Sisal Rugs & The Environment

Sisal rugs are made from sisal, a tough fiber that is most commonly used to make rope and twine. The plants are grown in a number of locations around the world, such as Tanzania, Kenya, and China. However, Brazil is the larger producer of the material used to make sisal rugs.

In addition to sisal rugs, these plant fibers are also being used in a wide variety of other products, including cat scratching posts, car parts, slippers, and even wall coverings. Sisal has also begun being used as a replacement for carcinogenic asbestos. The reason sisal rugs and this other products have begun popping up is that sisal is a relatively environmentally-friendly crop to grow. That's because no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used when it's being grown. Of course, both types of chemicals can cause long-term damage to the environment and, in some cases, to human health.

To prevent the growth of weeds which may steal valuable nutrients away from the sisal plants, some herbicides are used on the farms where the plants are grown. However, more and more of the weeding is being done by hand so that even the use of these chemicals to produce sisal rugs can be eliminated.

Clearly, sisal rugs are a good choice for environmentally-conscious consumers, but there is another good reason to choose them. Because the sisal fibers do not build up static electricity or dust deposits as some materials do, regular maintenance of sisal rugs involves only ordinary vacuuming. Stains can also be removed from sisal rugs, but you'll need to use a commercially available dry cleaning powder to take care of that.

On the down side, sisal rugs do not do well when exposed to lots of moisture, so keep them out of areas where spills are likely or where they may be affected by precipitation. Make sure to fasten sisal rugs securely, particularly in high humidity areas because these conditions can cause the rugs to expand and contract if they are not fastened properly.

View our selection of sisal rugs.