May 29, 2026
METROPOLIS’s Sustainability Lab Returns to NeoCon
ON THE 11TH FLOOR OF THE MART, METROPOLIS’s Sustainability Lab returns to NeoCon for its sixth year with engaging programs, interactive activations, and hands-on exhibits exploring the future of sustainable design.
This year’s Lab embraces the theme “Good is Fun,” celebrating the idea that creativity, imagination, playfulness, and self-expression are essential to planet-positive design. The Lab invites the A&D community to discover new ways to make a meaningful impact on both people and the planet through healthy, sustainable, and innovative design solutions.
The 2026 Sustainability Lab will feature more than 20 sustainable materials and products ready to be specified across a wide range of project types and scales. A special exhibit developed by METROPOLIS editors will spotlight cutting-edge biobased products and innovative nature-derived material solutions for interiors.
Additional exhibits and activations from Carnegie, Ekoa by Lingrove, Garden on the Wall, Model No., and Real American Hardwood will showcase thoughtful approaches to materiality, wellness, and sustainability. The Lab will also feature an exhibit of METROPOLIS Planet Positive Award–winning projects, highlighting excellence in sustainable, healthy, and equitable design across the built environment.
From inspiring installations to forward-thinking material innovations, this year’s Sustainability Lab offers fresh ideas and practical solutions for creating spaces that support people and the planet.
Garden on the Wall
Garden on the Wall® brings nature indoors through preserved gardens, moss walls, and biophilic installations that connect people to the natural world. Crafted from all-natural moss and foliage, these plant systems deliver vibrant greenery with zero maintenance and a life expectancy of 10 to 12 years, extendable to 20-plus years through a rejuvenation program. Through the Re-leaf take-back program, installations are returned at end of life for responsible reuse or recycling.
Duvaltex
Duvaltex’s Nest and Cocoon are biodegradable textiles engineered for high-performance commercial interiors. Designed to meet rigorous specification standards, they deliver durability without compromising softness, bringing refined tactility and residential warmth to responsible, design-driven spaces. They feature a soft hand and rich texture, creating calming, comfort-driven environments inspired by residential design, and they are biodegradable at end of life.
Model No.
Onda gives designers the freedom to shape space without compromise and the freedom to change it. Modular pieces combine to form custom architecture, 3D printed from plant-based resins and designed for full disassembly. Made in Columbus, Ohio, each piece is produced when it’s needed, where it’s needed, with no idle inventory in between. Zero molds and near-zero waste define the process—every curve is 3D printed, not tooled.
Mannington Commercial
At Mannington Commercial, transparency starts at the source. Ninety-eight percent of the company’s products are manufactured in the U.S., grounding its sustainability efforts through supply chain transparency, material control, and reduced environmental impact, while giving it greater control over formulation, materials, and manufacturing practices. The manufacturer’s domestic manufacturing, 100 percent ingredient disclosure at 100 PPM, and responsible material choices across carpet, LVT, and rubber allow designers to specify with confidence.
Parador
Taterra is Parador’s next-generation resilient flooring within the company’s Eco-Flooring category, developed under Parador ONE. PVC- and plasticizer-free, it delivers commercial-grade performance through electron-beam hardened polypropylene without requiring a separate wear layer. Available in click and glue-down formats, including Herringbone and Wide Plank, Taterra combines natural wood aesthetics with responsible engineering.
Milliken
HybridFORM is built on a 100 percent polyester, single polymer system, enabling genuine end-of-life recycling. It delivers the cleanability of LVT with the acoustic comfort and design aesthetic of carpet. It is 100 percent recyclable, returning to its original use case with no downcycling. It also delivers proven impact, with 50 percent total recycled content—the equivalent of 32 plastic bottles per piece.
Material Bank
Material Bank consolidates project samples into a single shipment, streamlining the material sourcing workflow while reducing packaging, emissions, and delivery volume. On average, this saves 2.3 shipments per project sample order. Samples arrive in one returnable, carbon-neutral box.
Turf
Informed by intensive trend research and forecasting, Turf’s extended palette is designed to last. Ten new exclusive tones—from bold hues to warm neutrals—expand the company’s offering to 42 future-proof colors. Crafted from 60 percent preconsumer recycled PET felt, this palette reduces the need for replacement—minimizing waste while maximizing visual impact.
Camira
Camira designs and manufactures contract textiles that push the boundaries of sustainable innovation—from plant-based fibers blended with wool to postconsumer recycled polyester, including SEAQUAL marine plastic and textile-to-textile fabrics made from waste yarn and garments. The company’s offering includes ReSKU 2.0, a multi-award-winning textile born from Camira’s advanced recycling technology, iinouiio®, and Main Line Flax, a pioneering blend of harvested flax and renewable wool.
Tate
Tate’s raised-access floors provide a flexible, adaptable, and resilient approach to design, creating healthier, more sustainable, and regenerative spaces. The system improves air quality through underfloor air distribution (UFAD), which can significantly reduce energy-use intensity (EUI). Its inherent adaptability also delivers strong long-term lifecycle cost benefits. Lower embodied carbon product offerings support full lifecycle carbon reduction, while circularity is enhanced through an established take-back program that enables materials to be recovered, reused, and kept in circulation longer.
Behr Paint Company
Behr Paint Company is proud to lead the way in sustainability by signing the mindful MATERIALS Manufacturers Materials Commitment, reinforcing its dedication to eco-friendly building solutions. The majority of BEHR® & KILZ® Architectural Coatings are GREENGUARD® Gold certified, and many participate in the Declare® program and are LBC Red List Free, meeting rigorous standards for material transparency and environmental health.
Unika Vaev
The Pelle Collection reimagines fine Italian leather as a refined acoustic solution. With all components sourced and manufactured within Italy and the EU, Pelle reduces transportation emissions while celebrating generational craftsmanship and material integrity. Vegetable-based dyes and closed-loop water systems support environmentally responsible tanning processes aligned with strict EU regulations, while the panels’ 100 percent PET felt backing (60 percent recycled) supports waste diversion and high acoustic performance.
Pallas
At Pallas, sustainability is woven into design decisions—from how materials are sourced to how they perform, evolve, and renew. Through ongoing collaboration with leading material partners, the company is expanding what performance textiles can do. The company’s integration of modern material innovations—Hyphyn™, NetZERO® Bio, Aire® Bio, and Tekloom® Bio—brings biodegradable options, bio-attributed chemistry, solvent-free processes, and biodegradable materials without compromising performance.
Carnegie
Biobased Xorel is the world’s first high-performance textile made from rapidly renewable sugarcane, with up to 91 percent plant-based content. It reduces reliance on fossil fuels and captures more CO2 during growth than is emitted during raw material production—without compromising durability. lt is the first and only textile to achieve both Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold and Living Product Challenge certification—setting a new standard for sustainable, high-performance materials.
Excel Dryer
The D|13 Integrated Sink System featuring the XLERATORsync® Hand Dryer reimagines commercial restrooms with a hygienic, sustainable, and cost-effective approach to handwashing. The integrated system reduces carbon footprint by up to 81 percent compared with paper towel systems, even those using 100 percent recycled paper. Enabling touchless washing and drying at a single station, the system reduces cross-contamination risks, containing water splashes, and improving compliance with effective hand hygiene practices.
Real American Hardwood
American hardwood is a sustainable, durable, and healthy choice. In the U.S., hardwood is harvested from sustainably managed forests, fostering biodiversity and sequestering carbon. When used in furniture, millwork, flooring, paneling, architectural elements, or outdoor spaces, hardwood elements provide biophilic benefits—reducing stress and boosting focus. They also lock in 50 percent of the carbon stored in a tree, and their manufacturing uses significantly less energy than steel, concrete, or plastics.
Bentley
Manufactured in the world’s first LEED®-EB Gold manufacturing facility, every carpet Bentley Mills crafts is Red List Free, PVC-free, PFAS-free, and antimicrobial-free. Bentley replaces traditional fossil-based binders with ECO-CC carbon-capture innovation, embedding approximately 750,000 pounds of captured CO2 annually into its carpet tile manufacturing. Additionally, every square yard of Bentley LuxFelt™ Cushion Tile repurposes approximately 59 recycled plastic bottles.
Room & Board for Business
As a Certified B Corp™, Room & Board has doing good in its DNA. In 2025, the company attained the level of 100 percent sustainably sourced wood from North American forests and certified sources. The company is uniquely positioned to reclaim elm nationwide and through its Urban Wood Project, it also diverted the equivalent of 365 trees from the waste stream. Its popular Hensley storage collection is now available in reclaimed elm, giving this iconic American wood a second life as timeless furniture.
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