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weaving together sustainability, high performance and design
At Vescom, we’re constantly researching new alternatives and exploring future materials – always with an eye to sustainability. Our product development is driven by market needs, and the design and solution must always be interwoven. Just as there’s no single design solution that fits all, there’s not one sustainability solution that fits all. That’s why different products tell a different part of our growing eco-conscious story. We’re taking a big-picture approach to everything from the materials we use to our production methods – how can they contribute to a more durable and sustainable environment?
In our process of developing future-forward upholstery fabrics, we decided to go back to the root: the yarn itself. What should this new yarn be? How can it utilize existing resources? Working with a new type of yarn made from recycled PET bottles from local sources, we’ve designed, developed and produced four cost-effective eco-friendly upholstery fabrics for the contract market. Textiles that combine sustainability, high performance and design.
back to the root: the yarn itself
Made from post-consumer PET bottles, our 100% recycled polyester FR yarn turns the problem of plastic waste into a solution. Bottles are collected locally before being separated by type and colour, processed and converted into flakes.
This polymer is eventually extruded into yarn, which is then texturized, yarn dyed and embedded with permanent flame retardant properties. Meeting the highest performance specifications for the contract market, the resulting yarn is turned into remarkably soft and matte textiles in Vescom’s German weaving mill.
Our new recycled yarn called for a new yarn bank. We designed a diverse mix of colours – from subtle neutrals to bold brights and from warm yellows to cool blues. Colouring the yarns before weaving gives our resulting yarn-dyed fabrics added depth and three-dimensionality.
designed to work in unison
As the saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Designed to work in unison, the four qualities that make up our recycled upholstery family – Wilson, a basic weave; Avon, a melange; Norfolk, a grid; and Harding, a twill – honour fundamental weaving techniques. This purity and simplicity, as well as the non-directionality of some structures, makes them incredibly easy to combine with one another – and to integrate into interiors.
In designing our own yarn bank for Wilson, Avon, Norfolk and Harding, we achieved a maximum of different tones and hues with a minimum of colours. The inclusion of multiple shades of certain colours offers more possibilities, while the ability to use colours in different ways across the four designs results in less waste, making our recycled upholstery even more sustainable. For each design, one of an assortment of weft colours is combined with a grey melange warp.
The final look depends on the fabric’s structure: sometimes the weft is more visible on the surface, sometimes the warp stands out. Sometimes the colour looks more vibrant, sometimes it’s more subdued.
Our yarn bank may offer maximum diversity, but it’s also harmonious. Sometimes the same colour of yarn is used across multiple fabrics, whose different structures give them a unique – yet compatible – appearance. In other cases, different shades of yarns appear in different fabrics, yet because they belong to one family, they work together as one. That means the 59 fabric colours across Wilson, Avon, Norfolk and Harding can be playfully mixed and matched in interiors and on furniture.
Specifically developed to satisfy the strict technical demands of the international contract market, Vescom’s recycled upholstery is durable, light- and colourfast, highly resistant to abrasion low pilling and easy to use. The products pass all European flame retardancy tests, a quality that’s embedded into the yarn itself rather than applied as a finish, guaranteeing it remains permanently contained within the fabric. The range also passes stringent IMO standards, making it safe to use aboard waterborne vessels, including cruise ships.
Vescom has spent decades developing, manufacturing and distributing upholstery fabrics for the contract market, leaving us with a wealth of in-house expertise. Because we engineer our fabrics in our own weaving mill, we have extensive knowledge about fabric construction and can guarantee the quality of our materials.
To us, sustainability should inform every stage of the design process – not just the final products. Making our own fabrics in our own weaving mill allows us to scrutinize our raw materials and methods. We don’t source materials from faraway places, and our production processes include the socially responsible use of raw materials and minimizing the consumption of energy and water. What’s more, all our recycled upholstery fabrics are certified STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®, ensuring they have absolutely no adverse impact on human health.
Regardless of sector, there’s an increasing demand – and necessity – for sustainable, durable products. Our high-performance design-driven recycled upholstery gives architects and designers the chance to create dynamic, sustainable furniture surfaces that meet the highest demands of contract interiors.
What’s more, the borders between spatial typologies are blending. Homeliness is entering workplaces, hospitality and healthcare projects, for instance, bringing comfort and wellbeing to the foreground.
Soft to the touch with a human-centric design, Vescom’s recycled upholstery has a diverse palette of colours that are attuned to today’s needs. Colours that work with any kind of atmosphere as well as in combination with other materials such as wood and stone.
Mossy, pine and grassy shades come together to create fresh, wellbeing-focused greenscapes with a soft, human touch.
With its focus on sustainability, elevated comfort, high performance and mix-and-matchability, Vescom’s recycled content upholstery provides a future-proof workplace solution. Offices should be social and inspiring yet comfortable environments – places that make their inhabitants feel at home.
see the various effects and feel the softness of the fabrics
Get a taster of our new sustainable polyester FR upholstery made from 100% recycled PET bottles with our free sample pack. A hand-picked selection of neutrals and colours highlights the diversity – and compatibility – of the four different-structured designs: Wilson, a basic weave; Avon, a melange; Norfolk, a grid; and Harding, a twill. See the various effects and feel the softness of the fabrics for yourself by ordering your sample pack.
