DON’T BE SHEEPISH ABOUT WOOL
Chairman of the Wool Carpet Focus Group (WCFG), Martin Curtis, outlines the qualities and benefits of wool for use in carpets and rugs to help decide if a wool carpet is the best option for your commercial space.
As Chairman of the recently formed Wool Carpet Focus Group (WCFG), I may be a little biased throughout this piece but I’m sure you will find some of these arguments for wool just as compelling as I do!
Our aim is to help the sale of wool carpets and rugs- a simple aim, but one which has brought to light many scientific facts and old wives tales which turn out to be true. Within our Group, we decided to highlight the most important reasons why wool carpets are simply the best #naturally! We decided to name these woolly benefits as “Abilities” and they are equally as relevant to the commercial environment as they are in the domestic one.
Let me explain...
“BOUNCEBACKABILITY” This describes perfectly the way wool carpets are able to resist flattening, wear and also, very significantly, improve appearance-retention. This factor alone makes wool carpets a good investment because no one wants to live with a shabby looking floorcovering. Hotels, casinos and restaurants appreciate these benefits along with wool’s natural soundproofing attributes. In the commercial sector, every penny spent has to be justified and selecting quality wool carpets makes it a great long-term investment.
“CLEANABILITY” The cleaning process of wool is a hugely important consideration in the commercial sector. The catchy but totally unreasonable claims made by some synthetic fibre carpets are easily trumped by wool’s natural ability to resist soiling in the first place but, equally as important, it is said that wool carpets clean easily and look better after cleaning than any other type! I could not believe the way in
36 | NATURAL MATERIALS
black poisonous smoke when it burns. Wool needs more oxygen than exists in the atmosphere in order to sustain a flame so a dropped cigarette or match tends to singe but extinguish itself.
which wool carpet was able to reject a glass of red wine poured over it, and then subsequently dabbed up with a simple cloth and spray. No poisonous chemicals needed!
“UNFLAMMABILITY” Did you know that inflammable means it is easy to set on fire just as flammable does? This is why we are making wool’s natural fire retardant ability “Unflammability” from now on. A wool carpet doesn’t melt and give off
“BREATHABILITY” Wool carpets naturally filter the air, absorbing many organic compounds from the atmosphere and binding them permanently to the fibre and away from the air we breathe. This is highly important as, in today's modern world, the problems associated with living in a plastic environment are not good for you.
“SUSTAINABILITY” Wool used in the carpet industry generally comes from sheep raised for their meat rather than their wool. In my opinion, all the environmental costs of raising a sheep are born by that sector whilst still realising that sheep, the original free range animals, keep the countryside in shape, provide a multitude of by-products and need very little attention.
Only after the wool is shorn from the sheep should its environmental impact start; the Life Cycle Analysis of wool is actually very healthy! Sheep are shorn in the UK generally once a year and after shearing they run back into the countryside, eat the fresh spring and summer grass and grow a new fleece ahead of the winter months which keeps them safe and protected from the elements. That makes wool carpets “green” and an added bonus for any commercial installation where the environment is always a consideration.
Our claims are backed by science via Dr Mike Madden, of environmental consultants ENco Ltd, and also by Steve Bakker of the Woolsafe Organisation.
Woolcarpetsnaturally.org www.tomorrowscontractfloors.com
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