WHY WE THINK WOOL IS BEST
Since Creative Matters opened its doors 35 years ago, the vast majority of our floor coverings have been made from wool. This includes our custom projects for hotels, offices, retail spaces and homes, and our 14 rug collections. We sat down with Carol Sebert, Managing Partner and Founder of the firm, to discuss the reasons for this decision both historically and moving forward.
Carol Sebert, Managing Partner and Founder of Creative Matters.
In recognition of her extensive experience with wool in floor coverings, Carol took up a leadership position on the world stage in 2022 when she was invited to be chairperson of the Wool Interiors Working Group for the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO). Forty-one countries are represented in this Working Group including: Norway, New Zealand, Germany and Pakistan. “Initially we carried out an international survey that determined – among other things – that the majority of end users buying floor coverings are misinformed about the advantages of wool compared to nylon,” said Carol. “As a result, the Wool Interiors Working Group is now working closely with the IWTO Sustainability Group to educate people about the true realities of wool. In a short space of time I’ve learned so much about our favourite fibre.”
The Oasis rug from the Macrame Collection is handwoven in 100% wool.
At Creative Matters we originally chose wool for our floor coverings because historically wool had been successful for rugs for hundreds if not thousands, of years. Our clients appreciated it for a myriad of reasons: sheer beauty and depth of colour, softness underfoot, sound absorption, hypoallergenic, flame resistant, water repellent, stain resistant and the ease with which it can be cleaned. Whenever a client requested nylon we provided it of course (and will continue to do so) but we did begin to notice that wool maintained its beauty really successfully. Recently we have had clients who have shown us their wool rugs after 20 years, still in use and looking perfectly new.
A 100% wool rug that still graces this family dining room 18 years later.
“In my quest to understand the sustainability of wool, I have realized that ‘regenerative’ may be a better description for the remarkable characteristics of wool,” said Carol. “Sheep are part of the natural carbon cycle, consuming the organic carbon stored in plants and converting it to wool. It is emissions from fossilised carbon that lie at the heart of the global warming crisis. Sheep do emit some greenhouse gases. Therefore, farmers can impact the natural carbon cycle by influencing the amount of carbon stored in plants and soil, and through the way that they manage animals.”
Sheep after their woolly winter coats have been shorn.
In this age of climate crisis, it is natural that our clients want to understand how wool affects the world around us and to make informed choices accordingly so we encourage you to review the facts at https://iwto.org/sustainability
For many years Creative Matters has worked with woven Axminster that was 80% wool and 20% nylon because of a concept in the industry that the nylon added durability. We are currently doing durability tests on samples of both 80/20 wool/nylon and 100% wool to investigate this. We look forward to sharing the results with our clients.
Sustainability is a complex issue but one that is important to us and our clients. We are convinced that wool is a sustainability winner. Currently we are working on sustainability initiatives in a number of areas such as water, packaging, shipping and recycling. We will continue to keep you informed as the way forward becomes clear.