Milliken’s newly launched Whale Song collection illustrates the melodic beauty and complexity of the sea’s oldest composers. Capturing the behemoth mammals’ musical spectrum, these complex ballads aim to guide and connect us to another world of communication in the depths of the ocean.

“Whale Song reminds us that each environment, whether outdoors or inside, tells a story. We steward these environments by selecting clean materials to create interiors and manufacturing products responsibly to protect the natural world, dovetailing these harmonious concepts to create cohesive spaces,” said Stacy Walker, director of customer experience for the Milliken floor covering division.   

The highly textured, loop and tip shear designs of Whale Song interpret sound patterns created by whale communications and celebrate the environment in which their songs are sung. Stretched and elongated or pixelated to convey greater definition, each of the collection’s four standard patterns – Orca, Narwhal, Humpback and Beluga - offers its own perspective to the floor.

Environmentally minded floor covering

Whale Song is inspired by the life and habitat of the very oceans from which nylon waste is reclaimed to create ECONYL yarns.

Made completely from various nylon waste materials – such as abandoned fishing nets – ECONYL nylon yarns breathe new life into old products that would otherwise pollute the world’s oceans and landfills, the company reports. Moreover, Milliken manufactures the collection using 52% renewable energy and sends zero process waste to landfill.

Whale Song’s environmentally conscious construction and manufacturing are not only mindful of its impact on the outdoors, but also the indoor environments it creates. Whale Song is PVC free to help form interior spaces with healthy materials that promote well-being. It also carries an Environmental Product Declaration and Declare Living Building Challenge Compliant transparency label, allowing the collection to contribute to LEED, The Living Building Challenge and other green building certifications. 

Whale Song collection

Reflective of the sound wave patterns created by whales when communicating, Orca creates a uniquely stimulating yet sophisticated carpet with dense movement that is at once angular and organic, the company reports.

Narwhal explores the motion of sound, which moves four times faster through water than through air, traveling through the ocean’s expanse. The resulting design is a flowing diagonal that is said to soften movement on the floor.

Humpback captures the underwater landscape, which is as diverse as that on land. A mixture of pattern scales ebb and flow while balancing positive and negative areas. Imagining the effect of sound dissipating through water, Beluga creates a modern solid for the floor. Its textural gradation softens interiors with purposeful, yet quiet movement.

www.millikenfloors.com