tretford
sustainability
The tretford Story
Cashmere goat hair – a unique feature
From the company’s foundation in the mid-1950s, tretford’s focus has been utilizing natural and renewable resources – which in today’s terminology means using ‘sustainable raw materials’. Produced in Germany and Ireland for over 50+ years, tretford carpets positively contribute to healthy living and working environments. This is largely due to its unique feature, Cashmere goat hair from the highlands of Inner and Outer Mongolia.
tretford Roll & INTERLIFE Tile largely consist of this long top hair of the Cashmere goat, and also other renewable and recycled raw materials eg. jute in Roll format, and 80% recycled polyester felt in INTERLIFE tile backing.
This unique construction – with its distinctive structural corded look and proven quality – has established tretford as a much-loved brand around the world.
Indoor Air Quality
Roll, INTERLIFE Tile and Rugs
Tretford’s natural properties actively reduce airborne dust and allergens, having a uniquely positive influence on indoor air quality.
Tretford owes this to hygroscopic properties of the Cashmere goat’s exquisite top hair, absorbing moisture from the air and releasing back as needed.
Due to the scaly structure of goat hair it also bonds fine dust particles, and is good news for allergy sufferers since the indoor “dust load” is many times lower. The natural layer of fat on the goat fibre acts as a dirt repellent, with excellent stain resistant properties.
Tretford’s Unique Feature
Cashmere Goat Hair
The robust and hard-wearing top hair is used to create Tretford carpets. It is hand scoured or clipped to ensure the Cashmere goat retains enough hair to survive winter on the high Mongolian plateaus.
As opposed to the clearing of land to graze sheep, Mongolian goats are indigenous to the landscape. For the Mongolian farmers , it is another means of subsistence – beyond selling the soft belly Cashmere hair for clothing – this robust top hair had become a by-product of this clothing industry, and an important and reliable source of income for these village farming communities.
No animals are slaughtered for their hair.
Tretford’s Unique Feature
Cashmere Goat Hair
The robust and hard-wearing top hair is used to create Tretford carpets. It is hand scoured or clipped to ensure the Cashmere goat retains enough hair to survive winter on the high Mongolian plateaus.
As opposed to the clearing of land to graze sheep, Mongolian goats are indigenous to the landscape. For the Mongolian farmers , it is another means of subsistence – beyond selling the soft belly Cashmere hair for clothing – this robust top hair had become a by-product of this clothing industry, and an important and reliable source of income for these village farming communities.
No animals are slaughtered for their hair.
Tretford’s Commitment
Ecological and social responsibility has been at the core of Tretford’s ongoing philosophy for over 50 years, building a working relationship with the Mongolian goat farming community to produce a sustainable carpet made from natural and recycled materials.
Conservative use of natural resources and corporate responsibility has been the hallmark of Tretford’s manufacturer for more than 50 years and its the only carpet they make!
Tretford – the Healthy Alternative
Transparency & Disclosure
The demand for transparency is now more critical with the increasing awareness of potential negative health impacts of unknown chemicals used in products. Tretford is committed to a path of disclosure.
Tretford carpets do NOT contain these chemicals of concern :
- Stain-resist coatings-PFAS | Antimicrobials | Fire-retardants | Fly ash | Isocyanates | Endocrine disrupting chemicals
Tretford carpets use :
- Phthalate-free PVC used as a binder in Tretford ROLL & TILE is certified to best practice in PVC Industry – BPPVC Certification.
Tretford ROLL & TILE are currently certified through Global GreenTag to Level A which is 100% on GBCA calculator.
Tretford – the Healthy Alternative
Environmental Certification
The demand for transparency is now more critical with the increasing awareness of potential negative health impacts of unknown chemicals used in products. Tretford is committed to a path of disclosure.
Tretford carpets do NOT contain these chemicals of concern :
- Stain-resist coatings-PFAS | Antimicrobials | Fire-retardants | Fly ash | Isocyanates | Endocrine disrupting chemicals
Tretford carpets use :
- Phthalate-free PVC used as a binder in Tretford ROLL & TILE is certified to best practice in PVC Industry – BPPVC Certification.
Tretford ROLL & TILE are currently certified through Global GreenTag to Level A which is 100% on GBCA calculator.
Tretford’s Story
What is Tretford carpet?
The principal component in Tretford carpet is goat hair. The hair used is a by-product of goat farming for the cashmere industry. The goats’ ‘guard’ or top hair represents pre-consumer recycled content, as this hair would normally be discarded.
Tretford Roll & INTERLIFE Tile largely consist of the long top hair of the Cashmere goat, and in fact relies on renewable and recycled raw materials for the main carpet component, eg. jute in the Roll format, and 80% recycled polyester felt in Tretford INTERLIFE tile backing.
Cashmere Goat Hair
How is it produced?
Most people associate cashmere wool with top quality clothing or blankets, which is very fine, but a cashmere goat also has robust top hair – and this is used to create tretford carpet.
These Cashmere goats live on Asia‘s high plateau where they are exposed to extreme temperatures. In the winter, temperatures reach minus 40°C – in the summer, they climb to 30°C. In the fall, the goats produce the fine wool that grows close to their hides in order to protect themselves from extremely cold temperatures.
In the springtime, they shed this winter coat, and the robust, hard-wearing top hair is only then clipped gently by hand. This ensures that the Cashmere goat is not injured and also retains enough hair to survive on the high plateaus.
The hair is hand-picked, sorted and washed in mild soap. No chemicals are used. Groundwater and rainwater supplies are used and the waste water irrigates local farmland.
By purchasing the long top hair of Cashmere goats, tretford gives the Mongolian farmers another means of subsistence – in addition to the coveted and exclusive soft belly hair, which is sourced by others for clothing – thereby ensuring a reliable source of income for these village farming communities.
No animals are slaughtered for their hair. In fact, only healthy goats grow hair of a standard that pass our quality requirements. The hair of a dead or unhealthy goat is simply not suitable for high-grade tretford carpets. Thus the emphasis on the health and wellbeing for the goats of these Mongolian farming partners is paramount.
Today, tretford supports the wellbeing of over 1000 communities and farmers in Mongolia by buying the cashmere goat hair directly from the farming cooperatives. tretford uses the hair from over 1million goats to create tretford carpet that is sold around the world today.
Commitment to Environment
What Tretford is doing.
Tretford takes part in ÖKOPROFIT, a project that promotes sustainable management in companies. “With guidance from the ÖKOPROFIT project, we hope to do even better as we forge into the future. Using natural and recycled raw materials and an entrepreneurial approach that emphasizes resource-conservation is something of ever-growing importance,” according to Markus Haick GM.
“The savings achieved pay off not only for the climate and the environment, but also give the company greater leeway to make important investments for its future viability. Thanks to the considerable amount of energy – and thus CO2 – saved each year, together with reduced waste and electricity costs, we have been able to switch to grass paper laminated onto recycled cardboard for all our shipping boxes and packaging.
Climate-neutral printing is ensured by supporting a reforestation project. Generating our own power supply – either wind or solar energy – is something that is already in the works.
We collaborate with the Textiles and Flooring Institute (TFI) at the RWTH Aachen e.V. to continuously improve our ecological footprint, and are conducting intensive research in the field of recycling and biodegradability – part of the important next step at the end of useful life.”
Our environmentally friendly production chain includes a high-performance, independent dyeing plant that uses AZO-free dyes and cutting-edge double-stage biological wastewater treatment plants.
