A Tribute to Nature, Culture and Conscious Design
Shaw Contract has unveiled Origin of Color, a new carpet tile collection inspired by the elemental beauty and cultural significance of color throughout history. Drawing from the raw power of nature—water, air, fire, and earth—this collection tells the timeless story of color’s evolution, from primitive pigments to modern palettes, bridging the past with the present through sustainable, expressive design.
Color has always lived between darkness and light. Over 40,000 years ago, early artists began using chalk, ochre, soil, charcoal, and animal fats to form expressive visuals on cave walls. These ancient, symbolic colors—red, yellow, brown, black, and white—captured human experiences and rituals. Origin of Color reimagines this palette through three rich styles, Expression, Convey, and Symbolic, each rooted in regional pigment traditions and designed to shift moods, define space, and tell stories in a contemporary context.
Convey, available in 9×36 tiles in 10 colors, uses organic tones to evoke a calming mood. Each neutral has the ability to transform a space with calming warmth and graphic statements. Expression is a textural pattern that uses color as a tool to capture attention. The 9×36 carpet tiles in nine neutrals and 10 earthy colors can be used to create the perfect canvas for any interior. Finally, Symbolic combines line and shape to graphically represent our most abstract ideas, creating stories that have resonated from the beginning of time. Symbolic is comprised of 18×36 tiles in 10 colors.
Together, the styles offer a modular toolkit for designers to create intentional, story-rich environments, from calm wellness spaces to energetic collaborative zones. Rooted in indigenous wisdom and the rhythms of the land, the collection celebrates the power of pigment as both symbol and solution.
“Color is an ancient language, and with Origin of Color we’re inviting designers to speak it fluently once again—honoring global history while shaping spaces that feel deeply connected and unmistakably modern,” said Reesie Duncan, Shaw Contract’s VP of Global Design.
Crafted with EcoSolution Q100® fiber and EcoWorx® backing, Origin of Color is as sustainable as it is soulful. With low embodied carbon and carbon neutral certification, it aligns with Shaw Contract’s unwavering commitment to circularity and material health. Origin of Color reduces carbon footprint by over 50%, is Red List Approved for healthier indoor air quality and is fully recyclable through re[TURN]. At the end of its useful life, Shaw Contract will reclaim and recycle Origin of Color carpet tile styles to make more EcoWorx® carpet products through its Environmental Guarantee. Since 2006, Shaw has reclaimed and recycled nearly 1 billion pounds of post-consumer carpet reducing landfill waste.
Origin of Color is a call to reconnect to place, to purpose and to the pigments that shaped civilizations. Through this collection, Shaw Contract invites designers everywhere to use the language of color to build a modern path forward, one that’s textural, earthy and undeniably human.
About Shaw Contract
Shaw Contract is a commercial flooring brand within Shaw Industries Group. Shaw Contract supplies broadloom carpet, carpet tile, rugs, engineered hardwoods and resilient flooring to commercial markets worldwide. Headquartered in Cartersville, Ga., we aim to create products and solutions that positively impact people and the planet. Learn more about us and our sustainability pledge, People Together, Planet Forever, at shawcontract.com.
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