Evolution of environmentally sustainable practices: the case of the US carpet industry and CARE

This paper contributes to the literature by examining evolution of voluntary environmentally sustainable practices (ESPs) in the US carpet industry. The case illustrates the importance of an integrated and multi-stakeholder industry group – Carpet America Recovery Effort – in supporting use of ESPs throughout the industry. Equally importantly, this paper examines ESPs within the context of innovation, and offers recommendations for successful development and dissemination of ESPs at company and industry levels for carpets and other products. This paper uses the technological community perspective, a theoretical framework that examines evolution of innovations at the community level; this includes internal and external stakeholders, and is beyond the traditional focus on organisation or industry levels. This approach provides lessons on complex and dynamic interactions between and among multiple stakeholders responsible for successful development and dissemination of ESPs – and can be applied to other industries in the US and internationally.