A TEXTILE firm is stepping up its “green” credentials with a new environmentally-friendly mat.

Phoenox Textiles Ltd, a family business at Spring Grove Mill, Clayton West, has already won an award for Hug Rug, a barrier mat which is made entirely from recycled materials, including tyres and plastic bottle tops and is 100% recyclable.

The product – which will be launched to consumers in February next year – earned Phoenox Textiles a trophy in the Glee Awards 2008 at Birmingham’s NEC.

Director Adrian Mosley said: “We’ve been making rugs and carpets for more than 50 years, so we know a thing or two about floor coverings.

“However, a few years ago, we began to realise that our business required a change of direction. So we developed a strategy to minimise our environmental impact and create products that reduced waste and the use of scarce natural resources.”

Said Mr Mosley: “We have been working closely with the Carbon Trust to reduce our CO2 emissions and dependence on oil. So now we use electricity from hydro pumps, windmill farms and solar power in our manufacturing process.

The Hug Rug range is made from UK-sourced recycled cotton with waste tyres being processed to provide the rubber backing. The company has even scoured the country for the right kind of plastic bottles and bottle tops to make the webbing.

The recycled cotton is combined with an advanced microfibre, thinner than a human hair, which is highly efficient at attracting dirt and dust molecules.

The range has been developed over the past two years and includes doormats and bath mats in a wide variety of designs, kitchen mats and large mats for entrance halls or office reception areas. Phoenox has now launched a drive to sign up stockists across the UK.

Said Mr Mosley: “The Hug Rug range has been created over the past five years. We have researched and sourced the recycled cotton to ensure comfort and durability and worked closely with our suppliers to create a patented reclamation process.”

Mr Mosey, who founded the brand and has worked in textiles for more than 20 years, said: “Yorkshire has always been a strong textile area.

“But and all those involved in this huge product development have been staggered by the immense and somewhat overwhelming response when Hug Rug was shown for the first time at the Glee Exhibition in Birmingham.

“Hug Rug is now available to stockists, but will be held for general consumer release until the Ideal Home Exhibition in February, 2009.”

Hug Rug won the category for home and gift innovation at Glee 2008 – which is billed as the most comprehensive annual buying event for the garden, pet and leisure industries. More than 1,400 suppliers attended the event in September.