
Featured
Fabrics

|
|
The Robert Allen Group recognizes the importance of protecting the environment and providing sustainable products.
We are committed to delivering a beautiful experience to our customers by broadening our offering of ecologically
friendly products and by reducing our environmental footprint in ways that range from waste reduction to energy efficiency.
The fabric that we designate as “eco-friendly” has met criteria we’ve established based on strict environmental
standards for fabric content, dye/pigment composition and finishing processes/treatments.
FABRIC CONTENT: At least fifty percent of the fibers in our eco-friendly fabrics are
sustainable, organic and/or recycled.
- Sustainable fibers come from rapidly renewable resources with growth and harvest cycles
of five years or less. Fibers that fall into this category include alpaca, bamboo, mohair,
hemp, wool, and cork.
- Organic fibers are grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and chemical
fertilizers. Fibers that fall into this category include organic cotton, organic hemp and
organic linen. All of our organic fabrics are made from certified organic fibers.
- Recycled fibers come from post-consumer waste such as soda bottles. They also come
from post-industrial waste: byproducts from the manufacturing process. Our post-industrial
recycled fibers come from petroleum byproducts, recycled cotton, corn derivatives (PLA),
recycled silk, and soybean husks.
COLOR: Our eco-friendly fabrics may simply reflect the color of their fiber
content (i.e. in their un-dyed states, many fibers such as alpaca and recycled cotton come in ranges of
rich hues from deep chocolates to luminous shades of gold.) Alternatively, these eco-friendly fabrics
may derive color from metal-free or reduced metal dyestuffs and pigments. If the fabrics contain dyes or
pigments, they meet the metal content standards set by the Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes
and Organic Pigments Manufacturers (ETAD).
FINISHING: Our eco-friendly fabrics may be loomstate, meaning that they come straight
from the loom with no additional performance preparations. Eco-friendly fabrics with finishing treatments
may include washing (with water alone or with a mild soap), aero-ing (tumbling), steaming, pressing with
hot rollers, or the application of a stain or water repellent. In general, it is our preference not to use
a stain repellent or a water repellent except in cases where they are a practical necessity. These fabrics
do not have synthetic backings.
Glossary of Terms
Click here to view the full glossary of “eco” terms.
|