Creating comfortable and liveable spaces in your home is a top priority, and one thing that really ties the room together (if you will) is a rug or carpet. Having carpet or floor rugs in your home help to regulate the temperature, plus they feel great underfoot. And if you’ve got kids around, it makes sitting, playing and lying around on the floor a whole lot lovelier.
But a lot of rugs and carpet are made from low quality synthetic materials, resulting in rips, signs of wear, and stains and smells that never go away. Natural fibres offer an alternative that wears well and stands the test of time. They’re also soft underfoot and light on the environment.
From certified organic cotton to quality wool – check out these Australian and New Zealand brands making ethical and sustainable rugs and carpet.
1. Oh Happy Home
Oh Happy Home makes fair trade and sustainable textile products for your home. The brand’s exclusive designs are made in small batches in order to keep its weavers in work all year around and bring in new designs regularly. Its rug collection includes flatweaves, kilims and contemporary, textured rugs. Oh Happy Home is a partner of GoodWeave, ensuring the production is free from child or forced labour.
2. Upcycle Studio
Upcycle studio takes pre-loved materials such as denim, jute, hemp and sari silk to create its range of upcycled or all natural rugs. The brand’s rug collection is all hand loomed and made in collaboration with weaver artisans in India. Upcycle Studio is a proud partner of GoodWeave, providing assurance that its rugs are made by adult artisans and free from child or forced labour.
3. Bremworth
New Zealand-based carpet king Bremworth is a sustainability pioneer in the soft furnishing space, opting for locally grown and high quality wool for its products. The brand uses premium NZ wool for its carpets to help reduce its environmental footprint and provide a natural product that wears well over time. Other benefits of quality wool carpet include odour resistance, natural insulation and being hypo allergenic. Bremworth’s carpet and rug collection is all ethically made in New Zealand. Read more about the brand’s sustainability journey here.
4. Blessed Earth
Blessed Earth opts for organic cotton and wool fibres for the brand’s natural carpet and rug collections. The brand says it works with Organic Weave to produce the world’s first organic and individually hand-loomed broadloom carpets. As well as its natural fibre carpet collection, Blessed Earth stocks a small collection of minimal, Persian and classic rugs for the home.
5. Rugs for Good
Rugs for Good is a social enterprise with a mission to help break the cycle of poverty through educating the children of India. The brand produces a wide range of quality and stylish rugs across many categories – from Moroccan to minimal, modern to natural. Shop by wool or natural to avoid synthetics. Rugs for Good donates its profits to Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project – a NFP organisation that empowers children from India’s lowest socio-economic class to break the cycle of generational poverty through education, leadership and compassion.
6. Weaver Green
From waterproof tote bags to washable rugs, Weaver Green produces a range of handwoven textiles that look and feel just like wool, cotton and linen, yet are easy to clean and can be used inside and outdoors. All of the brand’s products are made entirely from recycled plastic bottles and in the past three years they’ve recycled over 100 million of them. Weaver Green’s textiles are hand loomed by artisans throughout Europe, Scandinavia and Asia to make quality, practical products. The brand says its international suppliers are independently inspected to ensure the safe and fair working conditions of its craftsmen and women.
7. Olli Ella
Olli Ella brings comfort and style to your home with its range of nature fibre rugs. Crafted from jute and 100% New Zealand wool, Olli Ella’s rugs are made with your home and family in mind; playful yet sophisticated, durable yet soft, and always timeless in design. An Olli Ella rug will stand the test of time and be a favourite for years to come. Olli Ella is certified B-Corp. The brand works with manufacturing partners in India, Vietnam, China and France and has detailed information about each of its partners on its website.
