Abstract: A method for making tufted carpet, as well as the tufted carpet made by this method, are provided. Pile yarn fibers are tufted into a tufting backing, which is composed of a primary backing, a secondary backing, and an elastomer sandwiched between the primary and secondary backings. In another embodiment, the tufting backing comprises a primary backing and an elastomer applied to the primary backing, but does not include a secondary backing. In a preferred embodiment, the elastomer is applied to the primary backing in a non-contiguous form whereby voids are provided within the arrangement for the tufting backing to be tufted without the primary backing fibers being immobilized. After the pile yarn fibers are tufted into the tufting backing, the elastomer is heated such that it softens, allowing the elastomer to flow in and around the pile yarn fibers. The elastomer may then be cooled, thereby hardening the elastomer and bonding the pile yarn fibers to the primary backing.