Hook and Loom Undyed Wool Rugs are thick, luxurious, and environmentally responsible. Available in natural, taupe, grey, and brown, as well as patterned blends of these natural shades of sheep’s wool, these rugs are undyed, handwoven, and hand-bound.
Our Rating: 5 / 5 (See: How Leaf Score is calculated)
Product Highlights
- Rugs are made from undyed wool without dyes or chemicals
- Do not contain latex or other backings that can off-gas
- Completely reversible and essentially two rugs in one, meaning twice as long between cleaning, which is better for the environment
| Country of Origin: | India |
| Materials: | Undyed wool |
| Certifications: | Green People seal of approval |
Overview
They don’t contain latex or other backings that can off-gas, and no glues of bonding agents are used in these rugs. Instead, the labor intensive handweaving and hand-binding allows Hook and Loom to offer chemical-free and latex-free rugs that are completely reversible. Essentially, this is two rugs in one, meaning twice as long between cleaning, which is better for the environment.
Hook and Loom are based in Massachusetts and make rugs in carefully selected workshops in India, free from child labor. The rugs are made from undyed wool without dyes or chemicals and are shipped with minimal packaging to reduce environmental impact. Through personal communications, the owner of Hook and Loom confirmed that their wool rugs are not treated with mothproofing chemicals. Still, we’ve given Hook and Loom a ⅘ Leaf Score because they lack any third-party (or even second-party) credentials confirming the eco-friendliness of their products. If they were certified by Cradle to Cradle, GOTS, or even Fair Trade, we’d probably bump that score up to a 5/5.
UPDATE: Hook and Loom responded to this suggestion by bringing out an organic cotton rug collection that does earn five leaves!
See our full roundup of eco-friendly rugs here.
Rugs start at $24 for 2′ x 3′ and are handwoven on wooden looms. They are available in a variety of colors, patterns, pile heights, and sizes and are made without stain repellants, fire retardants, or other chemicals. These rugs, unlike Earth Weave’s rugs and custom made Organic Weave rugs, are returnable, which is handy in case you accidentally order the wrong size.
Hook and Loom vs. Organic Weave vs. Earth Weave
Hook and Loom are a good option for eco-friendly rugs but get third place in this category behind Organic Weave and Earth Weave. Hook and Loom produce undyed, handwoven, and hand-bound rugs made without glues, bonding agents, latex, dyes, or other chemicals that can be harmful to human health and the wider environment and also claim that their rugs are free from child labor, but they lack certifications for any of these things. They do, however, ship their rugs in minimal packaging to reduce environmental impact and they carry the Green People seal of approval, which is one of the less weighty eco-certifications but does help to weed out companies simply ‘greenwashing’.
Organic Weave are easily the best in class for wool rugs. They not only use GOTS certified organic wool, FSC natural latex (where needed), and GOTS certified organic cotton, they are GoodWeave certified to ensure no child labor is involved in the manufacture of their rugs. Organic Weave are committed to sustainability, safety, and social fairness, and have demonstrated this right from the beginning by never selling a rug that doesn’t meet these standards. While other companies produce the occasional eco-friendly and/or Fair Trade certified wool rug, if you’re looking for a top-quality rug from a company with a solid set of ethics, look to Organic Weave.
Earth Weave are the second-best option for eco-friendly wool rugs, offering a variety of pile weights, colors, and designs. They have been in business as an environmentally sustainable carpet and rug manufacturer for more than two decades and have long led the field. That said, they’re oddly devoid of third-party certifications, so we’re going largely on the basis of this long reputation and lack of complaints against the company. Again, Organic Weave carry serious third-party eco-credentials you can trust and also have a large number of very happy customers.
All in all, Organic Weave are the best choice for eco-friendly wool rugs and have enough variety in colors, patterns, and styles to satisfy almost every demand. And, if you don’t find what you need, they are very open to custom orders.