How Ruggable designed its new rug to have the charm of jute without any of the scratchiness

FastCompany: I have a very conflicted relationship with my jute rug. I love the organic, textured aesthetic that makes my dining room feel earthy and relaxed. But over time, I’ve come to resent how scratchy it feels underfoot, how the fibers shed and splinter, and how if my toddler spills yogurt on it, there’s no way to get it out of the nooks and crannies, so it becomes part of the rug forever. Ruggable, the company that launched nearly a decade ago on the premise that rugs should be washable, has been on a mission to reimagine the jute rug.

And after nearly two years of development, it is launching a machine-washable rug called Performance Weave that mimics jute so convincingly, you would need to touch it to know the difference. To create it, Ruggable had to embark in a complex process of reverse engineering to give customers all the qualities they love about jute—the complexity of its texture and color—while making it softer to the touch and washable. “There’s so many performance benefits of jute when you think about it as a material, but there are a lot of drawbacks too,” says Nicole Otto, Ruggable’s CEO. “Traditional jute doesn’t have the best foot feel.

We set out to fix that.” [Photo: Ruggable] Building a Jute-Alternative The breakthrough starts at the yarn level. Rather than using standard synthetic fibers that are commonly used to make rugs these days, Ruggable’s team engineered a yarn made from a polymer called polypropylene specifically designed to replicate jute’s signature look. To re-create the depth and tonal variation you would see in a natural fiber, they found a way to twist three distinct filaments together that were light, medium, and dark.

It’s the same principle behind why our hair looks dimensional, rather than flat: Individual hairs come in different shades that work together to create richness. This makes it different from rugs that are dyed in a single color, which ends up looking flat and synthetic. [Photo: Ruggable] Many people like having jute rugs in outdoor spaces—particularly in warmer climates in the sun belt. So Ruggable chose to use yarns with a U.V. stabilizer built into the filaments, allowing it to hold up whether it is baking in the sun or in your living room. [Photos: Ruggable] From there, the yarn is tufted into what Otto calls a “croissant” weave.

It is narrower at the base, but gains density as it loops upwards. The structure creates the thick, textured, organic look that makes jute so appealing, while staying soft to the touch. “We’ve actually woven it in a way that it has a lot of give and cushion,” Otto explains. Ruggable found a tufted construction method that allows the rug to be both fully machine washable, while also staying structurally stable. The company promises that the rug won’t warp, wrinkle, or crease when you throw it in the washing machine.

The bottom layer of the rug is thin and lightweight, keeping it pliable enough to fit in a standard home washing machine, while giving the rug some grip. [Photo: Ruggable] Ruggable’s All-in-One Platform Since launching in 2017, Ruggable has made a business out of solving problems with traditional rugs. Founder Jeneva Bell’s original breakthrough was deconstructing a rug into layers and engineering them to survive a washing machine cycle together—which required understanding the material science of how each layer behaves under pressure.

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This article highlights a significant innovation in the rug industry that addresses consumer pain points, making it relevant for brand strategy professionals focused on product development and market positioning.