One of the greatest challenges in designing commercial textiles has been creating durable, cleanable, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing fabrics for highly trafficked and 24/7 environments like healthcare facilities, theaters and airports. In addition, there is more demand for textiles with sustainable manufacturing practices, and companies like Designtex are taking on this responsibility and producing some very innovative fabrics.
Loop to Loop represents Designtex’s answer to closed loop recycling of pre-consumer scraps made out of post-consumer recycled content. The product was a collaboration between different representatives at Steelcase, Designtex, and the Canadian textile manufacturer, Victor and Unifi, which has a recycling center. Traditionally cutting waste from furniture products has been sold to recyclers to be down-cycled into a lesser quality material used as carpet underlays and backing materials. With advances in technology this has started to change so that the cutting waste from Steelcase furniture – already postconsumer recycled fabric made from PET water bottles – is recycled again into new polyester yarn. This is then used in higher quality textiles like Loop to Loop.
Continuing their future-forward thinking, Designtex also designed and manufactured Loop to Loop for future recycling and the product’s raw materials will retain their integrity through many lifetimes.
