Carpet Tile and PVC-Free Resilient Flooring

Functional, Sustainable and Ethically Sourced

The Bigfork ImagineIF Library not only serves as a vibrant and welcoming space for the 5,000 residents of this rural Montana community; the project demonstrates how architects, designers, manufacturers and end users all play a role in ensuring social responsibility within the global building materials supply chain. 

Design firm Cushing Terrell utilized ethical material sourcing principles as a Grace Farms Foundation, Design for Freedom pilot project. One of the organization’s main goals: eliminate forced labor in the building materials supply chain. Given that the construction industry is a high-risk sector for forced labor, it is essential to eliminate such practices within the building materials supply chain. Doing so can drive true market transformation and pave the way for a more equitable future, according to Design for Freedom.

The rural library is one of only 12 projects worldwide and one of five projects in the United States in 2024 designed to accelerate the movement to end forced/slave labor in the building materials supply chain. 

View more photos of BigFork ImagineIF Library project by Cushing Terrell.

Shaw Contract EcoWorx® carpet tile and PVC-free EcoWorx™ resilient were specified after rigorous material research by Cushing Terrell; both flooring products are manufactured with forced-labor-free materials.

Additional Design for Freedom specification requirements, ensure Shaw Contract EcoWorx carpet tile and EcoWorx PVC-free resilient:

• meet all ethical supply chain requirements, support fair labor practices and are responsibly sourced
• have a Health Product Disclosure (HPD), a transparent disclosure of product content and associated health information
• designed for circular economy in a closed-loop approach to sustainability
• can be reclaimed and recycled at the end of the flooring’s life cycle through the re[TURN]® carpet tile recycling and PVC-free resilient recycling program, making more EcoWorx carpet tile products through our Environmental Guarantee

To earn recognition as one of only five Design for Freedom pilot projects launched in the U.S. in 2024, Cushing Terrell staff researched the supply chain of several products utilized in the Bigfork ImagineIF Library renovation, collecting documentation of humanitarian policies, ethical practices and transparency from obtaining raw materials.

“There’s been a long time disconnect along supply chains in the construction world, and we at Cushing Terrell wanted to understand the impacts of the products we’re using in our design. You can look at a product’s carbon footprint, the recycling of materials, minimizing chemical use — this is the next step, doing as much due diligence as possible to ensure an ethical supply chain,” said Cushing Terrell Interior Designer Jessica Murray. “It’s really exciting to be able to highlight a small, rural project and draw the connection that humanitarian crises affect building projects anywhere.”

PVC-free resilient and carpet tile: sustainable flooring chosen for project

The new Bigfork ImagineIF Library is a renovated 6,000 sq. ft. church hall designed as a place of exploration and discovery for people of all ages. According to Cushing Terrell, the vision for the project acknowledges that, in many ways, libraries serve as a bridge in their communities — a bridge between people, generations, technology, and learning. This bridge metaphor created a strong sense of place for the community of Bigfork, which is located next to Flathead Lake and Bigfork Harbor with bridge access to Swan River.

Living Systems EcoWorx carpet tile collection, a series of plank carpet tiles with organic and textural patterns, was chosen by Cushing Terrell to mirror the nearby Flathead Lake and Swan River scenic location. EcoWorx carpet tiles are Cradle to Cradle Certified® Silver, meaning they are third-party verified as being safe, circular and responsibly made.

The library break room features Pivot PVC-free resilient, a highly durable hard surface flooring manufactured without PVC, ortho-phthalates and plasticizers. 

In partnership with Grace Farms Foundation, Design for Freedom pilot projects are helping to accelerate the movement to end forced/slave labor in the building materials supply chain by modeling transparent, forced-labor-free materials selection through rigorous research, and demonstrating ethical design principles by creating examples of a more humane built environment.

Learn more about Shaw Contract PVC-free resilient and carpet tile.

Cushing Terrell Interior Designer Jessica Murray shares more about the Bigfork ImagineIF Library project

How can reviewing materiality supply lead to change in the commercial interiors industry?

Cushing Terrell Interior Designer Jessica Murray:

Other industries have had their crisis of conscience already, like chocolate, flowers, clothing, diamonds etc. When people hear about the working conditions around the world to procure those items and then shift their buying power to sustainably/ethically sourced products, the industry will adapt. Demand always informs supply.

Architects and designers have done this significantly over the last decade in the realm of sustainability. Our requests to our manufacturing partners have forced transparency, innovation and a wealth of third-party certifications to result in better practices for the planet like carbon footprint reduction, more efficient water use, non-toxic materials, better water use, etc.

Taking a look at the human cost of building materials is just the next step. One of the reasons this is difficult is that there are a lot more “ingredients” in building materials.

For example, the average consumer, or even architect/designer, isn’t necessarily considering the source of polysilicon in a solar panel, a particularly high-risk material often mined by forced labor in foreign countries. It's important to bring this awareness to the forefront so that we, as specifiers, can start using our buying power to affect change.

How did manufacturing partners like Shaw Contract lead to the success of this project?

Shaw Contract really became a partner on this project. The Shaw Contract sustainability team provided as much information as possible in response to our supply chain questions. It also felt great to be met with a response from a manufacturer that wanted to engage in this topic. We weren’t a nuisance asking these questions. Instead, it felt like we were all on the same team wanting to collaborate to make our industry and world better.

The following additional manufacturers were specified in the Bigfork ImagineIF Library: Assa Abloy door hardware; 3Form acrylic panels, Sherwin Williams paint; Wilsonart laminate; Gilasi solid surface counters; SitOnIt furniture. 

The StudioOne™ interior design team collaborated and consulted with Cushing Terrell to help bring the library design concept to life. How did this partnership successfully help with the project?

Jessica Murray: As a designer, the flooring on this project might be my favorite install ever, and that is 100% contributed to the StudioOne team helping me come up with the custom layout. The client directive was that this library needed to have maximum flexibility. The furniture divides the open space into smaller areas.

It was tempting to start to follow suit by creating floor transitions in response to the initial furniture layout. But when I stepped back to remember that all the furniture, including the bookshelves, was on castors, I realized I had to move away from aligning ‘hard’ flooring transitions with furniture that would very likely move around.

Drawn to the organic look of the Living Systems collection, StudioOne took my inspiration of representing a river that crosses underneath the architectural bridge. A custom layout was created by incorporating multiple carpet tiles the collection. The subtle gradual transition between tile patterns and colors supports not only the biophilic concept for the library, but also the functional need for flexibility. Also, I could save the client the cost of my fee to try and figure out the pattern on my own!