Melbourne carpet manufacturer proposes ban on nylon and synthetic carpets

Supertuft, a Melbourne manufacturer of woolen carpets, has called for banning nylon and PET plastic pile carpet in Australia and New Zealand, citing the health impacts of flame retardants used in these.

The company’s managing director, Greg Galt, has written to the Carpet Institute of Australia, about 1000 architects, and retailers, saying evidence in a report from the Healthy Building Network in 2017 illustrates health and environmental dangers.

“Should Nylon and PET plastic pile carpet be banned in Australia and New Zealand? The answer, in my opinion, is yes,” said Galt in a statement.  

According to the United States’ Healthy Building Network’s 2017 report, Eliminating Toxics in Carpet: Lessons for the Future of Recycling, “Halogenated flame retardants used in carpet which contain chlorine or bromine are among the chemical industry’s most notorious products. They are linked to hyperactivity, learning disabilities reproductive harm and cancer.”

It also warns that halogenated and oganophosphate flame retardants could be dispersed into the air as dust during disposal and recycling and accumulate in the food chain.

Picture: ebay