A CAMPAIGN to brush up the image of carpet has gleaned a prestigious national award.

The Kidderminster-based Carpet Foundation, which represents the cream of the British industry, floored more than 300 other businesses to win the accolade from the Trade Association Forum.

The foundation's Come Back to Carpet campaign has made a huge impact with even former hard-floor fans such as interior design guru Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen declaring "Carpet is Back".

The Forum, an offshoot of the CBI, has bestowed its Best Commercial Initiative on the foundation for its efforts.

The campaign saw the foundation, which represents 14 leading manufacturers, team up with 1,150 independent retailers to raise more than £1.5m to promote the benefits of carpet.

The foundation guarantees the retailers are registered specialists and has also launched a quality mark for carpet for consumers in an attempt to set standards in the industry.

In return the retailers pay one per cent of their sales into the foundation's coffers.

And the increased coverage in the media is good news for manufacturers, retailers and some 3,000 jobs in Wyre Forest dependent on the industry, which has a £1.5bn annual turnover nationwide.

Foundation chief executive Mike Hardiman said: "Hard-floor has been all the fashion over the last decade but there is no doubt carpet is back.

"People forget that 97 per cent of the population has floor-coverings in their homes. It's a matter of promoting the message of the benefits of carpet."

The carpet group has also held its Red Carpet Awards which honours journalists in the Press and home interest titles for articles about the floor-covering.

Summing up the reason for the award, judges' chairman Alastair Macdonald said: "The judges admired the ambition of this excellent solution which demonstrates what associations could and should do for their sectors.

Leadership

"Its clear objectives and leadership secured serious commitment and resources from the industry and it is a model that other sectors might wish to follow in the future."

Mr Hardiman added: "The cynics said it would never happen, but our initiative has exceeded all expectations.

"We have put quality carpet back on national TV screens and re-invigorated the industry.

"We are now Europe's largest retailer/manufacturer partnership and there is tremendous scope to further exploit such unprecedented collaboration between manufacturers and retailers."