Could a Magazine Headline Make You Sick? This one - "Could your rug make you sick?" - did it for me.I love my job here at the Carpet and Rug Institute [CRI], but I admit I sometimes get discouraged by what I sense is the growing public sentiment – manipulated by a scandal-hungry press - that carpet is not a healthy floor covering. It doesn’t seem to register with many of the writers and editors I speak to from outside of the carpet industry that, for more than fifty years, people have lived quite happily with their wall-to-wall carpet. It just seems that lately everything you read either subtly implies or blatantly states that carpet is bad. And many publications seem to be hell-bent on negativity even in the face of factual information about the benefits of carpet.
A case in point:
Not long after I came to work at CRI, I was contacted by a freelance writer named Beth Roehrig who said she was working on an article for Health magazine on “keeping carpets healthy” in the home. Excited by the possibility of exposure in a national publication, I arranged for the writer to interview CRI’s president, Werner Braun, who spoke with her for about 20 minutes. Werner covered a number of topics – thoroughly, as always - including carpet’s emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), the development of CRI’s Green Label and Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality testing program , and CRI’s Seal of Approval testing and certification program for cleaning solutions, vacuums, extractors, etc.
I sent the writer a hefty packet of information by FedEx priority overnight – we aim to please here at CRI. I didn’t want to overload the writer with facts and research studies, but I know from my own writing experience that sifting through too much information is far preferable to making do with too little, especially when writing about an unfamiliar subject. In all, Ms. Roehrig and I emailed back and forth about 15 times during the article development process.
Before the article was published, I received a series of questions from a “fact-checker” at the magazine. This was my first experience with a fact-checker, so I took extra time with my responses to the statements that were submitted for me to approve or disapprove as “facts.” James Beach, CRI’s director of market issues weighed in with his own thoughtful input. Several of the statements from the article espoused opinions that, to say the least, ran counter to what CRI’s research shows us to be the facts about carpet. Still, I gave my responses and hoped for the best.
When the time came, I purchased two copies of the March issue of Health at a store near my office. I sat in my car out in the store’s parking lot and started flipping pages. I found the one-page article I was looking for sandwiched between two ads for diet aids under the headline, COULD YOUR RUG MAKE YOU SICK? In short, the article talked about how carpet harbors allergens and emits VOCs, “which can cause headaches and respiratory problems in susceptible people”. It gave advice about what people should do if they “end up with a floor covering that reeks.” But the worst part was the headline. No amount of balanced information could undo the damage done by those six words (In her defense, the author did not write the headline).
For me, this article was a rude welcome into the world of media relations, but one that prepared me quickly for what I have come to expect on a daily basis. I have learned that the secret (and the challenge) to my success is remembering that each new press contact is a new chance to spread the good news about carpet. I will continue to provide the press and public with credible information, and I won’t forget to celebrate the times when people are willing to listen.
But what is the truth about carpet and indoor air quality, asthma and allergies? I could try and answer, but I think it’s better if I leave that to an expert. In his article, Carpet, Asthma, and Allergies, Myth or Reality, author and toxicology expert Mitchell Sauerhoff, Ph. D., DABT, reviewed more than 23 U.S. and international studies based on research performed over a period of 19 years and concluded that,
“The long-held beliefs on carpet’s alleged negative characteristics are not consistent with current research. Carpet emits VOCs for very short durations and at very low levels. Levels of VOCs from carpet have a very low probability of acting as asthma triggers. While carpet may have a higher burden of biocontaminants, airborne levels of these biocontaminants are similar or lower than over hard flooring surfaces according to most studies. Carpet appears to trap or sequester biocontaminants, taking them out of the atmosphere…Indeed, the significant literature on carpet and asthma or allergies confirms that children and adults living with carpet do not have an increased incidence of asthma or allergy.”
“Based on the available science, carpet does not cause asthma or allergies and does not increase the incidence or severity of asthma or allergies symptoms. In fact …multiple studies have reported fewer allergy and asthma symptoms associated with carpet.”
Mitchell Sauerhoff, Ph.D., DABT
Here’s to your Health...
Bethany
Related posts:
+ NFT: Scientific Facts Dispel Carpet & Asthma Myths
+ CRI Survey of Asthma & Allergy Doctors
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