Guide · For the trade
Low VOC carpet: Green Label Plus, FloorScore, CA 01350 and the labels a spec needs
Low VOC carpet is carpet that has passed a 14-day emissions chamber test to California's CDPH Standard Method, known in the trade as CA 01350; the carpet industry's label for that pass is CRI Green Label Plus and the hard-surface equivalent, also used on some carpet, is FloorScore. Either label satisfies the flooring requirement of the low-emitting materials credit in LEED v4 and the VOC restriction in WELL v2. In our catalog Masland lists Green Label Plus on most of its broadloom and Milliken on every residential style; most other mills do not publish a certificate, so confirm before you write one into a spec.
This guide is for the designer handed a LEED checklist, a WELL scorecard or a client who read about non toxic carpet: what each label means, what the rating systems actually ask for, which lines on our site carry the paperwork and the pad and adhesive, where a low-VOC spec most often fails.
Does carpet release VOCs?
Yes, briefly. The new-carpet smell is mostly 4-phenylcyclohexene, called 4-PCH, a by-product of the latex that locks the pile to the backing, with smaller amounts of other volatile organic compounds from dyes and finishes. A certified carpet emits below the limits the test sets for an office or a classroom. The adhesive and the pad can emit more than the carpet, which is why the spec covers all three.
The five labels, plainly
CRI Green Label Plus is the carpet industry's program, run by the Carpet and Rug Institute with testing by an independent laboratory. A style sits in a chamber for 14 days and is measured for individual VOCs, total VOCs, formaldehyde and 4-PCH. A pass carries a certificate number; Milliken's residential lines are GLP2860, Masland's carry numbers such as GLP2950. Companion programs cover cushion (Green Label) and adhesives.
FloorScore, from the Resilient Floor Covering Institute and administered by SCS Global Services, tests to the same method and was written for hard surfaces. Some carpet and rug makers certify through it and LEED, CHPS and WELL accept it exactly as they accept Green Label Plus.
CA 01350 is not a label. It is the test: California Department of Public Health Standard Method V1.2, a 14-day small-chamber emissions test modeled into a standard office and classroom and compared to health-based limits for each compound. If a spec says "meets CA 01350", either label above is the proof.
Declare is an ingredients label from the International Living Future Institute, built for the Living Building Challenge: what the product is made of to 100 parts per million, graded Red List Free, Red List Approved or Declared. An HPD, a Health Product Declaration, is the open-standard version, with contents to 1,000 parts per million and their hazards. Neither says anything about emissions; they answer the ingredients credits.
The labels side by side
| Label | Who runs it | What it tells you | Where it counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRI Green Label Plus | Carpet and Rug Institute | Emissions pass to CDPH Standard Method, 14 days | LEED v4 low-emitting materials, WELL v2 VOC restrictions, CHPS |
| FloorScore | RFCI and SCS Global Services | Same emissions pass, written for hard surfaces | Same as above |
| CA 01350 / CDPH V1.2 | California Department of Public Health | The test method itself, not a label | Referenced by every system above |
| Declare | International Living Future Institute | Ingredients to 100 ppm, Red List status | Living Building Challenge, LEED v4 material ingredients, WELL transparency |
| HPD | HPD Collaborative | Ingredients and hazards, usually to 1,000 ppm | LEED v4 material ingredients, WELL transparency |
What LEED and WELL actually ask for
LEED v4 and v4.1 have one credit for emissions and one for ingredients. The Low-Emitting Materials credit treats flooring as a category: every square foot of flooring inside the weather barrier has to meet the CDPH method and Green Label Plus or FloorScore is the accepted proof. Carpet adhesive is a separate category with a VOC content limit under South Coast AQMD Rule 1168. The Material Ingredients credit counts products with an HPD or a Declare label, so a carpet with an HPD helps that credit even though it says nothing about emissions. WELL v2 asks the same two questions in its Materials concept: a VOC restrictions feature that requires flooring to meet the CDPH method and a materials transparency feature that counts Declare labels and HPDs. For a residence without a rating system the practical standard is Green Label Plus carpet, Green Label cushion and a stretch-in installation.
Green label plus carpet in our catalog and the mills that do not publish
Masland publishes Green Label Plus certificate numbers on its spec sheets and 152 of the 210 Masland styles on our site list one, including most of its wool broadloom and nearly all of its EnVision nylon, alongside Class I radiant panel ratings under ASTM E648. Milliken lists Green Label Plus GLP2860 and Class I on all 282 of its residential styles with us. Bloomsburg publishes Green Label Plus on 39 woven styles. Those are the lines where the certificate is on the sheet.
The rest of our 38 mills and brands, including Stanton, Prestige Mills, Couristan, Kane, Fabrica and the European wool weavers, do not print an emissions certificate on their spec sheets. That does not mean the carpet fails; it means you cannot write "Green Label Plus" against the style. Ask us and we ask the mill for its current letter; where there is none, the spec says so and the project team decides at the sample stage, not at submittal.
Non toxic carpet: what the emissions labels do not cover
A client asking for non toxic carpet is usually asking about three things the chamber test does not measure. Stain treatments: PFAS-based treatments were standard on nylon for decades and several mills have moved to fluorine-free chemistry; ask us for the mill's current statement rather than assuming. Moth treatment on wool: most wool broadloom carries an insect-resist finish and untreated wool is available from some weavers. Backing: synthetic latex is the norm, natural latex and jute the alternative on woven goods. These are ingredient questions and a mill with neither an HPD nor a Declare label will still answer a written question from us.
Low VOC carpet, pad and adhesive: what to write in the spec
The cushion and the adhesive fail more specs than the carpet, so name all three.
- Carpet: style, fiber, construction, pile height, roll width, and "CRI Green Label Plus certificate number ___" or "meets CDPH Standard Method V1.2", certificate attached.
- Cushion: 7/16 inch 8 pound rebond under residential cut pile, 1/4 to 3/8 inch felt, rubber or 32 ounce under loop, Wilton and stairs, "CRI Green Label certified"; felt and natural rubber emit least.
- Installation: stretch-in over tackless strip, which uses no adhesive at all; if glued, an adhesive certified under Green Label Plus and under 50 grams per liter for SCAQMD Rule 1168; 72 hours of ventilation before occupancy.
- Submittals: certificates, the mill's PFAS statement if the client asked and the HPD or Declare label where one exists.
Questions designers ask
Does carpet release VOCs and for how long?
Yes, mostly 4-PCH from the latex backing. Most of the odor is gone in 48 to 72 hours with ventilation; emissions keep falling for about two weeks, the length of the chamber test and a certified carpet is below the test's limits from the start.
What does low VOC carpet cost, for a 10 by 12 room or for 1,000 square feet?
No more than the same carpet without the certificate: Green Label Plus is standard on the mainstream American mills and is not an upcharge and what moves the price is fiber, construction and face weight. Net pricing is quoted to approved trade accounts. A 10 by 12 room on a 12-foot roll is a single cut with no seam; 1,000 square feet is about 111 square yards before waste, plus 10 to 15 percent on a seam plan with a pattern repeat.
Which hard flooring has the lowest VOCs and how does carpet compare?
For luxury vinyl plank the label to look for is FloorScore, with a phthalate-free statement from the maker. A Green Label Plus carpet meets the same CDPH method, so a certified carpet and a FloorScore vinyl are held to one standard.
Is wool carpet automatically low VOC?
The fiber is, the carpet is not necessarily. Wool emits almost nothing; the latex backing, the moth treatment and any adhesive are what the test measures. Masland's wool broadloom carries Green Label Plus; most European wool weavers do not publish a certificate and we ask the mill case by case. Greenguard Gold, UL's label, is tied to the same method and LEED accepts it too.
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