(Justmeans.com / CSR News) - CALHOUN, GA—May 31, 2008—This year, Wal-Mart created a new vendor award for sustainability. And its first recipient is Mohawk Industries. The Mohawk Home division was given the prestigious new award at the Wal-Mart Annual Vendor Summit in Bentonville, AR. Wal-Mart has become a leading corporate advocate for environmental protection and reduction of wasteful practices. Historically, Wal-Mart has required three attributes of its suppliers: Innovation, Low-Cost, and Execution. Beginning in 2007, Wal-Mart added Sustainability to this list of requirements.

"This award speaks to the efforts we have made across Mohawk Industries divisions to reduce waste, improve environmental stewardship, and encourage recycling and other positive environmental practices," said Bill Kilbride, President of Mohawk Home. "We're very honored, and we understand that our challenge is to continue our Mohawk Greenworks programs to benefit our retailers, our consumers, and our employees.

Mohawk Home was singled out for the award based on criteria including Energy Usage Management, Waste Reduction, and Usage of Sustainable Materials. Mohawk Home was recognized for its reduction in water usage in dying processes; its Wal-Mart and Calhoun, GA public school bottle recycling program; manufacturing waste management programs; its crumb rubber recycled tire mat products; and its associate awareness campaigns for Greenworks citizenship.

Mohawk's own ongoing environmental effort, Mohawk Greenworks, is an umbrella program that places all green projects under a single platform for management and information. Mohawk Greenworks communicates the effort that goes into the company's scores of environmental practices. Mohawk Greenworks covers the spectrum of environmental practices—the "5 Rs" —recycle, renew, reuse, recover, and reduce.

Mohawk's environmental efforts have been cited by government agencies as a model for other industries to follow. Mohawk is the largest recycler in the flooring industry. It currently diverts more than three billion pounds of pre- and post-consumer waste from landfills every year. More than 500 Mohawk products—carpet, carpet tiles, cushion, laminates, and ceramic tile—contain recycled materials. These materials come from manufacturing, discarded tires, roofing, soft drink bottles, and various other sources.

Mohawk (NYSE: MHK) is a leading supplier of flooring for both residential and commercial applications. Mohawk offers a complete selection of broadloom carpet, ceramic tile, wood, stone, laminate, vinyl, rugs and other home products. These products are marketed under the premier brands in the industry, which include Mohawk, Karastan, Ralph Lauren, Lees, Bigelow, Dal-Tile and American Olean. Mohawk's unique merchandising and marketing assist our customers in creating the consumers' dream. Mohawk provides a premium level of service with its own trucking fleet and over 250 local distribution locations.