Spring 2020 - 96

ONE LAST THING
Meet the Maker
Earth
Rugs
A maker with a focus
on inspiring hope for
the future
BY JESS SCHMIDT
Staff Writer
Ed Back and Rose Fitzhugh-Back of Earth Rugs.
E
co-friendly is the buzzword
in the gift industry at the
moment. It seems to be
defining everything good that humans
are able to do and inspire hope for the
future. With so many new companies
jumping on the bandwagon and
telling reduced environmental
impact stories, we're starting to see
manufacturers seek out materials
that were brushed by the wayside
when cheap plastic materials became
the best way to make money. Plastic
is out, and natural materials are in.
This includes a material that predates
human historical record: jute.
Earth Rugs is in the business of
importing jute rugs from Bangladesh.
The journey of these rugs to American
gift shops began in 1976 when Ed
Back traveled from Europe to India,
hitchhiking and taking buses for an
entire year while seeing the world.
Back
had
a
stop
in Dhaka,
Bangladesh on his return trip to
the U.S. He saw plush pile jute rugs
dyed in brilliant shades in a market
there; these rugs were nothing like
96 SPRING 2020
anything he'd seen in the U.S., and
he immediately began to imagine
building an import company to
bring the beautiful rugs to his home
country.
We know what you're thinking.
What is jute - and what does it have
to do with rugs?
In the world of rugs, we've
seen wool, cotton and man-made
materials as the major players since
1947, when nylon, polyester, acrylic
and rayon were introduced, but
with the recent shift in popularity to
natural materials, we're also seeing
synthetic fibers being dropped for
materials such as hemp and jute.
Hemp is all the rage, but jute
shouldn't be overlooked. Jute was
favored by residents of the Indus
valley, in modern day Bangladesh, as
long ago as around 3000 B.C. It was
exported to other areas of the world
by the British Empire and is still
grown for textiles, known especially
for its natural fire retardance and
very durable fibers. It's used in sacs
for grains, clothing and other textiles.

Spring 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spring 2020

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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/winter-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/celebrations-occasions-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/fall-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/waterfront-living-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/summer-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/holiday-shop-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/the-guide-2024
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/fall-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/waterfront-living-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/summer-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/holiday-shop-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/spring-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/the-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/winter-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/celebrations-occasions-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/fall-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/waterfront-living-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/summer-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/holiday-shop-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/spring-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/theguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/winter-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/fall-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/summer-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/spring-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/theguide-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/celebrationsoccasions-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/winter-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/fall-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-fall-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/summer-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-summer-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/survivethriveguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/spring-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-spring-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/theguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/winter-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-winter-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/fall-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-fall-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/demdaco-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/summer-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-summer-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/holidaygiftguide-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/spring-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-spring-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/winter-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GiftShop-Plus/pets-winter-2019
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