Clean. Green. Safe.

Things have changed over the past few years. As homeowners, we now want to find furnishings that meet a few basic criteria:

They don’t introduce anything toxic into our homes. Most importantly, we don’t want to wait until a safety test proves that some poorly-understood synthetic material turns out to be toxic

in buying, we are not contributing to the destruction of the environment

it must be affordable, because it won't benefit anyone if no-one buys it

Very few products of the home furnishings industry meet the first two criteria, mainly because of materials and methods that are inherently suspect, including petrochemicals, non-renewables and intensively farmed materials.

Here is why choosing a Torana handmade rug is the right choice that meets these simple criteria:

Dyes

Many modern carpets, both handmade and machine-made, are made with poor quality dyes that are chosen for their low-cost rather than their safety. The biggest problem with cheap dyes is that they are not fully absorbed by the wool, causing toxic run-off into rivers and drains during manufacture. This is one of Asia’s biggest environmental issues. It is especially true for carpet manufacture since carpet making tends to be in areas of low rainfall where water-courses are vulnerable to contamination. Poorly fixed dyes also leave the end-user at risk, and mean that the carpet will be ruined the first time anyone tries to wash it.

Most carpet retailers cannot guarantee dye safety, because many don’t understand the issues and most don’t own their own manufacturing facility.

At Torana we use only non-toxic, azo-free dyes from the Swiss Clariant company, and natural dyes. Clariant dyes are fully absorbed by the wool and so there is no run-off. Natural dyes create only vegetable compost as waste. These dyes are safer for our workers, for our neighbors in Tibet and for our customers.

Volatile Organics

These compounds (VOCs) are increasingly being recognized as a problem in domestic and commercial interiors. We are exposing ourselves on a daily basis to organic materials with poorly understood long-term effects (and a bad smell). These are mostly petrochemical derivatives such as solvents, plasticizers, monomers and other materials used in the manufacture of floorings and furnishings. Of particular concern is 4-phenylcyclohexene (4-PCH) used in the manufacture of latex backings for “tufted” carpets, which are probably the commonest in domestic interiors today. Many manufacturers of cheaper handmade carpets also apply synthetic resins to the back of their carpets to secure loose knotting.

This is a worldwide issue, and one that China residents are very familiar with since the poor air quality here means that many of us keep our windows closed and have to put up with strange smells from construction materials and furnishings.

Some carpet manufacturers are aware of this issue and are making efforts to reduce VOCs. But why reduce when you can eliminate? At Torana we simply don’t use any volatile organics: just pure natural wool as our raw material, plus dye and soap and water to wash the wool. There are no other ingredients and no additives. So when you buy a Torana handmade carpet you can be sure that you are not introducing any unknown materials into your home.

Sustainable and renewable

The biggest concern for the environment, aside from the toxic dye issue, is that many furnishings exploit non-renewable resources such as petrochemicals and hardwoods. Other materials such as some wools are intensively farmed in a non-sustainable way. Quality is also a concern: if a carpet is made from poor quality materials it will need to be replaced after a few years, meaning more impact on the environment.

Torana carpets are made from 100% local Tibetan wool. This is a renewable resource that comes from sheep living on the grasslands Tibetan plateau. These are farmed in a low-intensity way, moving from one grazing ground to another on an annual cycle, rather than grazing the sheep intensively and using fertilizers on the grass.

By buying a Torana handmade carpet you are not only using a renewable resource, you are also helping to sustain a lifestyle and an ecosystem that is thousands of years old, since wool is often the only cash income source for the Tibetan nomad herders.

Affordable

Quality costs a little more than carpets made with the cheapest possible materials, but not as much as you might think. And a Torana handmade carpet is priced around only 50% of what you’d pay for a carpet of a similar standard in the US or Europe (we have some direct apples-to-apples price comparisons in our stores for those who are interested).

A good handmade wool carpet can also last for many decades, avoiding the need for replacements and further benefiting the environment. Passing heirloom furnishings to your children is a gift to the planet as well as to them.