US tax laws could provide a break for Kiwi carpets

New Zealand wool carpet can benefit from laws in the United States giving tax breaks on sustainable products, a US carpet company says.

Last month Bellbridge Carpets in San Francisco became one of the first overseas manufacturers to sign a supply agreement with Wool Partners International.

PGG Wrightson-backed WPI aims to boost returns for Kiwi farmers with direct supply deals and reinvigorated marketing of wool.

Bellbridge owner Bruce Bell said it was early days for WPI's new sustainable wool brand, Laneve.

American consumers' first concerns were still colour and design rather than the environmental qualities of their carpet, but "it is coming".

The US Government offered tax incentives for buying renewable and recyclable products, and a lot of contract residential building work had been influenced by that.

The sustainability of the product had to be documented and so the traceability standards of the Laneve brand were important.

Bellbridge had also done some work for American local government bodies who were required to buy products with an environmentally acceptable end-of-life profile.

Bell, a Kiwi, bought the US operations of Cavalier-Bremworth and is a niche supplier of high-end wool carpets.

Only 2 per cent of carpets sold in the US are made of wool and Bellbridge's customers were typically affluent, well-educated people who bought the natural fibre because their interior designer recommended it, he said.

But consumer awareness of sustainability was developing before the recession, and there was an inherent emotional appeal to wool.

"It's a wonderful platform for what WPI are trying to do. Even if it's only 70 per cent right, it'll be right. With Laneve it can evolve as the market evolves."

He said New Zealand's clean green story in itself didn't help sell carpet, but it was a "nice reassurance" for the consumer.

The recession had been brutal on the US carpet industry, and now was probably not the time to be talking about paying New Zealand farmers higher prices for their wool.

As a manufacturer Bell said he had no problem paying more if the consumer was ready to pay more.

"It's just putting the value back into the fibre really. They're the ultimate judge."