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Product Review from Environmental Building News
June 1, 2003
“Eco Intelligent” Fabrics for Commercial Interiors
A Quebec-based manufacturer of contract fabrics is the first to offer a line of polyester textiles that meet a stringent set of ecological criteria developed by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC). The Eco Intelligent™ fabrics from Victor Innovatex are made in accordance with MBDC’s “cradle-to-cradle” protocol. In this protocol, each material, chemical, and process is screened for compliance with a series of ecological and human health criteria. The resulting fabric is available to designers through The Designtex Group and will soon be available in office furniture from Steelcase, Designtex’s parent company. Other companies are also expected to introduce products using Eco Intelligent fabrics. The Eco Intelligent fabric emerged from the common interests of MBDC, Designtex, and Victor Innovatex. Following on the success of their natural-fiber based Climatex Lifecycle, made in Switzerland by Rohner Mills (see “The William McDonough Fabric Collection” in EBN Vol. 4, No. 6), MBDC and Designtex wanted to create a product that challenges the “prevailing perception that green design is only about natural materials, and you can’t use synthetics,” says James Ewell, MBDC’s project manager for the Eco Intelligent fabrics. In addition, as a worsted wool and ramie blend, Climatex was priced at $40 to $60 per yard ($44 to $66 per meter), which made it unaffordable for use in many products. Meanwhile, Steelcase, Designtex’s parent company, was working to reintroduce all their textiles using more sustainable manufacturing techniques, according to Susan Lyons, who was director of product design at Designtex (and is now an independent consultant). Designtex and MBDC found a willing partner in Victor Innovatex, who “had already articulated an interest in becoming a sustainable company,” says Lyons....
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