Home Green Design A Hotel Industry Future Without Vinyl Products?

A Hotel Industry Future Without Vinyl Products?

1938
0
SHARE

Vinyl or PVC materials have been a staple in hotel projects for many decades. Vinyl offers performance and a cost value that other materials found hard to match for a very long time.  Unfortunately PVC based materials also present an environmental headache that many hotel owners, builders and designers want to avoid in the future.

Of course many in the vinyl industry would argue otherwise including the Vinyl Institute which represents many of the film and chemical manufacturers. Leaving aside the science for a moment which is very compelling against chlorine chemistry; you need only observe the marketplace to see where the interiors furnishings industry is headed.

Scores of manufacturers each month advertise their products in design magazines; with the tag line “PVC free” in promoting their own products. You can flip through such publications as Interior Design, Contract, Healthcare Design and Hospitality Design Magazine to find these proclamations.

The reality is that in the 21st century there are many suitable alternatives from a performance and cost standpoint to vinyl products. The movement away from PVC products started first in the office design market, and has migrated into healthcare facilities and is finally finding an audience with hotel designers and owners. Many design and architectural firms who have done significant work in the office and healthcare sector are bringing their PVC free preferences into the hospitality market.

Travelers Becoming More Sophisticated

As consumers become more eco savvy, hoteliers are realizing the market advantage of promoting their properties’ environmental point of view. A decade ago, such efforts consisted of giving guests the choice of not having their towels and linens washed on a daily basis. Today the audience is more sophisticated about how hotels are built and the health of the indoor environment is something a savvy hotel guest can understand.

In the wallcovering area, PVC products have dominated hotel walls. Today however, TPO’s or thermoplastic olefin products match the performance of vinyls without any chlorine or halogenated flame retardant chemistry. Likewise in upholstery materials, polyurethanes offer the same performance as vinyl with a more natural hand and better environmental footprint.

Another interesting example of progress in replacing PVC in hotel properties are smart cards which are used ubiquitously today for opening rooms. Sustainable Cards, a company out of Sweden, has created a wood based card which both functionally and economically matches PVC at a small percentage of the environmental footprint.

Market forces are at work as designers, architects and owners become more aware of the impact of materials used in buildings. Despite its heavy reliance on PVC chemistry for half a century, the tide is turning in the hotel industry as real high performance alternatives continue to come into this market.

Cliff Goldman is President of Carnegie, a PVC free declared company. Carnegie is a 64 year old family owned business focusing on high performance textiles and wallcoverings. Well known for its innovative Xorel brand, Carnegie has been a declared PVC free company for more than 30 years. It has introduced the first high performance bio based textile in the world and recently became a Certified B Corporation; which signifies the company’s commitment to its employees, clients and the planet.

LEAVE A REPLY