UK company Invictus using Māori culture to sell carpet

UK carpet company uses Māori culture in advertisement. Video / Associated Weavers

A UK company has been slammed for using Māori culture to sell carpet.

Invictus Carpet & Flooring incorporates numerous elements of Māori culture in its website branding and its advertising, including a video ad released in 2015 showing white children performing a haka in their living room.

The company has caught the attention of Kiwis in the UK who have expressed concern at the use of the Māori cultural elements.

And Māori cultural adviser Karaitiana Taiuru told the Herald he had "never seen anything so blatantly ripping off a culture".

A UK company has been slammed for using Māori culture to sell carpet. Photo / Invictus

"It absolutely is cultural appropriation," Taiuru added.

The Māori cultural adviser said he would stop short of calling it "racist" but said it was a "typical example" of cultural appropriation.

"It is highly offensive," he added.

"This is nothing to do with carpet, it does not relate to the business. If there was some sort of relationship between product and images ... but it's carpet."

For Taiuru, there is also the question of whether or not the Māori men portrayed on the website are aware of their images being used.

The Invictus website features multiple images of Māori men and their Tā Moko.

Māori elements on the carpet manufacturer's website. Photo / Invictus

In its description of the carpet collection, Invictus explains the inspiration behind the naming of the different carpet models, named after constellations.

"Stars are eternal, no man can make them cease to shine. Travelling tribes, like the ancestors of the Māori, used stars as light, map and compass to guide the way," the company says on its website.

A Kiwi living in the UK told the Herald: "At first sight I thought it was a bit strange and awkward having such cultural images being associated with carpet that people walk over.

Photo / Invictus

"After looking at their website it was blatantly obvious this was cultural appropriation. Unless I'm wrong perhaps they are allowed to and have links to New Zealand, I don't think it's acceptable to profit from the use of a minority's culture without their consent. It displays entitlement and privilege," the man, who's been living in the UK for 11 years, added.

"I believe companies around the world need to respect different cultures and engage with them. To seek permission before associating a culture with their products and to ensure that it is appropriate to do so.

"In a world where culture, beliefs and ideas are clashing together through the rise of social networking, the best thing humanity can do is to have a mutual understanding of one another," the Kiwi added.

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"I see two men with Tā Moko. A Tā Moko is personal to the individual, it's your family, it's your identity. They have the same Tā Moko on two of these men which is quite offensive," he said.

"There's no reason why it should keep on happening. There are plenty of resources on this. It's a whole case of them thinking their culture is superior and it shows a total disregard for Māori culture."

Invictus is owned by Associated Weavers, "a UK brand since 1964", according to the site. The company is headquartered in Halifax, England.

The Herald has contacted Invictus for comment.