HiP Awards > People > HiP Manufacturer for Greater Good

Photography by Shaw Industries.

Kellie Ballew is Chief Sustainability & Innovation Officer at Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (parent company of Shaw Contract and Patcraft). With a BS in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech, Kellie started her 25+ year career at Shaw as a process engineer and quickly developed knowledge around product chemistry. She was part of a small team that developed and launched Shaw’s PVC-free EcoWorx carpet tile in 1999, the first flooring product to be Cradle to Cradle® certified. The challenge then was to create a product that merged healthy materials (or green chemistry) with circularity while offering durability at a competitive price point. Launched as an optional backing, EcoWorx revolutionized carpet tile and quickly became the standard carpet tile backing for both Shaw Contract and Patcraft. To transform resilient flooring, Kellie asked a similar question as the market shifted and Shaw began to sell more commercial resilient products. How do we take a traditional PVC product and merge healthy materials and circularity to create a high-performing resilient solution that is durable, affordable and recyclable? Kellie led the development and launch of EcoWorx Resilient, Shaw’s fully recyclable PVC-free resilient product. Offered by Shaw Contract and Patcraft, it will debut at NeoCon 2024. EcoWorx Resilient products not only include post-consumer recycled content, they can be recycled into new EcoWorx products. Additionally, the carbon footprint of EcoWorx Resilient products is about 40% less than that of traditional LVT products. Shaw is offsetting the remainder of the product’s footprint to make it carbon neutral. Kellie has been recognized locally and nationally, including being named a Manufacturing Institute STEP Ahead award winner. Kellie is a 2021 graduate of IGEL (Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership) and a member of the organization’s board of directors. She is also a co-chair of the International WELL Building Institute’s WELL for Homes Advisory.