British wool is one of the hardiest wool fleeces in the world due to our harsh climate. A British wool carpet will bounce back quickly and keep its shape for longer than any other carpet. Wool has inherent spring and resilience, which means it recovers quickly from pressure, an ideal choice for busy areas in your home. Wool fibre is naturally fire resistant, which means wool carpets are a safe choice for the family home. A natural product, wool is a great insulator, absorbs noise and has excellent eco credentials. Over the last 5-10 years the man-made carpet has dominated the carpet market. More affordable and an improved yarn structure than ever before combined with the increased price of wool fleece, making wool carpets less affordable has meant man-made carpets have been a major part of our business in the last decade. Consumer habits have changed from the 80's & 90's. Wool carpets were certainly more affordable back then and man-made carpets were synonymous with low quality. If looked after they tended to last at least ten years. We still uplift axminster carpets which have been down 30 years! During the 2000's and 2010's consumers didn't want their carpets to last longer than 10 years, you could be forgiven for saying we've become a throw away society. The price of wool carpets increased dramatically and the carpet industry had to do something about that. The manufacturers developed better polypropylene, man-made yarns to make carpets more affordable. The environment has moved forward to the fore-front of peoples minds over the last few years. Wool carpets offer a more environmentally friendly option than man-made carpets. woven from petroleum-based synthetic fibers. Nylon and polypropylene plastics, which are made from petrochemical polymers, are the two most common components in carpeting. The backing consists of latex and PVC, which are two additional petro plastics. These components take a long time to breakdown in landfill. A local manufacturer, westex carpets recycle every bit of waste in the production of the their wool carpets. Based in Cleckheaton they have made a huge effort to reduce their carbon footprint in the manufacturing of their carpets. Wool carpets last longer and can be easily re-cycled once thrown away. Why is Brexit relevant? British wool is a tremendous resource. British farmers can work hand in hand with the British carpet industry going forward to support what we see as a resurgence in wool carpets. A changing back of consumer attitudes of wanting their carpets to last longer and use natural resources such as wool to preserve the environment will result in a huge demand for British wool. In the UK we still have great carpet manufacturers such as Westex, Brintons, Brockway and Ulster carpets to name a few. We see the upcoming years as a tremendous opportunity for the carpet industry to push British wool carpets. New Zealand wool is another brilliant fleece used to make high quality wool carpets. The new Zealand government seem keen to make a trade deal with the British government. This is another potential opportunity for our industry in the coming years......you heard it here first!