Some carpets made with NZ wool will be launched at the big Surfaces Trade Fair in Las Vegas in February with a new "fibre integrity brand", Laneve.The Laneve mark will be used by manufacturers working with Wools of NZ to show compliance with specific standards on farming practice, animal welfare, sustainability, traceability and the environment reports TVNZ business news. Wool Partners International, which owns both the Laneve mark and Wools of NZ , said on Thursday the label will provide carpet customers in global markets with assurance on the origins of the wool used in their manufacture. It was unveiled on Thursday at the announcement of supply agreements with two carpetmakers, Glen Eden Wool and Bellbridge, who will use the label. Wool Partners chairwoman Theresa Gattung announced last year the label would not be specific to NZ to allow for the possibility that overseas wool will have to be imported to meet customer demand. She said consultant Brian Richards had been involved in designing the brand around cocooning a person from the troubles of the world. Gattung promised that though it wasn't in the name, NZ would "resonate" in the brand. The launch effectively downgrades the Fernmark brand - created at huge cost to the now-defunct Wool Board - to the role of a quality mark. Fernmark was itself established after marketers complained the Australian-owned Woolmark was only a quality assurance label. Wool Partners chief executive Iain Abercrombie said the company is negotiating with several other carpet manufacturers interested in similar agreements, which will be announced as they are completed. Abercrombie said Laneve will become a key element in the branding and marketing by the carpet-makers, supported by promotional and technical services from Wools of New Zealand."The combined programme will raise awareness of the unique attributes of New Zealand strong wool," he said. Over time, this would generate a price premium. Intended to be 50% owned by farmer-controlled Wool Grower Holdings, Wool Partners bought PGG Wrightson's strong wool business for $37.5 million, and Allied Farmers Wool, in a bid to consolidate the New Zealand strong wools clip.
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