SUSTAINABILITY & RECYCLING Shear Brilliance Martin Curtis, Chairman of the Wool Carpet Focus Group (WCFG), explains why


flooring retailers should be promoting wool carpets, as consumers seek to make more sustainable choices.


Naturally, wool is a sustainable choice. As a carpet retailer, you have the backing of scientific fact, not fiction, when you tell your customers that wool is the sustainable fibre for the future.


In a world that is changing more rapidly than at any time since the industrial revolution, we are at the crossroads. The public are more environmentally aware than ever. The problems around the world with plastic products are seemingly insurmountable - or are they?


Choices are being made every day by consumers, whether it’s choosing to buy a bag at the checkout or provide their own; opting for natural fibre garments over plastic-based ones; or deciding to buy an electric car.


When a customer goes into a carpet retailer looking for a wool carpet, they may instead be directed towards a plastic one (polypropylene, nylon, polyester or similar) with the hugely controversial claim that they are bleach-cleanable. Now is the time to direct those customers to the wool ranges that tick so many boxes-it will be the most rewarding sale you can make.


Wool itself is a by-product of the meat industry. Fleeces are grown to protect the sheep and are shorn each year, ridding the sheep of its winter coat. When the sheep are shorn, they head for the hills and eat the fresh spring grass. This keeps them healthy, more fertile, better able to withstand the weather and produce more lambs. It is a natural cycle, keeping the hills and pastures alive and fertilised. As long as there is grass to graze on, wool will always be available.


The Wool Carpet Focus Group (WCFG) was formed with the sole mission of promoting wool as a carpet fibre. It works in partnership with many organisations, and has a particularly close relationship with the Campaign for Wool (CFW). Patronised by HRH The Prince of Wales, CFW promotes wool throughout the broader wool world, covering all wool products from all origins. The WCFG works closely with the CFW to promote wool carpets and rugs as a special interest group.


Once again, The Campaign for Wool will be supporting wool carpet manufacturers at the Harrogate Flooring Show in September and will feature many wool carpet manufacturers who are all armed with details about the benefits of buying a wool carpet.


Sustainability is just one of the many benefits of buying a wool carpet, as opposed to a plastic one. This is where we turn to our ‘Woolabilities’ to demonstrate the many benefits of wool.


Wool carpets have ‘Cleanability’ and look better after cleaning than synthetics. The protective waxy coating on wool fibres makes wool products resistant to staining and they also pick up less dust as wool is naturally anti-static.


The structure of wool fibre makes it tough and naturally elastic, enabling it to stretch and compress before bouncing


22 | Tomorrow’s Retail Floors


back to its original shape. Here at WCFG, we refer to this as ‘Bouncebackability’.


Naturally resistant to fire, wool also has ‘Unflammability’. So, as well as looking great and lasting for a long time, it is also very safe.


It also has ‘Breathability’ as wool fibres are crimped and, when tightly packed together, form millions of tiny pockets of air. This unique structure allows it to absorb and release moisture and trap harmful toxins.


And last but not least, particularly in the argument of sustainability, wool has ‘Biodegradability’. At the end of its useful life, wool can be returned to the soil, where it decomposes, releasing valuable nutrients into the ground. When a natural wool fibre is disposed of in soil, it takes a very short time to break down, whereas most synthetics are extremely slow to degrade.


Please ask your carpet suppliers for information about why wool is the best fibre for the home, the family and the planet and also ask for the new point-of-sale material that is available now. It really is a win-win situation and I am confident that there is a Golden Fleece in every wool carpet you sell!


For more information, please contact me at WCFG@gmail.com and take a peek at our website:


www.woolcarpetsnaturally.org www.tomorrowsretailfloors.com


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