I would not put this rug in a spot that is going to get a lot of barefoot traffic. It does have a plastic like texture to it. The best description is if they took a bunch of long strings made out of those red coffee stir straws and wove them together. These rugs are best used on porches or mud rooms, places that you will have shoes on. I have flip flops on so I went and walked bare foot on the sample and it isn't painful to just walk over it, but if you were to stand on it for an extended period of time it would make the bottom of your feet a little sore.