Eco-friendly rug opens door to US market for Yorkshire firm

A YORKSHIRE-based doormat maker plans to open a base in the United States after achieving record sales.

Huddersfield-based Hug Rug sold 40,000 door mats last month. The Hug Rug brand was created by Phoenox Textiles, a fourth generation family textile business.

Hug Rug produces an eco-friendly range of mats, along with organic and bamboo bath-mats.

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Liz Mosley, the sales and marketing director of Hug Rug, said: "We created a brand which recognises growing consumer demand for eco-friendly products."

Hug Rug was first exported to the US in September 2009. The company is on the brink of setting up a distribution warehouse in the US after receiving positive feedback from customers.

The Hug Rug's success has helped to secure the future of a long-established family business.

The company dates from 1928, when Fred Mosley started manufacturing bus seat covers at a factory in Wood Street, Huddersfield. He later went on to make woven fireside rugs

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Ms Mosley said: "We just could not compete with the Far East on price with our wage costs and the red tape associated with UK manufacturing.

"So we had to create something new and unique – we are, after all, the last man standing in our sector.

"Using our staff, who have amazing knowledge and expertise, we tapped into the environmental issues of manufacturing to create something that cannot be copied on the cheap by the Far East.

"We are producing a quality product led by design innovation with massive eco-credentials and we are delivering on our promises.

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"The US customers were being badly let down by the Far East on delivery – our distribution can easily be scaled up to meet orders."

The mats are made from recycled materials including discarded tyres, cotton, plastic bottles and bottle tops.

Ms Mosley said: "We use organic bamboo, grown without pesticides or chemicals, which is one of the world's fastest growing and most sustainable resources and organic, pure fruit dyes."

The company, which employs 65 staff at its historic textile mill in Huddersfield, hopes to hire more workers as a result of the rug's popularity.

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Ms Mosley said: "We believe this success will lead to jobs in Yorkshire. We all remember the days when there was the lovely sound of clanking machinery.

"We are currently recruiting office personnel to help deal with the sales demand, and create long-term customer relationships."

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