Reducing our use of volatile organic compounds (VOC)
We spend 90 % of our time in buildings which are better insulated than before, thus trapping more VOCs. Occasional or prolonged exposure to certain VOCs can entail health risks. The GUT association has been working on these issues since 1990, and now requires carpet VOC emissions to be lower than 250 μg/m3 over 3 days, while the acceptable limit in Germany since 2007 is 10,000 μg/m3. Carpets with the GUT label therefore have VOC emission levels far lower than other existing benchmarks.
Levels of fine particles reduced twice over
The average concentration of fine dust in the air is two times lower with a carpet than with a hard floor (according to a German study carried out by the DAAB*). Thanks to its filter effect, carpets are the only type of floor covering available today which prevent the release of dust, and therefore allergens, into the air. The filtering effect of carpets acts to contain dust which would otherwise be inhaled and trapped in the respiratory system.
* Deutscher Allergie-und Asthmabund e.V.: German allergy and asthma association.
