The Nest

Any Green (ish) Rug Recommendations?

Posted Friday, June 06, 2008 9:59 PM

I desperately need a new area rug for my living room.  The beige-y wool/sisal one I have is looking a little haggard, and I don’t want to pay to clean it again. I’d thought the beige would be okay because somebody told me that wool is easy to clean, but it turns out it’s only easy for professional rug people to clean, which gets expensive.  In what I’ve paid to have it cleaned I could have bought two new ones but, of course, that would not be very eco of me. And I will continue to use it, just in more of a low-traffic area like a guest bedroom. Plus, I am just over the beige and ready for a change.  

So, what’s a green-minded girl to use as floor covering?  That turns out to be quite a tricky question.  The ideal green rug would have all of these qualities:  Organic fibers, no toxic glues or bindings or backing, natural, low-impact dyes, and a production process that pays all the rug-makers a living wage. Oh, and it would ideally be made locally too.  All that is a very tall, and possibly impossible, order.  And did I mention that I need my rug to be 9x12 and cost less than $1000?  Domino magazine has a slideshow of chic eco rugs on their website, but none of them work with my budget.  Making this even more complicated, I need my new rug to be reasonably stain-resistant (but not covered with chemical stainguards, natch) and easy to clean, since I have two kids and magic markers and raspberry jam-covered hands inevitably wind up in the living room no matter how hard I try to keep them out of there.  And I’m over the whole sisal/seagrass/jute thing because I’ve been down that road and had a terrible time with stains.  Anyway, I think I am in search of a dhurrie-style rug.  These flatweave cotton, usually Indian, rugs are inexpensive and, I’ve been told, easy to clean.  They’re even reversible so you can just flip them over before bothering with cleaning at all. I have yet to find one that meets all of my criteria, but dhurries do tend to be eco-friendly by nature since they don’t have any of the backings that often contains toxic chemicals.  And cotton, even if it’s not organic, is at least easier on the planet than some sort of petroleum-based, chemical-coated wall-to-wall carpet, right? 

So I’m thinking of buying one of these Dash and Albert rugs.  Although they’re a little country-ish for me, I think one of the striped ones will work with more contemporary furniture.  Any thoughts for me?  Should I be trying to find something more eco?  I’d love to hear any ideas anybody has for earth-friendly floor coverings.