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The Ministry of Education will instal synthetic carpet tiles in 800 rural and small schools, a decision which has drawn criticism, and now a petition.
Angela Blair was so incensed at the Government’s decision to use synthetic carpet tiles in schools, she started an online petition calling on it to change its mind.
Blair, a farmer from Geraldine, said the Ministry’s decision ‘’made my blood boil.’’
“It’s not just the farmers, it’s everyone associated with the wool and the carpet industries that is missing out. I would understand if there wasn’t another option, but there is – and wool is far more sustainable, and its made here,’’ she said.
“They try to reduce how much plastic there is in the country and then turn around and import it to use on classroom floors. I just can’t get my head around it.’’
Earlier this month the Ministry of Education confirmed it had awarded a $7 million to $8 million contract to American company Milliken to supply synthetic carpet tiles to about 800 small and rural schools.
Ministry of Education head of property Sam Fowler said Milliken outperformed wool carpet tile providers in performance specifications, the supplier’s approach in working with the Ministry, and cost.
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Angela Blair of Geraldine has started a petition calling for the use of wool carpets in all Government buildings, after the Ministry of Education decided to use synthetic carpet tiles in 800 classrooms.
Blair said the Government had spent $3.6million converting the wool scourers in Timaru from coal boilers and had invested money in carpet manufacturer Bremworth.
“They support the wool industry to be sustainable, then they turn around and support an overseas manufacturer instead of one of our own, during a recession.’’
The petition called on the Government to use wool carpet in all of its buildings.
Blair started it on Friday, and it had gained more than 1600 signatures over the weekend.
In 2020 South Otago farmer Amy Blaikie launched a similar petition calling on the Government to use wool in KiwiBuild homes and other taxpayer-funded buildings.
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The Government had invested funding into Bremworth to support strong wool manufacturing, but then decided to use synthetic carpet tiles, Blair said.
”They ignored that, and she got 14,000 signatures. It’s still sitting in Parliament and nothing has been done with it,’’ Blair said.
Blair said she would take her petition to Wellington.
”I’m going big with it. They have to realise the impact these decisions have,’’ she said.
The Ministry’s decision also drew criticism from Groundswell NZ, Federated Farmers and the Green Party.
On Monday, Fowler said the contract had been signed and would not be reconsidered.
“The Ministry followed a transparent procurement process and enlisted Audit NZ as our probity auditor to ensure fairness and transparency throughout the entire process that led us to this decision,’’ he said.
BREMWORTH
Cavalier Corporation’s New Zealand wool carpet business, Bremworth, produced its last roll of synthetic carpet in May 2021.
The Ministry had engaged with Wools of NZ to discuss why its tender was unsuccessful, and what was required for its product to meet the Ministry’s requirements in the future.
“We have recently met with the industry support organisation Wool Impact covering a range of areas to do with the use of wool products in an education environment and have committed to staying in touch with them. Our team has also spoken to Tom O’Sullivan at Campaign for Wool and will be meeting him over the coming days to discuss future opportunities.”
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