Sisal Carpets: Natural Sisal and Wool Blended Sisal Carpets


Sisal carpets are an interesting, attractive and natural way to cover your floor. Many people are attracted to the idea of using natural sisal carpets as an environmentally friendly way to decorate their home. But before you make the decision to use sisal carpets in your home, you should make sure you understand what sisal carpets are, how they are made and how they may be best used in your home.

Sisal fiber is a natural material derived from the leaves of a variety of the agave plant properly known as Agave sisalana. Sisal leaves are beaten and crushed mechanically in a process known as decortication and the resulting mash is then washed with water to separate the leave material from the fibers. A single leaf contains an average of approximately one thousand fiber strands which make up approximately twenty percent of the leaf’s total material. Once separated from the rest of the leaf material, these fibers are then spun into yarn, much like any other and then used in making a wide variety of different products including sisal carpets.

When processing sisal yarn for use in carpets an oil, or some other softening agent, is normally added. Nevertheless, a sisal carpet will never be as soft to the touch as a sheepskin rug. On the other hand, sisal carpets will not trap dust, nor will they permit the buildup of static electricity which may make them ideal for use underneath your home entertainment center or computer table. Sisal carpets are easy to take care of and require little more than an occasional vacuuming for maintenance. The rougher texture of 100% sisal carpets makes them better for use in areas where you expect to be wearing shoes most of the time. You probably wouldn’t want to use sisal carpets in your bedroom or bathroom but they are an excellent choice for use in your dining room, home office, or sun porch. This is especially true for wool blended sisal carpets. These blended sisal and wool carpets are still completely natural but they are noticeably softer making them better suited for use in areas such as your living room.

Sisal yarn is very durable and until recently was the preferred material for making both bailing twine and fishing nets. This durability does not mean that sisal carpets are invincible however. While they will tolerate foot traffic and ambient moisture from humidity well, you should not use them in areas where they are prone to get wet or suffer prolonged exposure to the elements. While they may make a great choice for use inside your home, sisal carpets don’t make the best outdoor rugs.

Sisal carpets are not quite as environmentally friendly as some people represent them to be. Though sisal plants require no chemical fertilizers or pesticides to grow commercially, much of the land now under cultivation for sisal fiber was once rainforest in the world’s leading producer of sisal, Brazil. The rainforest had to be cut down in order for the sisal to be planted. Furthermore, the runoff water from the decortication process can cause serious environmental damage when allowed to runoff into waterways.

Nevertheless, recent efforts to develop more sustainable agricultural practices in Brazil have lead to the use of this organic material separated from the fibers in the decortication process as animal feed. Furthermore, as a variety of agave, which is a cactus, sisal has the ability to grow in arid areas where other crops cannot be produced commercially, such as in Northeastern Brazil and parts of Africa such as in parts of Tanzania and Kenya. This makes the use of sisal plants organic material, once considered a waste product of sisal fiber production, doubly valuable as a green feed for agricultural animals because it can be grown in areas that will not support other commercially viable agricultural crops. Since a single sisal plant can remain productive for nearly a decade without the need for pesticides or chemical fertilizers, it is a plant that can thrive and provide an economic benefit to regions in which other forms of agriculture are not commercially viable. In this way, sisal production brings jobs to regions such as northeastern Brazil and some parts of Africa which might otherwise have remained both agriculturally and economically barren.

The overall environmental and economic role of commercial use of sisal is not simple. There are conflicting environmental and economic costs and benefits. New techniques and the development of new uses for the leave material left behind by the decortication process will help to reduce the negative environmental impact of sisal use while also helping to multiply the economic benefits of sisal production. It is most reasonable to understand that while sisal carpets are more environmentally friendly than, say polypropylene rugs, their production is not entirely without an environmental impact. At the same time, it is equally important to recognize the very real benefits that the sisal industry, of which sisal carpets are an important part, provides in the lives of thousands of people who live in economically and agriculturally marginal areas in Africa and northeastern Brazil who depend upon sisal production for their livelihood.

While evaluating the merits and shortcomings of the overall sisal industry may be difficult, recognizing the attractiveness of sisal carpets is not. Their attractive textured look, durability and easy cleaning makes sisal carpets an excellent choice for high traffic areas in your home or office. If you are looking for an a decorative and protective natural covering for your floors, you need look no further than sisal carpets.

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