Shaw Industries Sponsors Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s Sustainability Efforts

Interview with Shaw’s Sustainability Specialist Erin Helm

In 2020, Shaw Industries supported Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful (KDWB) as their sole Sustainability sponsor. This sponsorship is what has led to the restoration project for the fountain on Morris St. that has been remade into a planter with the help of Dalton Public Works and Fiddleheads. Shaw’s sponsorship has helped KDWB commission a new public sculpture out of reclaimed metal by Chris Beck that will be placed on the upcycled fountain. To celebrate their sponsorship, Erin Helm, Shaw’s Sustainability Specialist spoke about what inspires her and Shaw’s goals in sustainability, material health, and how what choices we make impact the world around us every single day.

Erin project manages all Raw Material Substitutions and all of the product and raw chemical information for training, marketing, sales, and customer service.

Erin started working at Shaw as a designer before moving into sustainability, “I knew nothing about the flooring industry when I started my job at Shaw! I was fresh out of college and had no idea what I was doing. I think what surprised me the most was all of the moving pieces that go into creating a flooring product--it’s astounding!” While working at Shaw, Erin got her start in sustainability as chair of the sustainability committee at the Shaw Create Centre Campus where they sponsored adopt-a-mile, river and trail clean-ups, hosted recycling education events, started composting stations on campus, helped eliminate all single-use plastic items on campus, and organized events for Earth Day and an e-waste recycling event!

In her career Erin learned about everything that went into flooring design and changes in sustainability over the past few years, “I was surprised by all of the science involved with what I do now. My background is in design, so coming into a sustainability role and learning about chemical components of our products has been really interesting! Something else that was very interesting was to see the shift of sustainability from just traditional measures like Waste, Water, and Energy to encompass things like Material Health and Social Justice! As a designer and creative, I love seeing how Shaw weaves sustainability into every aspect of a product story.” The material health of flooring makes sure that the chemicals in the product are safe for the consumer and the planet.  With something that is present in every building we walk into, considering the repercussions of certain chemicals on our life-long health is critical.

So, for those of us choosing flooring or any other product and trying to consider the environment and our needs, what should we be looking for? Erin says, “When I am looking at purchasing any product beyond the design and functionality, I ask myself three questions.

1. Is it made well/will it last?

2. Is it made by a responsible company?

3. Are there any chemicals of concern in this product?

Shaw checks all of those boxes for me with their product warranties, social responsibility and community outreach efforts and third-party certifications that cover Material Health (Cradle to Cradle) and Indoor Air Quality (Green Label Plus, FloorScore and GreenGuard) concerns!”

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful appreciates Shaw as their sole Sustainability sponsor for 2020. Without the support of their sponsors, the work they do throughout the year to create a clean, green, and beautiful place to live would not be possible.