Green new deal: Morbern

How much do you know about the chemicals used to make the clothes you wear or the upholstery you sit on? Most of us take for granted the manmade textiles we use and come into contact with every day. We tend not to wonder how they achieve such exceptional levels of durability and performance, but often this is because they include substances that may be harmful to our health. The good news is that this no longer needs to be the case, thanks to a new generation of textiles that combine green credentials with safer manufacturing processes.

In recent years there has been increased demand from the design community for textiles that don’t use potentially harmful additives and coatings. Designers working on contract, hospitality and healthcare projects, in particular, want to specify high-quality, high-performance fabrics that are safer and more sustainable than existing alternatives. Canadian brand Morbern is leading the way in the development of ‘clean and green’ coated fabrics, which are made without phthalate plasticisers and flame-retardant or antimicrobial additives.

‘While our current products are 100 per cent safe, there is a general move towards using more sustainable raw materials and fewer chemicals in textile manufacturing,’ explains Pat Diebel, Morbern’s Vice President of Research and Development. ‘The demand for eco-friendly solutions is coming from green movements across all industries, not just textiles. Morbern has answered this need with products that don’t use any flame retardants and are phthalate-free.’

Coated fabrics are textiles that are treated to improve their performance – making them stronger, longer-lasting or resistant to stains, weather, mildew and other microbes. Coatings typically applied to the surfaces of these materials include polyethylene, polyurethane, silicone and rubber. Morbern has chosen to focus on using PVC (vinyl) coatings for its fabrics as they offer the best performance along with the best sustainability credentials.

Vinyl can simulate a leather or textile look and is a versatile option for a range of upholstery applications. The material is easily recyclable and energy-efficient to manufacture, as well as offering a long-life solution that won’t need to be replaced for many years. Morbern’s products also use bio-based renewable ingredients derived from soya beans and are increasingly made with recycled backing fabrics to minimise the use of non-renewable resources. And, of course, its vegan leathers don’t rely on animal skins or the environmentally damaging tanning processes these require.

In recent years, Morbern has been pioneering the development of chemical-free flame retardant fabrics in North America with its MorGreen™collection. These products take advantage of PVC’s inherent fire-resistant properties, so no additives are needed. Despite this, the materials comply with the EN1021 (Parts 1 & 2) European fire standards and California 117 fire safety law in the USA.

This focus on sustainability isn’t anything new for Morbern, which was one of the first manufacturers of coated fabrics to eliminate heavy metals such as lead and cadmium from its products. It also replaced most of the solvents used in its materials with water-based top-coat finishes. The company proudly boasts that water flowing out at the end of the manufacturing process from its factory in Cornwall, Ontario, is clean enough to drink. Oh, and the factory is powered by renewable hydro energy.

The flagship product from Morbern’s MorGreen™collection is the Eden FRee range, which has recently been awarded the ultimate ‘green’ textile badge – the OekoTex Standard 100 Class 1 certification. This award is only given to products that have passed examinations to prove they contain no harmful substances. Like all of Morbern Europe’s products, Eden FRee is phthalate-free and complies with the European Chemicals Agency’s REACH regulations that protect consumers and the environment against the use of hazardous chemicals.

Eden FRee is an ethical, vegan leather made from PVC, itself consisting of 50 per cent sodium chloride, otherwise known as common table salt! In addition to fulfilling all of the sustainability and safety requirements outlined above, it has a premium leather look and is available in an extensive colour palette to suit any project.

Morbern Europe now supplies Eden FRee products to European designers looking for eco-friendly solutions to use in contexts such as healthcare, hospitality, schools and nurseries. The importance of being able to thoroughly clean upholstery in these environments has been accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Eden FRee is bleach resistant and can be disinfected using alcohol-based products such as hydrogen peroxide or isopropyl alcohol, which are recommended by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for Covid-19 preventative cleaning.

Now, perhaps more than ever, we can all appreciate the value of upholstery products that are safe and easy to clean, as well as being fire retardant and longer-lasting. However, these properties needn’t come at a cost to the planet and our own health. With Eden FRee, Morbern has succeeded in creating an eco-friendly solution that delivers the aesthetic and practical qualities expected of a premium leather-look vinyl whilst minimising the use of chemical additives. Altogether, it’s good news for people, cows and the planet.

© Architonic