at home
Most Unique products are manufactured with 100% pure wool. Wool is an ideal selection for allergy-prone individuals since allergy to wool is virtually non-existent and, when used as carpeting, wool acts as a natural air purifier by actually attracting air-borne dust particles and common pollutants where they can be harmlessly vacuumed away. Tests show wools natural air purification process can last upwards of fifteen years. Wool does not promote the growth of dust mites or bacteria and is inherently fire safe through its natural flame-retardant qualities.
Polypropylene is used as a primary backing and sometimes as a secondary backing in carpet manufacture. It is also a petroleum-based by-product and is so safe that it is commonly used as air filters, bandages, and protective netting in hospitals. Used in lieu of polypropylene as a primary backing in products marketed as 100% natural is burlap, which, like many natural fibers, contains allergens and, in moist and damp locations, is prone to rot, mildew, and mold.
Without proper moth-proofing, Wool carpets, being protein based, can become a food source to significant varieties of insects. All Unique Wool carpets incorporate Permethrin which is not only environmentally-friendly, it is an exceptionally effective and safe mothproofing agent. Accepted world-wide and endorsed by the World Health Organization, it is also used to control insects on a variety of crops such as hops, cotton, fruit and vegetables. Permethrin is widely used in greenhouses, market gardens, and vineyards and is applied in a variety of ways.
In regular use as described above, it has shown to be completely non-toxic to humans and, if ingested, passes through the system quickly and completely with no residual effects. However, when used as a moth-proofing agent, Permethrin is used in much smaller quantities since it is not intended to control insects but rather as an agent that limits the ability of eggs to hatch or larvae to feed. It will not kill adult insects that walk across the carpet. There have been no reported cases worldwide of health related issues in humans from exposure to Permethrin.
Formaldehyde is not used at all in any phase of carpet manufacturing (but may be present in some other household products).
on the planet
For thousands of years, wool has been the fiber of choice in carpet and rug manufacturing. Aside from its heralded performance and unsurpassed aesthetics, 100% pure wool is an environmentally sound selection in that it is completely biodegradable and, since the earth’s natural resources are not depleted in its production, it is a rapidly renewable resource. Further, wool is referred to as a ‘bio-based’ fiber since its production is fueled by another rapidly renewable resource – grass.
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