Member Article

Bradford campaign rolled out to promote wool carpets

Bradford-based woolman Martin Curtis is at the forefront of a new campaign to get more people to buy wool carpets.

He has launched a competition asking the industry and consumers how wool carpets should be promoted to consumers.

The campaign follows a meeting in Bradford of the new Wool Carpet Focus Group - launched by Mr Curtis earlier this year - which was attended by carpet manufacturers, distributors, buying groups, retailers and representatives of the main carpet wool growing nations - the UK, New Zealand, Norway and Republic of Ireland.

The Group’s aim is to concentrate the industry’s marketing efforts on highlighting the benefits of producing carpets from wool - such as ’ bouncebackability’; and ‘cleanability’.

Mr Curtis, director of Bingley-based Curtis Wool Direct, which includes HaworthScouring and Combing in Bradford, said: “We have the only combing plant left in the UK and the majority of wool we scour and have environmentally certified goes into making woollen spun carpets and rugs and beds.

“We are working hard to unite the world’s wool carpet sectors under the Wool Carpet Focus Group banner whereby we can generate a single strong powerful message that carpets and rugs made from wool are better ‘naturally’.

“When we get the results of the competition our marketing efforts will be directed towards prioritising wool’s unique selling points. Hopefully, other marketing organisations such as the Campaign for Wool, the British Wool Marketing Board and Wools of New Zealand among others will take on board our suggestions”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .