Reading the postings, it's clear where this will lead to: Don't buy oriental rugs because you never know what will happen to your children when they play on the rug. That's my main problem with a negative story.

It may be true there are people in this busyness that do not walk a straight line, but: Drinking alcohol isn't the most healthy thing one can do in ones life. Children get killed by people that had a nip from a Rottenshield 1981, before getting in their cars. (Why did German Gouvernment step in? Because of money, employment, because some alcoholics got killed? That's a pitty) That's criminal! And I will feast the rest of my life if G.M. or Benz will implement a breath detection instrument that, the moment people get in their cars, cuts of power if alcohol is detected. This will never happen because too much money is involved etc.

A negative story will never bring the solution you're looking for. Kicking the trade as a whole will not do the trick. (And I do not think I've been misreading your salon. I've even read it in between the lines)
If a client needs a rug, a specialized dealer is perfectly capable of telling them what they are buying. The more stamps, stickers, labels are on the rug, the more you need to think twice before buying. The rug tells the story. If the label tells (gold on silver) the story, it's bad news.
It's how people are buying the rugs that can make a difference. And because most consumers are buying cheap, knowing the rug will be on the junkyard after 5/6 years, it's o.k. with me. I can't sell them the rug that they need.
If a consumer wants a decent rug, I think most specialized dealers can do the job perfectly well.

Cheers,
Vincent

I don't see anything in Michael's essay that says or suggests that everyone in rug commerce is dishonest, only that some are. You and I obviously agree that there are some dishonest people in the rug business. Those are the ones from whom consumers need protection.

I am less optimistic than Michael is about how much protection can be offered without devoting more resources to the problem than its importance warrants, but I think his point clearly does not include a blanket indictment of knowledgable, honest dealers.

Some arguments have been advanced in other threads to the effect that if there are laws regulating rug labeling, people will break those laws. The fact is, every law gets broken from time to time, that's why we have law enforcement and courts. The real questions here, I believe, are:
1. Will enforcement at a reasonable level of effectiveness cost more than society is willing to pay, given the consequences of not having the laws at all?
2. What are the likely side effects of any laws that might be enacted? These are what we might think of as the hidden costs to society.

If rug labeling of the type Michael proposes is to be effective - and I'm not confident that it can be - the laws requiring it will have to be created with great care. But I don't think the fact that there will be violations is, all by itself, an argument against having laws requiring it.

Regards,

Steve Price

Mr. Bischof is suggesting a beneficial process for concerned consumers to have an informed choice in their rug buying. I believe there were problems with some wall-to-wall carpeting off-gassing and causing health problems in schools. I had not heard that this happens with handmade wool carpets, because I thought it was due to either the synthetic fibres or the anti-stain treatments, neither of which is true about wool hand-made rugs as far as I know. It is true that one should not allow small children around a freshly washed wall-to-wall rug due to microorganisms that become airborne. Again, I do not know if this is true with hand-made wool rugs.
Even if the Bischof-Plan were implemented, there is still the issue of "used" rugs which have no labels. There will always be mislabelled rugs (notice the smuggled-in Iranian rugs in the US during the embargo). And think of how much nicer your job will be, only working on pure, organic, natural rugs!
We have labels on movies, medicines, cigarettes and even our clothing is required to have more labeling than rugs!
(Disclaimer: No, I do not own a labeling company )

Patrick Weiler