Produced from sustainable and rapidly renewing fibers, sisal rugs are naturally sound-absorbing, antistatic and long-lasting. The fibers used in all of Merida's sisal area rugs come from the agave plant and is produced mainly in Brazil and Africa.
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Design Characteristics
The designs for Merida's natural sisal rugs are woven on dobby or
jacquard looms into simple boucles, flat weaves and jacquard patterns.
Besides having distinctive textures, our sisal area rugs come in a
variety of rich, natural earth tones.
We offer many bindings to complement our sisal rugs, including luxurious
leathers, shimmering linens and textured cottons. Choosing a "pop" of
color lets the binding act as a bold accessory. A tone-on-tone
combination is more subtle, allowing the sisal ground to become the
statement in a room.
Sustainability
An agave plant may live anywhere from seven to 10 years. It can produce
up to 250,000 fibers throughout its lifetime, survive on very little
water and grow without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Sisal farming
takes place in some of the world's poorest areas, generating employment
opportunities and raising the standard of living for up to 6 million
people.
Although Merida is working hard to achieve 100% biodegradability with
our natural sisal rugs, we must use some non-degradable components due
to performance issues. For example:
- During the manufacturing process,
we apply a petroleum-based oil to soften the sisal fiber for spinning.
(We are experimenting with vegetable-based spinning oils.)
- We add dyes to achieve the
desired colors in our natural sisal rugs. (While the dyes are
non-degradable, they do not harm the environment or humans.)
- We use a natural/synthetic latex
compound as backing for our sisal rugs to enhance the stability of their
weaving. (We are trying to develop well-performing sisal rugs with
degradable backing or no backing at all.)
Cultivation & Fiber Extraction
The sisal in our Belgian-woven rugs is grown in Tanzania and Kenya,
while our Brazilian-woven sisal rugs use fibers from plants grown in
the northeast state of Bahia.
Our sisal partners generally employ machines to crush the agave leaves
to remove water and pulp. The sisal fibers are washed and then dried
naturally in the sun or in drying machines. After excess vegetable
matter is removed, the highest-grade fibers are set aside for use in our natural sisal rugs.
