The deliberate exclusion of wool carpet from state homes in favour of synthetic materials by Kainga Ora sets a damaging precedent, according to wool sector advocates.

Under a new Request for Proposal for the national supply of carpet and underlay materials to support Kainga Ora Homes and Communities’ maintenance and construction work, the tender document states the government agency “are not looking to procure wool carpet”.

However, the exclusion appears in conflict with a government directive in November last year to “prefer the use of woollen fibres over synthetic ones” in its buildings, where practical.

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