All carpets off-gas. Not only that, all man-made products impact indoor air quality (IAQ). But, the Carpet and Rug Institute has a testing program more stringent than what the EPA uses to test a carpet's impact on IAQ. It tests different manufacturers' carpets quarterly for TVOC (total volatile organic compounds) that affect air quality. Of all of the things in a home (carpet, paint, wall covering, etc.), carpet is one of the lowest emitters of VOc's. For more information about this testing procedure, you can visit the CRI website at www.carpet-rug.org.

As for the Mohawk SmartStrand carpet. Polyester is not a natural fiber. It is a man-made fiber that is inherently stain resistant. The SmartStrand fiber is not "naturally" stain resistant. It is processed to have stain resistance built in.

I just received this carpet (Mohawk SmartStrand) and I wanted to post for future readers that it has a very bad off-gassing odor. We just had it installed today. We purchased it as it claims to be a greener carpet, but the off-gassing is just as bad as conventional. I'm trying to get more info on what exactly is off-gassing and will post if I get a clear answer. In the meantime, buyer beware!

Offgassing of carpet comes from the adhesive used to bind the carpet fibers to the backing. It does not matter if the carpet fiber is more "natural" if the same old manufacturing processes are used to create the product.