Godfrey Hirst drops damages claim
Global flooring giant Godfrey Hirst has dropped its claim for damages against New Zealand wool carpetmaker Bremworth but still believes the company is ‘‘greenwashing’’.
The two are involved in an ongoing legal battle, with Godfrey Hirst attempting to prevent Bremworth (formerly Cavalier Bremworth) making specific claims about the benefits of wool carpets.
Godfrey Hirst is owned by the world’s largest flooring company, Mohawk Industries, which also owns the Feltex brand.
In 2020 Bremworth, which has factories in Napier, Whanganui and Papatoetoe, announced it was exiting the synthetic carpet market to focus on natural fibres. Its last synthetic carpet rolled off the production line in May 2021.
The move was seen as a significant boost for New Zealand’s agricultural sector and potentially the country’s export revenues at a time when wool sales had slumped.
Latest Government data shows the value of New Zealand’s wool product exports, of which most is carpet, has fallen by 44% over the last six years. However, there are positive signs for the industry with forecasts projecting a 10% increase in export revenue for 2023.
Godfrey Hirst brought a case to the High Court against Bremworth saying its claims about wool carpets being ‘‘better for the environment’’ and that a switch from synthetics to all wool carpets was ‘‘changing for good’’ were misleading. This was despite Godfrey Hirst making similar claims, including that it prided itself on making the most environmentally friendly carpet on the planet.
Godfrey Hirst said it had dropped its damages claim because ‘‘it was aware of Bremworth’s constrained financial circumstances and, in the public interest, wanted to do all it could to make it financially viable for Bremworth to correct any misleading and/or greenwashing marketing without the risk of Bremworth also having to pay damages’’.
Bremworth chief executive Greg Smith said the company stood by its ‘‘Let’s go good together’’ campaign.
Smith said he believed wool carpets were not only the best for design and performance on the floor, wool fibre was also New Zealand-grown, natural, biodegradable and renewable.
‘‘New Zealand’s wool industry has struggled in recent decades against the backdrop of cheaper synthetic alternatives, but the world is changing and we are confident our homegrown wool is the natural solution to imported synthetic carpet fibres.
‘‘Our research shows more consumers see the benefits of wool, however we still have a significant amount of work to do to provide the farming sector with the reassurance they need to remain committed to the industry in the long term.’’