmental sustainability and recycling. It's what got me involved with CARE (the Carpet America Recovery Effort, a nonprofit industry organization that looks to create value from discarded carpet) and with the CRI.

I was slowly added to different panels and committees of CRI. I got to know the players in the carpet industry. I've been involved with CRI for 15 or more years.

DDC: There are a number of carpet industry executives who have a background in the chemical industry, aren't there?

DeLozier: Carpet is nothing but organized chemicals. It's made of a polymer. and I would guess that many of them have a polymer background. There's a very technical element to making carpet.

DDC: And many of the carpet companies have integrated backwards.

DeLozier: I would say many to most have integrated back into the polymers.

DDC: People know the CRI is a trade group for the carpet industry. But they may not know exactly what it does. Could you talk about that?

DeLozier: It basically looks at the interests of the industry as a whole with regards to indoor air quality. Any one company can work on indoor air quality or asthma and allergens or vacuum cleaner standards. But they believe those common interests can be better coordinated through the CRI.

Those are some of the things we work on. The seal of approval (for carpet-cleaning products and equipment) is something the CRI did about 20 years ago to improve the performance of our product.

DDC: Does the CRI work on recycling and reclamation of carpet?

DeLozier: The CRI joined CARE about 20 years ago. It helped form that, and even today CARE is housed (in the same building as CRI). We don't directly manage CARE. We do serve on their board. We are active on their committees. Almost all of our members are members of CARE. So, in that regard, we help promote recycling. But we are not directly involved.

CARE serves the carpet recycling industry. CRI serves the carpet manufacturing industry.

DDC: Most if not all of your members have diversified into hard-surface flooring. Is CRI involved in any way in their activities in hard surface?

DeLozier. No. We stay laser focused on soft floorcovering.

Now, we do engage with sister or cousin organizations such as the RFCI, the Resilient Floor Covering Institute.

DDC: You've been on the job a month and a half. How is the transition going?

DeLozier: It has been great. Joe Yarbrough built an excellent team here. He built great relationships with all of our members. I've had the privilege to come into an organization that is functioning well.

DDC: What are going to be the challenges over the next five or 10 years for the industry and for CRI?

DeLozier: We want to be a science-based solution provider for our members. We can always get better.

There's legislation in New York, an extended carpet producer responsibility. It says "Hey, producers, you have a responsibility beyond making and selling your product. You have some responsibility at the end of its life." It's sort of a recycling law. That's something we'll be helping our members with.

DDC: Any final thoughts?

DeLozier: We love being in Dalton. We love sharing a building with (the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce). We want Dalton to remain the Carpet Capital of the World.