While I’ve always been interested in various aspects of sustainability, I’ve only recently learned the specifics of sustainability in the rugs, carpets, and flooring industry. Through working at Merida Meridian, I’ve learned a little bit about the materials that their eco-friendly products are made of, so I thought I’d use my next few blog entries to further explore these materials. The first material I researched was sisal.

THE BASICS: Sisal is a fiber derived from the agave plant that is grown in warm climates. The agave plant is durable and can survive under extremely hot or dry conditions. The plants can live for about a decade and produce leaves that can be made into twine each year. Sisal is considered sustainable because it quickly renewable and because the plant doesn’t need pesticides or tons of water to grow successfully. This means it is a great crop for economically developing country because people can grow it without many other resources. Since most sisal farming is done by hand, there is usually no need for herbicides either because the farmers can remove unwanted plants themselves – which helps create even more jobs. However, harvesting the plant can leave residues that can become pollutants if they enter waterways, but many farms are using these leftovers to create biofuel instead.

Merida’s sisal is grown in Kenya, Tanzania, and northeastern Brazil and woven in Belgium and Brazil to create beautiful durable natural rugs. While there is obviously a lot of transportation of materials involved, Merida is working to make its sisal rugs completely biodegradable and sustainable in other ways. Merida is also experimenting with vegetable based spinning oils that are more sustainable than traditional petroleum-based spinning oils. All of these aspects make Merida rugs more sustainable than your average rug.

During my research, I also discovered that investing in sisal by purchasing a rug or by  supporting the sustainable flooring industry is beneficial to the global economy. Sisal production has declined over the past few years because farmers growing the crop are having trouble making enough money to support their families. Immediately after Kenyan Independence, sisal was the second biggest export crop following coffee, but now families are having trouble making a profit from the crop, so the market would benefit from consistent buyers. Farmers are hopeful though because the trend towards sustainable products is creating a promising worldwide demand for sisal.

To learn more, make sure to check out the “Our Natural Fibers” portion of the website at: http://www.meridahome.com/t-Our_Natural_Fibers.aspx

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I graduated from college in May of 2009. I moved into my first apartment this past October and have been struggling to decorate it in a way that combines comfort, good taste in design, and keeps environmental concerns in mind. As I narrowed my priorities down to those three, I wondered what other peoples’ priorities are upon decorating their first apartment or home.

I asked a bunch of my recently graduated friends to see what they were taking into consideration when setting up their new homes away from the college dorms. One friend of mine, Mackie, recently moved across the country and is starting a new chapter of her life in Seattle, Washington. Since she couldn’t bring much when she moved, price has been the main factor in most of her interior decorating decisions. While most of us feel like it’s a drag to always have to worry about cost, it can be a hidden blessing because one of the best ways to get cost-efficient furnishings is to buy them used. This creates a demand for reused items, which helps promote sustainability. So by purchasing used items, Mackie knows her new home is pretty green which she is happy about. Another friend, Erin, also says that cost is the first priority for her when decorating a space, but she says she cuts down on some costs and helps stay sustainable by purchasing items from local vendors. By doing this, Erin is not only supporting her local economy and keeping her wallet in mind, she is cutting down her carbon footprint because her furnishings don’t need to consume a large amount of fossil fuels to reach their destination.

I also wanted to broaden my research and asked my followers on twitter what they thought about when decorating and furnishing their rooms. One response mentioned that coziness and warmth was the most important. I agreed with that point. I try to keep my apartment cozy sustainably by setting out soy based candles and spreading fuzzy fleece blankets. Another follower mentioned that natural and warm lighting was important; this is of course is an easy thing to do in a sustainable way- open the blinds and outfit lamps with compact fluorescent lightbulbs. All in all, while recent grads have a lot on their minds, they are still able to make little changes to stay green.

In fact, a recent poll found that 81% of recent college graduates say that it is important to work for a green-minded business, and 20% say they wish there were more green products available on the market. If recent grads want their jobs and their stores to be green, it would only make sense that they want their apartments to be green too!