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Rugs Products

Our thoughts on Bamboo

Several components that are beneficial to our ecosystem as well as your home environment go into the making of our area rugs. Take, for example, bamboo. Bamboo features the obvious benefit of aesthetic appeal, as it is an extremely polished and fashionable finished item. However, the environmental benefits of this hardy plant are just as compelling. Bamboo exhibits excellent durability and is stronger than most hardwoods. Durability equates to longevity and fewer materials are used that tap our natural resources. Couple this with the fact that bamboo only takes three to five year to grow into a harvestable material. This means it yields a high output in minimal time, and because harvesting does not kill the bamboo plant, the same root system can be harvested several times. Such amazing sustainable growth means using bamboo over other lumber is an effective way to combat deforestation and soil erosion.

Our thoughts on Wool

Another example of great natural fibers that go into the making of some of our rugs is natural wool. Wool that comes from such areas as New Zealand, China and India has wonderful environmental benefits as well as advantages within the home. Wool is naturally resilient and able to maintain its original appearance for much longer than other fabrics. Due to a high moisture and protein content, it is stain resistant and naturally flame retardant. This versatile fiber is non-toxic, non-allergenic, and won support bacterial growth. By locking the contaminants deep in the core of the fiber, wool carpet purifies indoor air of common contaminants like formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. These carpets continually purify indoor air for up to 30 years. Additionally, wool has the ability to absorb up to 30% of its own weight in water vapor without feeling wet, and therefore helps to control humidity. Lastly, wool is biodegradable, so expended rugs won sit indestructible in landfills year after year.

GREENCulture fully recognizes that the practice of obtaining wool can be viewed by some as an inhumane process. In our extensive investigation of fabric variations, we learned a lot about how wool is obtained in different regions of the world. It is for this reason that we will not carry any products that contain wool collected from Australia. Australian wool represents substantial affliction for sheep, millions of whom are mutilated each year by the shearing process. However, due to wools benefits as stated above, we have decided to carry wool that is collected in other, comparatively humane regions of the world. While not completely satisfied with their treatment of sheep, our decision is still true to our mission to promote a greener lifestyle. We believe we can only initiate change when manufacturers realize there is a demand for enlightened wool products and see a financial incentive in meeting this demand. Our ultimate goal is to work hand in hand with the manufacturers we use to change the process of shearing sheep in a way that is certified humane. This will only be possible with the growth of our business and consumers like you clamoring for change.

Our thoughts on Polypropylene

Polypropylene is another material used in the making of rugs sold in our online catalog. Polypropylene is highly immune to chemicals and therefore is impervious to degradation caused by sand, salt, dirt, etc. It is for this reason that the rugs are very easy to maintain, clean, and most of these rugs are ideal for indoor and outdoor use, although consult the individual page for reference on this topic. Polypropylene is highly anti-microbial and has excellent elasticity properties, so the rugs integrity is maintained for many years.

Our thoughts on Polyester

Many rugs on our site are made with a polyester fabric blend. Typically, when referring to polyester, we are referring to cloth that is woven from polyester fiber. Polyester is an extremely flammable fiber and caution should be observed when placing near open flames. Polyester is the most widely used manufactured fiber in the United States. The benefit of this fiber is that it can be manipulated to be extremely similar in aesthetics to that of wool, linen and silk. The fiber maintains its natural look even when blended with other fibers. Polyester is an extensively recycled fiber, and less pollution is created when the recycled fibers are reengineered than when new fibers are created.

Our thoughts on Jute

Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. The fibers are off-white to brown and are approximately 3–12 feet long. Very fine threads of jute can be separated out and made into imitation silk that is often used in area rugs and carpets. Jute can be grown in 4–6 months with a huge amount of cellulose being produced from the jute hurd (inner woody core of the jute stem). Jute is second only to cotton in amount produced and is used to construct a variety of items, including area rugs. Jute is a major crop that is able to protect deforestation from industrialisation. Because jute is one of the most environmentally friendly fibers, starting from the seed to expired fiber, (as the expired fibers can be recycled more than once), GREENCulture is proud to offer area rugs made with jute.

Our thoughts on Sisal

Sisal is an extremely rugged natural fiber obtained from the long, knife-shaped leaves of the agave plant. Sisal plants produce long, green leaves that grow to as much as six feet in length and six inches wide, and weigh up to two pounds each. Fibers are extracted from these leaves by crushing and scraping away the green pulp, leaving the fibers behind. One of the most important agricultural products of the worlds tropical regions is sisal fiber. Sisals enormous versatility enables our vendors to produce a range of woven floor covering designs, bold yarn textures and a wide selection of colors. Because of the inherent qualities of this tough, hard-wearing fiber, GREENCulture is happy to offer rugs made from this naturally sound absorbing, anti-static, and extremely durable fiber.

At GREENCulture, we strive for a 100% planet friendly product mix. Manufacturers, however, many times make wonderful products which do not meet the stricter portions of our criteria. Manufacturers always LISTEN when we ask them to modify their products to be more in line with our environmental and enlightened products mission. However, manufacturers CHANGE their manufacturer processes and materials only when we show to them that we can send them a large volume of business. They know that we are a small and growing company committed to making great changes but the volume of business we direct to them does not justify modifying their manufacturing processes to achieve our strict goals. We know that with the help and support of our customers, we will continue grow, and as we do so well work with our manufacturers to modify their manufacturing processes to get closer to meeting our strict criteria.