How to buy a "Green" area rug

How to buy a 'green' area rug:

Step 1: Make the decision to buy a green rug
Step 2: Make your way to a store that sells area rugs
Step 3: Find a Green rug
Step 4: Buy rug
Step 5: Take rug home

Okay seriously though. The above steps are great if you are looking for a green coloured rug, but what about the other kind of Green? You know the other green. The 'IT' word of the decade, Green / Environmentally Friendly. The awareness of the effect we are having on our planet is at an all time saturation and yet there are thousands of products that are made to be disposable, convenient, and not bio-degradable!
The newest trends in area rugs are Designer/Hand tufted, Shags, Felt, and Viscose area rugs. They are beautiful looking and come in modern patterns and textures.

This is a felt tip rug. It has 1/2 inch thick fibers that are two inches high. The pros of this rug- it is fun, funky, and unique. The cons are- stains easily, hard to vacuum, and once they get dirty they always look dirty. The tips of the fibers blossom out making it hard to clean. These types are rugs are best used in an area that doesn't get used a lot. They will add a nice focal point to a room.



This is a hand tufted or designer area rug. They are readily available pretty much in every store that sells rugs. It is very easy to tell a hand tufted rug, the backing on the rug is fabric. A tufted rug has a hidden secret: glue holds these rugs together. There is the top fibers a layer of glue and the back. The pros of these rugs- modern designs and colours, a great and easy way to add colour to any room. The cons- hard to get out odours, sheds (wool) fibers easily, may have an existing odour issue, temporary rug (not a long life span), not for high use areas.



This is a viscose area rug. Viscose looks and feels a lot like silk. They are the rugs that Belgium is exporting a lot of right now. These rugs look great when new, they are shiny, soft and inviting to walk on. That is the pros of viscose rugs. The cons- stains very easily, fades easily, they show wear areas quickly, do not stand up well to pet accidents.



All three of the above rugs are beautiful and unique, but it is important to remember that once these rugs become too stained to use anymore they are not easily biodegradable and replacing them can get expensive.
Two important tips for choosing a hand tufted rug: Smell the bottom of the fibers and the back of the rug, any odour you may smell is permanent, and second vigorously rug your hand across the rug and pull at the fibers, if you see a lot of fibers shedding that too is permanent.
My wish is that if we stop buying products that aren't good for the environment, eventually they will stop making them. Have a green day.
Thanks for reading, RugloverMary.