Designtex

NATIONAL REPORT—For those who specify and/or purchase fabric for items such as furniture and draperies, options that include recycled content have been around for a long time. Over the last year, however, fabric suppliers have increased the number of “green” options they offer. Today, it is easy to find polyester fabric made from yarn derived from recycled plastic bottles. Sustainable fabric made from natural fibers is also quite common. While the price point for some sustainable fabrics can be higher, some vendors are able to offer sustainable lines at the same price as traditional fabrics because of the high volume of yarn that they purchase.

Suppliers have turned to various for-profit and nonprofit organizations to certify their products and manufacturing processes but the Sustainable Textile Standard for sustainable fabric is still about nine months away, according to Diana Dobin, senior vice president of Valley Forge Fabrics Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla. That standard is being written by a joint committee led by the Association for Contract Textiles (ACT) and NSF International.

Green Lodging News contacted several sustainable-fabric suppliers for updates on their product lines. It also conducted online research. Below is a summary of what some of the hospitality industry’s leading fabric suppliers are offering.

In 2009, Valley Forge Fabrics will continue to add to its FRESH (Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards (for) Hospitality) lines. FRESH fabrics are made with post-industrial and post-consumer recycled synthetic yarns (mostly from post-consumer PET plastic beverage bottles). FRESH fabrics are recyclable and Valley Forge offers a reclamation program for them. FRESH fabrics are available for upholstery, draperies and bedding. Late in 2008, Valley Forge introduced LIVING FRESH, a natural bedding collection. This collection is made with high thread counts (300TC) and was developed with the high end of the lodging industry in mind.

Fiber from Eucalyptus Trees

“LIVING FRESH is competitive with traditional cotton and cotton/polyester,” Dobin says. “It includes fiber made from eucalyptus trees. The forests where the trees are grown do not require pesticides and the forests themselves are Forest Stewardship Council-certified forests. The eucalyptus fibers are made into yarn and blended with cotton. The blend helps to prevent wrinkling.”

Carnegie Fabrics

In regard to the company’s plans for 2009, Dobin said, “This year we are putting out higher-end collections in terms of texture. We will be doing more solids at a price point that is 25 percent lower than traditional FRESH upholsteries.”

Valley Forge is currently pursuing Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) certification for its FRESH line. SCS will certify FRESH for its recycled content, recyclability and the reclamation program established for it. “We wanted to go with a [certification] organization that is not for profit,” Dobin says.

DuraleeContract is offering a line of Eco-Fabrics that feature 100 percent Eco Intelligent Polyester fabrics that are Cradle to Cradle Gold certified by MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry). DuraleeContract’s Crypton Green upholstery fabric line includes from 50 to 100 percent recycled fiber and can be recycled into a material used to make carpet padding. DuraleeContract’s two-book color collection features creamy golds, bright and spicy reds, crisp black and white, soft greens, teal blues and rich browns.

Lisa Rivera, marketing and advertising manager for DuraleeContract, says the company will be introducing a new “green” collection in the third quarter of 2009. It will be designed with the assistance of well-known designer Clodagh.

PVC-free Product Lines Available

Carnegie Fabrics, which touts the fact that it offers its customers a PVC-free (polyvinyl chloride) product line, plans to offer designers a little less opulence and more classic, timeless design options in 2009, says Mary Holt, executive vice president of Creative for the company. “I am forecasting a return to some of the basics—not as edgy as the past few years,” she says.

Like DuraleeContract, Carnegie Fabrics offers products that have achieved MBDC certification. One such product is Xorel Fabrics. Xorel is woven from polyethylene and is chlorine and plasticizer free. If placed in a landfill, the company says Xorel Fabrics will not harm groundwater. Carnegie Fabrics’ Climatex Lifecycle fabrics, which consist of the natural fibers wool and ramie, return to the earth as compost if landfilled. Carnegie also offers a wide selection of upholstery fabrics manufactured with Terratex Brand recycled polyester. The company’s Eco Intelligent Polyester (EIP) includes a catalyst that replaces the heavy metal antimony, a known toxin. EIP is designed to be safely recycled into new fabric at the end of its commercial life.

When asked what the hospitality industry should expect from companies like Carnegie Fabrics in the near future, Holt said, “You will see more vinyl alternatives—products that are wipeable, cleanable and free of PVC.”

DuraleeContract

Designtex, which offers every textile construction that has received MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle Certification, uses yarns made from recycled PET (polyester) resin bottles and from corn and other vegetable starches in its fabrics. Designtex currently offers a line of drapery fabric made from Ingeo, a corn-based product that is biodegradable and compostable. Like Duralee Contract, Designtex offers antimony-free fabrics. Designtex also offers compostable upholstery fabric through its Climatex Lifestyle collection. Designtex’s Harvest Collection features five styles, each named after a sustainable crop. Designtex takes back samples for recycling and has a reclamation program for many of its fabric lines.

Fabric for Seating Systems

Arc-Com offers eco-tex sustainable textiles. Made from 100 percent recycled polyester, Arc-Com eco-tex textiles are woven from a single fiber type with a recyclable backing or no backing and are 100 percent recyclable. Created for use as upholstery fabric, Arc-Com offers a variety of sustainable textiles patterns, many of which are preapproved for application on numerous manufacturers’ seating systems. Arc-Com eco-tex textiles meet or exceed all ACT Standards for upholstery fabric.

Numerous fabric companies offer Crypton, Inc.’s Crypton Green, a fabric solution that exceeds industry standards for indoor air quality and optimized materials. According to Crypton, Inc., Crypton Green is the only performance fabric that can claim certifications from both Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) and MBDC. Randy Rubin, co-owner of Crypton, says her company works with licensed mills that send their fabrics to her company for a treatment that ensures mold and stain resistance. Crypton Green fabrics have either of the following attributes: are made from 50 to 100 percent recycled content; include 100 percent heavy-metal-free polyester; are 100 percent wool with heavy-metal-free dyes; or are 100 percent polypropylene.

“We use chemistry that has no detectable signs of PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) or VOCs (volatile organic compounds),” says Rubin, adding that 20 percent of the fabric her company treated in 2008 was Crypton Green.

Rubin says her company will be entering two new product categories in 2009.

J. Ennis Fabrics is offering two Crypton Green collections. The first one features 11 patterns in 74 skus, all made from recycled polyester. Colors range from traditional to vibrant modern hues and shaded. Patterns feature soft chenille yarns in stripes and contemporary prints. The second collection, Crypton Green II, features 12 patterns in 75 skus all made from 100 percent recycled polyester. Colors range from spicy orange to bold reds, chocolate browns and pacific blues.

Valley Forge Fabrics

Bella-Dura is the result of a collaboration between Wearbest Sil-Tex Mills and the engineers at American Fibers and Yarns Company. It is a by-product of post-industrial waste and is completely recyclable at the end of its life. Bella-Dura Fabrics have achieved Silver Cradle-to-Cradle certification from MBDC. The family of Bella-Dura Fabric products includes: Bella-Dura Classic, cotton-like flat woven fabrics; Bella-Dura Plush, a chenille; and Bella-Dura Drapery. The products are available in bright, saturated colors or muted neutrals and earth tones.

Organic Upholstery Fabric

One company that offers an organic upholstery fabric made from 33 percent hemp, 19 percent linen, 21 percent ramie and 27 percent organic cotton is O Ecotextiles. According to the company, being an “organic textile” means not just that its fabric uses organic fibers in the yarn, but that every step of the production process has been certified eco-friendly. Their fabrics are softened with a combination of beeswax, aloe vera and vitamin E.

With an increasing number of hotel developers pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for new and existing buildings, questions have been raised about whether or not fabric can contribute LEED points. Some fabrics may earn Materials and Resources or Indoor Environmental Quality credits based on their recycled content, ability to be recycled, whether or not they were sourced regionally, and their ability to not impact indoor air quality. Be sure to ask your fabric supplier about LEED credits.

Also be sure to check out the following companies: Silver State Inc.; Kravet Inc.; Integra Fabrics; Hunter Douglas Hospitality; Uffner Textiles; C.F. Stinson; Northeast Textiles, Inc.; Sina Pearson Textiles; True Textiles, Inc.; HBF Textiles; the Robert Allen Group; and Victor Group, Inc.

Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.