By
Alex Smith |
Sustainability has long been a priority for carpet manufacturer Ege Carpets. The company’s facilities in Denmark are surrounded by biodiversity projects the company has undertaken, the most recent of which was to create space for a herd of wild horses.
Ege Carpets adopted the same sustainability mindset when developing a new set of products that rethink the normal standards of carpet construction.
“The trade standard when it comes to carpets has been 80/20 – that is carpets made from 80 per cent wool and 20 per cent nylon,” says René Dupont, senior director of Ege Carpets. “This poses a big sustainability challenge, as you cannot separate the 20 per cent nylon from the yarn for recycling with today’s technology. So, we have been working hard to come up with a product that can be separated at the end of its life cycle, with natural fibres that can be composted and a felt backing that can be recycled.”
The result of these efforts is Pure Wool. Made solely with long-fibre wool, Pure Wool performs to the same standards as an 80/20 carpet but can also be recycled. It will be available in three concepts, each of which will offer a different style. The Colortec Pure Wool comes either as pre-dyed yarn, featuring all the relevant colours before the loom is set up for production or totally undyed with only the natural colours from the sheep’s wool showing in the final product.
Pure Wool is also offered in a dye-injected version. This is produced by shooting the dye through a completed white carpet, giving a different level of flexibility for designers.
“It’s all 100 per cent wool, which also means that you can mix and match,” says Dupont. “A client could ask for the background of a carpet to feature natural colours of our undyed wool, while the design or effects could be pre-dyed. We also offer different weight brackets and widths, allowing for carpets that can be used in any location around a ship with minimal waste. It’s a matter of keeping the design flexibility at an optimum.”
While 80/20 carpets remain an option for designers, Dupont suggests that they should consider the environmental impact of the products they choose, especially when alternatives such as Pure Wool can perform to the same standards.
“We produce both 80/20 and Pure Wool products,” says Dupont. “But why not take sustainability into consideration and choose a product where you don’t have to make any compromises on flexibility or technical requirements and have less impact on the environment?” We ourselves are continuing to focus on improving the sustainability of Pure Wool by developing the necessary technology for separation at our end.”
This article was first published in the 2023 issue of Cruise & Ferry Interiors. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed. Subscribe to Cruise & Ferry Interiors for FREE here to get the next issue delivered directly to your inbox or your door.