Bella-Dura, Greenweave earn cradle-to-cradle certification
Program recognizes products designed for reuse and recycling
Heath E. Combs -- Casual Living, 5/27/2008 1:24:00 PM
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry has awarded silver cradle-to-cradle status to Bella-Dura by Wearbest Sil-Tex Mills and Greenweave by Weave Corp.
The MBDC certification program emphasizes designing and creating cradle-to-cradle product cycles. In the cradle-to-cradle process, materials are perpetually circulated for reuse; in the typical cradle-to-grave cycle, products and byproducts enter the waste stream.
The MBDC maintains that using the closed loop process of the cradle-to-cradle approach maximizes the value of materials used without damaging ecosystems.
Bella-Dura performance fabric is made from a byproduct of petroleum refining. This fabric reduces the need for virgin materials and salvages a byproduct that would otherwise be incinerated. Not only outdoor-friendly, Bella-Dura fabrics feature 1,500 hours UV bleach cleanability and stain resistance.
Weave Corp., a fifth generation designer, weaver and importer of fabrics for upholstery and the home, earned silver cradle-to-cradle certification for its Greenweave 100% Recycled Post Consumer polyester fabrics, which are made from used soda and water bottles.
Irwin Gasner, president and CEO of Wearbest, said MBDC certification is becoming a sought-after status for customers and distributors, as well as architects and designers that choose green items for public installation.
The certification looks at all of the processes involved in fabric production, from yarn manufacturing through processing and dyeing. The company’s processes were also benchmarked by the MBDC for future use, Gasner said.
“What makes up the color will either make it green or not," Gasner said. "Obviously we had to redo many formulations prior to receiving this certification. Bella-Dura has been a work in progress for almost five years and then (prior) to achieving the MBDC certification, it has been an evolution.”
Gasner said the company had to detail all of the technical aspects pertaining to what makes up its fabric colors.
Companies that earn the silver certification under the MBDC standard must show that they have, among other items:
+ Created or adopted water stewardship principles/guidelines.
+ Issued a public statement on corporate ethics and fair labor.
+ Demonstrated that products are designed and manufactured with decreased impacts on technical and biological cycles.
According to an American Society of Interior Designers press release earlier this month, ASID and Hospitality Design magazine also awarded Bella-Dura’s fabric technology with the first-ever Earth Minded Award for a hospitality project.
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