Carpet giant Godfrey Hirst threatening legal action over Bremworth's promotion of wool against synthetic fibres

Kiwi carpet company Bremworth is fighting back against a global flooring manufacturer who is threatening legal action over the way it's promoting its product.

Godfrey Hirst claims the Kiwi company is making false claims about natural and synthetic fibres.

Bremworth dumped synthetic fibres in its carpets in May in a bid to move away from plastic, and now it's pushing the benefits of wool.

But rival carpet maker Godfrey Hirst, which still sells synthetic carpets, claims Bremworth has breached the Fair Trading Act by highlighting the environmental impact of synthetic carpets while ignoring the environmental impact of producing wool.

"In a nutshell, it's essentially that we're demonising synthetic plastic carpet fibres and obviously promoting the virtues of our beautifully homegrown wool," says Rochelle Flint, general manager of marketing and international operations at Bremworth.

"It's what we're doing and we're proud of it, really proud of it."

In a lawyer's letter, Godfrey Hirst highlights several concerns, including Bremworth's claim that the average Kiwi household has about 150 kilograms of plastic on their floor - the equivalent of 22,000 single-use plastic bags. 

Godfrey Hirst told Newshub: "Bremworth, now that it is not in a position to provide synthetic carpets, is seeking to denigrate them, in a misleading, unfair and unsubstantiated manner."

With both sides digging in their needles, this is just the start of this wool war, and it could end up on the floor of a courtroom.