There are many health benefits of including wool fibres within our living environments. As well as being warm and comfortable, wool carpets effectively trap dust and allergens preventing them from irritating the respiratory system by keeping them out of the breathing zone.
Especially beneficial for allergy sufferers, wool fibres are too large to be inhaled so are unlikely to cause sneezing and other unpleasant allergic reactions.
Wairere Kiwitahi wool carpet
Childhood Asthma increased by 300% when carpets were removed from Swedish homes and schools.
Previously, there was considerable debate in Sweden, with claims that carpet was the source of harmful contaminants that were resulting in allergic reactions. As a result, Swedish consumers and public building officials severely reduced their use of carpet. However, in 1996, Professors Shishoo and Börjesson, of the Swedish Institute for Fibre Polymer Research, pointed out that while carpet had dropped from a market share of 40% in the mid-1970s to only 2% in 1992, the occurrence of allergic reactions and other environmental sensitivity in the general Swedish population had been steadily increasing. Of note, since carpet was not recommended for schools, was the fact that the prevalence of childhood asthma had trebled over the same period.
Polluted indoor air can lead to discomfort, reduced efficiency and even ill health amongst employees and residents. Wool carpet has been shown to rapidly neutralise formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, common contaminants in today’s indoor environment.
Not only does wool neutralise these contaminants more quickly and completely than synthetic carpet fibres, it does not re-emit them, even when heated.
Wool carpet may continue purifying the air for up to 30 years.
Wool is an excellent sound absorber and can reduce noise by up to 55%, creating a more relaxing environment.
Due to the millions of wool fibres in textiles such as carpets, curtains and cushions, wool is one of the most effective materials for controlling noise indoors. The complex make-up enables it to absorb sounds over a wide range of frequencies making it a popular material in shared spaces such as offices, libraries, hotels, and homes.
It takes skill and great wool to make an awesome carpet. It all starts on our farms where most of the hard work is done by our sheep. It takes most a year for a sheep to produce a fleece. Sheep convert grass into wool as part of a natural carbon cycle, we humans borrow the wool during its life as a carpet.
This little video shows how we get from lush green grass to a carpet for your home.
Growing Wools of New Zealand fibre is actually reducing greenhouse gas, which is kind of cool.
Our wool is great for the environment. Wool is a rapidly renewable and 100% biodegradable material.
Recent studies show it also helps to keep the planet cool.
Wool is made by sheep. Sheep eat grass (which traps C02) and turn it into wool, which contains 51% carbon, and then there are the trees...
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