Sustainable fabric

12 Sustainable fabrics that look good too

By Rachelle Dare on in Sustainability

At Love your workspace we are always on the look out for ways to be more environmentally friendly.

We promote purchasing from responsible manufacturers and encourage our customers to invest in their workplaces. We also offer a recycling scheme (in partnership with Senator Sustain) for unwanted or end of life furniture.

Making informed choices is a shared responsibility and this includes the fabric that upholsters your chair! Even small changes can make a big difference.

Below we explore some sustainable fabric options from one of the main commercial fabric manufacturers, Camira.

What are commercial fabrics?

Commercial fabrics are often made from synthetic materials because they need to be durable. Heavy in the use of energy, water and chemicals, most synthetic fabrics are also derived from petroleum through the use of harmful chemical processes.

The good news is that the industry is working hard to address the high impact of commercial fabric production by finding more sustainable alternatives.

Commercial textiles are sorted into bands depending on the type of furniture it is used for. These bands also denote different fire ratings, Martindale rub rating, guarantee and environmental impact.

We provide fabric samples for clients and all the information can be found on the back of the card, example below.

Example of fabric swatch card

What is sustainable fabric?

The word ‘Sustainable’ is a blanket term that covers anything from the material a product is made from (recycled or natural fibres) to the manufacturing processes.

The overall aim is to reduce environmental impact, so its not only the fabric itself that could be more environmentally friendly. Lower production emissions, work with Fairtrade networks, organic farming and water conservation can also be contributing factors.

Sustainable fabric examples

Below are some of the fabrics available from Camira as well as their uses and composition. These range from recycled polyester to wool and nettle fibres.

Aquarius – Task Seating & Soft Seating. Made from 100% natural wool which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Blazer – Task Seating & Soft Seating. Made from 100% natural wool which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Blazer Lite – Screens. Made from 100% natural wool which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Craggan – Task Seating & Soft Seating. Made from 100% natural wool which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Hemp & Hebden – Task Seating, Soft Seating & Curtaining. Made from 60% natural wools and 40% true hemp which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Honeycomb – Task Seating & Soft Seating. Made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester.

Mainline Flax – Task Seating, Soft Seating & Curtaining. Made from 70% wool and 30% flax which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Manhattan – Task Seating. Made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester.

Nettle Nomad, Aztec and Traveller – Task Seating & Soft Seating. Made from 75% wool and 25% nettle fibre which is rapidly renewable and biodegradable.

Rivet – Task Seating & Soft Seating. Made from 100% REPREVE post-consumer recycled polyester.

Xtreme – Task Seating. Made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester.

Synergy – Task Seating & Soft Seating. This is a wool blend fabric which is not environmentally. However Camira have partnered with Just A Drop and for every metre of fabric sold a donation will be made.

 

 

Conclusion

Fabric can be a great way to add colour to a new or existing space, even better if you can do it sustainably! If you need help finding long-lasting, beautiful and sustainable furniture pieces or the fabric to upholster them – get in touch!

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