Faux fur. Sherpa. Teddy. Plush. Microfibre. Vegan wool. Performance fibre. Eco-blend. Recycled.
Nearly all of them mean the same thing: plastic.
The homewares industry has built an entire vocabulary to avoid saying polyester, and it works. Most people buying a rug or throw they have no idea they're buying oil and the ramifications of a home filled with plastic.
Here’s what we want people to know.
- Synthetics don't break down. They break up.
Polyester doesn't decompose. Instead, it fragments into pieces too small to see, then smaller again, turning up in household dust, in indoor air, and increasingly in humans.
Natural fibres like wool, go back to the soil, decomposes and feeds what's around it.
- If fire strikes, they melt.
Synthetic fibres are thermoplastic. They ignite fast, burn hot, melt and drip and give off thick toxic smoke.
Read the care information on a synthetic rug and you'll often find a line like “keep away from fire.” Wool doesn’t need that warning. It has a high ignition point, tends to self-extinguish, and doesn't melt, making it safe for everyday living.
3. They're made from fossil fuels.
Every synthetic throw begins as crude oil. Extracted, refined, polymerised, extruded into filament then sold to you as comfort.
“Recycled” softens the story without changing the material. A shredded bottle spun into pile is still plastic on your floor.
4. They hold onto odour.
Synthetics can't absorb moisture, so it sits on the surface of the fibre along with everything in it. That's where smells begin, and it's why synthetic throws and bedding go stale and never quite come back.
Wool works the other way. It draws moisture into the fibre, up to a third of its own weight, and away from the surface where odour develops.
So what?
None of this makes synthetics evil but there’s a lot not being said or widely known about the impacts of choosing plastics over natural fibres. If a rug is made of plastic, it should have to say so and people should know the implications of what they are buying.
Homes with natural fibres, including sheepskin, feel different. The way they absorb sound, the touch, how it wears in, not out, over time.
Even when natural products are more expensive, we believe the lifetime value and quality surpass what petroleum based products can offer.
