It Ain't Easy Being Green (Or Is It?)

(Reprint of post from February 2011)

by Martin Lopez, ASID San Diego Eco Committee Member
Vice President of Marketing, Unique Carpets Ltd.
ASID Industry Partner

If you are not familiar with the hundreds of environmental organizations that exist as a “seal of approval,” doing their best to convince you that they’re the greenest, just know that by next year there will be at least 100 more.

Perhaps a term you should become familiar with is “greenwashing," which describes the deceptive use of green marketing to promote a misleading perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally-friendly. The term “green sheen” has similarly been used to describe organizations which attempt to show that they are adopting practices beneficial to the environment.

The practical side of anything that is truly natural and good for the environment is the simplicity of the concept. We look for it in what we eat and how we shop, and now your clients want you to do this for them in designing their homes.

According to PR Week, a nine-country survey found that 85% of consumers around the world are willing to change their consumption habits to make tomorrow’s world a better place, and over half would help a brand “promote” a product if a good cause were behind it. The study also found that, when choosing between two brands of same quality and price, social purpose affected consumers’ decision the most, ahead of design, innovation, and loyalty to brand.

Manufacturers have identified the marketability of claiming their environment-friendliness, but the pollution generated by misinformation has reached confounding proportions. If you are truly interested in the environment, then you owe it to yourself to beware of greenwashing.

When did fibers such as cotton, linen, silk, and wool become new? The journey to a better world starts with the smallest steps. If your mind goes numb trying to make sense of exactly what part of what you’re looking at is “recycled content,” then look for the simplest solutions.

Silk comes from silkworms, and while the process is labor intensive, isn’t it better to use people-power? Cotton comes from a shrubby plant that is a member of the Mallow family. We grow most of it on American soil, and its versatility and durability are common knowledge. Sounds pretty simple, don’t you think?

Linen is spun from the long fibers found just behind the bark of the flax plant. These cellulose fibers are spun for the production of linen thread, cordage, and twine, and create one of the most luxurious fibers you’ll ever touch.

Then there is wool, which comes from sheep. They grow a wool coat and once (sometimes twice) a year this wool coat is sheared off the animal by hand. The shorn wool coat is called fleece, which is then cleaned and processed into wool yarn, the benchmark of quality and beauty. It’s not expensive, just better, prettier, and the right choice for our future.

Studies show that properly maintained wool carpets actually have a beneficial effect on indoor air quality and people’s health. Here’s how: Wool carpets absorb, neutralize, and do not re-emit common pollutants such as nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde. Additionally, wool attracts and holds airborne contaminates such as dust, dust mites, and pollen until they can be harmlessly vacuumed away. A major European respiratory study (2002) of nearly 20,000 people at 30 centers in 17 countries concluded that wool carpets in bedrooms (in lieu of hard surface floors) resulted in dramatic reductions in allergic and asthmatic symptoms.

So, the next time you catch yourself falling asleep reading the labels extolling the “features and benefits” of all the synthetic choices out there, do something natural, something beautiful, something smart. Choose natural fibers, which are better for your clients, better for the world, and require a lot less reading to convince yourself they’re the right choice.

Martin Lopez, Vice President of Marketing
Unique Carpets Ltd.
7360 Jurupa Ave. Riverside, Ca. 92504
Phone: 800 547-8266 Fax: 951 352-8140
www.uniquecarpetsltd.com

How Green Is Your Green?

by Martin Lopez, ASID Eco Committee Member
Unique Carpets Ltd., ASID Industry Partner

The business reality of “the green movement” is rapidly becoming a campaign of too much information. True natural materials require little explanation. The common sense of fibers that require little processing should make practical sense to any designer or consumer. With volumes of green opinions being published monthly and new environmentally “official” certification organizations appearing out of nowhere, it is no wonder that the green forest can’t be seen for trees. Chemical companies are influencing government agencies, which results in their environmental conscience being little more than a misconstrued apology for expensive processing of polluting materials.

If you start with truly green ingredients, then you don’t have to worry about reclaiming anything. There are those who want you to believe that by reclaiming environmentally offensive materials, shipping them to a plant (by trucks that use gasoline) to factories that use energy to break them down, and then adding more chemicals to reprocess them into a less offensive version, that they can now claim them as “eco-friendly”.

Now that you’ve thought about this for a moment, let’s move onto the image of a serene pasture where sheep graze on grass, which is the only fuel used to produce one of the planet’s oldest natural fibers – wool.

For thousands of years, wool has been the fiber of choice in carpet and rug manufacturing. Aside from its heralded performance and unsurpassed aesthetics, 100% pure wool is an environmentally-sound selection in that it is completely biodegradable and, since the earth’s natural resources are not depleted in its production, it is a rapidly renewable resource. Further, wool is referred to as a ‘bio-based’ fiber since its production is fueled by another rapidly renewable resource – grass. Wool offers a “closed loop” recyclable option in design textiles.

Did you know that wool is an ideal selection for allergy-prone individuals? Wool allergies are virtually non-existent and, when used as carpeting, wool acts as a natural air purifier by actually attracting air-borne dust particles and common pollutants where they can be harmlessly vacuumed away. Tests show wool’s natural air purification process can last upwards of fifteen years. Wool does not promote the growth of dust mites or bacteria and is inherently fire safe through its natural flame-retardant qualities. Synthetic fibers have a melting point where they become fuel for a fire. Wool is a “Class 1” rated fiber, meaning that while it will produce smoke it will not become fuel for a fire. This is one reason why it is the fiber of choice for public areas.

Wool also acts as a natural air conditioner, absorbing moisture during periods of high humidity and releasing it when the air is dry. It is also easy to maintain. Spills and soil are easily removed, making wool a fiber of choice for projects like casinos and hotels for its serviceability. The density of wool fiber also gives it superior insulating properties over synthetic fibers. The double bonus comes when the high cost of heating and cooling a home is offset by the insulating attributes of a soft, bare foot-friendly layer of wool carpeting.

Finally, wool requires from one-third to one-sixth the energy to produce than comparable synthetic fibers. Wool has natural crimp and the scaled pattern of the fiber makes it easy to spin. Fabrics made from wool have greater bulk than other textiles, and provide better resilience, elasticity, and durability. ALL synthetic fibers have been developed with obsolescence in mind; this means they are designed to wear out, leaving your client no choice but to replace them.

Clients use designers to make wise decisions on their behalf that add value to their interiors. Wool carpets as a design element offer a cost-effective, long term solution to this challenge. As the cost of oil rises, so does the cost of the production and manufacturing of synthetic fibers.

Do yourself, your client, and the Earth a favor and specify wool carpets and rugs. This one small step speaks volumes to your true commitment to eco-friendly design.