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A three-year research study into the perceptions of wool has found efforts to build the industry's sustainability credentials are transforming how millennial consumers perceive the fibre.
Industry experts say the perceptual change is removing significant barriers to the growth of the domestic and export wool markets.
The nationwide Bremworth study, which has tracked changes in attitudes over the past three years, also shows the perception of wool carpet as having a higher cost - when compared to synthetic alternatives - is becoming less of a barrier for most consumers.
While wool was once ubiquitous on the floors of Kiwi homes, over the past two decades synthetic flooring had become dominant in the market, chief executive of Bremworth Greg Smith said.
Now, for the first time, the local industry was faced with building awareness of wool carpet across a segment of millennial homeowners who had not grown up with it in their house as children, he said.
"What we know from the research is that half of those in the market for renovating or refurbishing their home are now in the millennial age bracket."
Millennials were a market segment looking to wool for a range of reasons that weren't priorities for the generations that preceded them, Smith said.
"We also know that millennials spend time researching products before buying and choose brands that align with their ethical beliefs and values."
The length of life of a product, sustainability and environmental impact were also factors millennials took into consideration before making a purchase, Smith said.
"We also recognise that if we can't effectively educate domestic consumers on the benefits of wool in a country where it is produced, we will have little chance of growing our offshore markets - the research has shown us that the industry is making significant advances on this front every year."
The study found wool is increasingly recognised as environmentally friendly by over three quarters (77 per cent) of those surveyed and sustainable by more than two-thirds (69 per cent) of respondents.
The research also found health and safety of home flooring is now a key driver of purchase for consumers with almost a third (31 per cent) of those Kiwi households surveyed living with someone with allergies.
Wool is seen as healthier (66 per cent), more fire-resistant (60 per cent) and more allergy-friendly (45 per cent) than synthetic alternatives.
Historically, cost had been a key differentiator in the local market but that was before there was widespread recognition of the environmental impact of synthetic or plastic products, Smith said.
"We can see that over the past year the focus on price has dropped significantly and is now only a barrier for less than a quarter (23 per cent) of consumers."
The study illustrated the need to build greater awareness of wool, with 27 per cent of respondents unaware of what synthetic carpet is made from - which can be nylon, polyester and polypropylene, he said.
The study also showed the pandemic-led growth in renovations may be tailing off with fewer Kiwis interested in replacing their flooring, Smith said.
"While carpet remains the preferred flooring choice for 70 per cent, there are some indications that fewer people are looking to refurbish their home over the coming year."
However, interest in purchasing vinyl, laminate, tile or wood flooring had dropped to as low as 14 per cent, he said.
"[This] means the agricultural industry can focus on further educating consumers on the benefits of wool over synthetics to grow market share."
The lessons Bremworth had learned from the first 12 months of moving from synthetics to producing only wool carpets had wider repercussions for other New Zealand manufacturers and exporters, Smith said.
Bremworth now focused on positioning wool as a premium residential offering in offshore markets, rather than securing large-scale commercial contracts which were heavily price-driven, Smith said.
"Working with wool is a significantly different product to synthetics as it requires constant adaptation by skilled artisans to allow for the natural variations in the colour of raw material - which are driven by seasonal weather patterns and other factors."
As a result, Bremworth now focused on exporting a high-value, high-quality product at a significantly greater margin to target the top end of the international residential property market, Smith said.
The company had also increased its local employment levels by 4 per cent over the past year - with the new business model demonstrating there was an upside for New Zealand's economy as Kiwi manufacturers worked to become more sustainable, Smith said.
While the latest Government data shows the value of New Zealand's wool product exports, of which most is carpet, has fallen by 44 per cent over the past six years, there are positive signs for the industry with forecasts projecting a 10 per cent increase in export revenue for 2023.
The nationwide Bremworth Study (June 2022) was conducted by an independent market research agency. The three-year study had a total sample size of n=862 and was designed to understand New Zealanders' perceptions of wool.