Help! In Search of A Responsible Area Rug

[Plaid Adder]

We just want to buy a nice 9X12 rug for our family room that is not dyed with the sweat and tears of exploited children. Why should that be so hard?

My parents want to give us a rug for Christmas. This is very nice of them. We went out yesterday to look at the rugs at Room & Board, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and so on. We found some that we liked, but they all say "hand-knotted" or "hand-tufted" and they're all imported from India.

So we got on the Web and looked into this. Yes, as we remembered, there was a huge stink about child slavery in the carpet belt back in the mid-1990s. From poking around it appears that the "Keleen" label, which is a lable used by carpet manufacturers who voluntarily "self-report" to an organization of carpet manufacturers who claim to be working on phasing out child labor is basically a face-saving device that means nothing. Ditto for the tags on some of hte rugs we saw in Restoration Hardware, which say "Made without child labor" but don't bear the stamp of any kind of official organization. I saw that some organizations were promoting rugs with a Rugmark label on them as the most reliably free of child bonded labor, but still, who knows.

So we thought, let's try the fair trade people. Ten Thousand Villages does indeed carry rugs, but they each cost about $6000 apiece at the size we want. My parents aren't going to pay $6000 for a rug just because it helps villagers in India eat. There's the rub, I suppose.

So my partner says, "Well, doesn't anyone in America make carpets?" So we looked into that. There are 3 major carpet manufacturers in America--all based in Georgia, and all no doubt using nonunion labor--but it was sort of hard to tell what they looked like from those tiny little pictures on the website.

Anyway, I figure there are 30,000 people registered at DU, someone must have encountered this problem. Can anyone recommend a retailer who carries large area rugs that are not made using slave/bonded/child labor?

Thanks in advance,

The Plaid Adder

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Try Ginger Blossom.

This is the name of the person and the fair-trade store up in Richmond, IL.

http://www.gingerblossom.com/

[zanana]

2. This might sound inconvenient, but...

Have you ever thought of making one? You can make a braided rug with just one little tool, alot of fabric strips, and a load of patience. I've never made one myself, but I know someone who makes small rugs for her home and for gifts. Just a thought.

[lotteandollie]

3. I know very little about rugs, but do live in Georgia.

Almost certainly, if the rugs are really made in the US, they are machine made. Dalton, Georgia is the carpet capital of the US and attracts anything to do with the carpet industry, importers as well.
I would find it almost impossible to believe that a handmade area rug, such as you describe, would be made in the US.

[Ernesto]

4. I just had Home Depot "build" a rug for my family room.

I picked the fabric and size. They cut it & sew the border on. I like to use "burber" because it wears well & is easily cleaned. My last one lasted about 12 years. And yes, the fabric came from Ga.

[Bertha Venation]

5. This won't help in your search, but rent a movie called "Punchline."

An '80s dark comedy (or bittersweet drama, depending upon your POV) w/ Sally Field and Tom Hanks, it's about struggling stand-up comedians. Taylor Negron does a hilarious bit about an area rug salesman. A very good film. Bring hankies.

[private_ryan]

6. handmade

you can get it for $2500 - $3000 http://rugsusa.com/tibetan60knots.html. However, they are most likely made by kids, that eitheir help their parents or work in factories. That's fair to say about most carpets from that area. Kids don't exactly have the choices our kids do.

[OneBlueSky]

7. try these guys . . .

pretty good selection . . . some are indeed made in Asia, but others are made in Europe and elsewhere . . .

http://www.homedecorators.com

and you might try these guys as well . . . don't know much about them other than they have a huge selection . . .

http://www.peerlessrugs.com

good luck . . .

[supernova]

8. Have you considered antique rugs?

Often auctions and estate sales have wonderful rugs that go for virtually nothing because with a lot of audiences, size is an issue for carting home. The bigger the cheaper.

Also with an antique, most likely whoever made it is long gone. Except I wouldn't look for one that has bright red in the pattern. The dye was made with iron. The iron will rust and eat away the rug.

That's what I've observed attending auctions and fleamarkets and watching "Antiques Roadshow."