What is the best green/non-toxic material for a rug? (recycle, organic)

[Bass101]

I need to buy a lot of rugs for the house. It seems they mainly come in the following types:

1. Wool
2. Cotton
3. Polyester
4. Polypropyelne

I have been staying away from wool for the reason that I've read it can often have mothproofing chemicals on it, which I really want to stay away from. I've also stayed away from polypropylene because according to a carpet professional I talked to, this smells very strongly b/c of the material.

Any thoughts on this? It's difficult to find cotton or polyester rugs.

Or any other materials that are good? We have wood floors that need to be covered.

[Rickers]

Just get a bunch of free cotton clothes that nobody wants, tear long strips of fabric and crochet a rag rug. It recycles clothes that nobody can fit into anymore or has rips and would otherwise go into the trash. It should not take very long to make a large one and could be done while listening to music or watching a movie. Since the fabric is older any toxic dyes etc would be long gone. You need a huge wooden crochet hook to do these.
My wife just saw me posting this and now she wants to make one. ~♥~

[MissingAll4Seasons]

You can get wool rugs that aren't treated with synthetic chemical mothproofing. Simple camphor (naturally occuring oil) repels moths just fine. If you look for certified organic wool, you'll probably find quite a few use natural or organic treatments to repel moths.

Cotton rag rugs are a good use of scrap/waste textile. Biggest problems with a lot of cotton is that it is also treated (non-orgnic cotton fields are heavily sprayed) and it doesn't have as strong a fiber as wool so can wear through more quickly. You may find yourself replacing your rugs more often.

Polyester is NO right off the bat, the chemicals and VOCs in the fiber and the backings are very high.

The newer polypro rugs, especially the ones that are specifically low-VOC, are a lot better than polyester... and many are now made from downscycled plastic pop bottles.

Another alternative, although maybe not greener definitely not worse, are spun fiberglass. These don't off-gas as badly as the polyester rugs normally do, are very durable, and are fire-resistant (wool & fiberglass are the only textiles approved for use in hearth rugs).

[Alaskan_Adventurer]

Nothing cooler than a bamboo rug, and they are amazingly dureable!

[IamCSpelch]

By their very nature, wool carpets and rugs are good when it comes to indoor environment. That's because wool, unlike synthetic fibers, rapidly absorbs common contaminants in indoor air like formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide.

[imagardener]

Also consider getting machine made rug not one made with child or slave labor, hand-knotted wool and some cotton rugs are made by children or slaves in 3rd world countries. However there is an association that puts a label on certain rugs assuring they are not made with child or slave labor.