Every year, the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) conducts surveys in which we try to find out what the issues are with various market segments, be it in the commercial or the residential sector. We just concluded our most recent one a few weeks ago with the commercial market segments and I’ll share some of the results in the next week or so as we get them.
One of the little tidbits I have seen already from the survey, though, centers around how aware are people of the CRI and what we do. I am constantly approached by people asking me about CRI locally and wondering how long we have been around and when I tell them our organization has been around since the 1800s, I always get this slack-jawed look of amazement.
So while nationally our “brand” awareness is at an all-time high, I thought I’d give you a brief history lesson on how CRI came to be. As you know, CRI is the national trade association for the carpet industry, spanning coast to coast and working as one voice for the carpet business. This organization is the realization of a dream that began back in the 1800s.
CRI has been around, in essence, since the early 1920s, but has roots reaching back to the days of old-fashioned broadlooms and spinning wheels in log cabins. One publication, Broadlooms and Businessmen, refers to “The Carpet Manufacturers Association” which was functioning around 1884.
However, it wasn’t until the 1920s that manufacturers realized the crucial need for one organization to keep track of industry data and bring industry information to the attention of carpet manufacturers nationwide. In 1927 the Institute of Carpet Manufacturers of America Inc. (ICMA) began in Washington, D.C., and became one of the first organized groups formed on behalf of the carpet industry. The South’s version of this group was the Tufted Bedspread Manufacturers Association, formed in the 1930s, and was the forerunner of the Tufted Textile Manufacturers Association (TTMA), which was formed in 1945.
The ICMA went to bat for the carpet industry for the first “big” time in 1929 when American cotton growers wanted protection against imports of carpet materials. In 1930 President Hoover signed the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act that permitted free importation of carpet wools and strengthened the position of the domestic manufacturer, thanks to the work of the ICMA.
With war looming near, the ICMA worked to bring carpet manufacturers together. World War II brought carpet to the front lines, at home and at war. With leadership from the ICMA, manufacturers agreed to exchange all the technical information on loom conversion. This action created the first Technical Committee, which continues to function today.
During the war carpet makers shared all the information they could, and made war products including Axminster blankets, army tents, and rayon fabric for camouflage netting.
After the war, members of the Institute decided to embark on a PR campaign that capitalized on the end of the war and the return of soldiers. The campaign, “Home Means More with Carpet on the Floor,” emphasized accent rugs, carpeted family rooms and area rugs. Other post-war programs helped get carpet into public schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
In 1947 the Institute of Carpet Manufacturers of America was changed to the Carpet Institute Inc. and was moved to the Empire State Building for headquarters. However, in 1958 the name changed again to the American Carpet Institute (ACI) to help identify nationality and fight import competition.
The ACI worked to identify areas of concern and was successful in pinpointing areas that CRI still works with today. The ACI managed industry statistical information, maintained a reference library of background material on the industry, and followed the tax laws and regulations as they affected the industry. They also began product research, held annual meetings, produced an industry newsletter and coordinated marketing activities.
The ACI was maintained until 1968, when it merged with the Tufted Textile Manufacturers Association. The TTMA had become a strong voice in the tufted textile industry since the 1930s and a merger between the two had been discussed for years. Before a merger agreement could be reached, the TTMA changed its name to the Tufted Carpet and Rug Institute. The two sides were able to reach a merger agreement and the new team became a larger, more solid association of carpet and rug manufacturers and suppliers. The new group named themselves the Carpet and Rug Institute.
Shortly after the merger, the national headquarters for CRI were moved to Dalton because 65 percent of the industry was centered in North Georgia. CRI and its members currently represent over 99 percent of all carpet manufacturers and suppliers. The industry now has one strong voice to represent both manufacturing and supplier needs and interests.
Werner Braun is president of the Carpet and Rug Institute.
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