Brentano (Company Evaluation)
Company Profile and Evaluation
Company: Brentano
Web Address: www.brentano fabrics.com
Address: Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, Unit 2/22, London, SW10 0XE
Telephone: 011.44.207.351.5893 E-mail: williamlack@altfield.com
Market: Textiles
Location or work: London UK, USA, Asia, Mexico, China, Canada, Australia.
Company USP: High end company in ideal location in the ‘Interior Design Central’ of London, Chelsea Harbour, offering high end contract textiles to residential fabrics. Their textiles range from panel and upholstery fabric, sheers, and drapery. To commercial offices, hospitality environments and healthcare projects. Meeting all the requirements for sustainability, Eco-friendly recyclable fabrics.
Description of work: Brentano offers a variety of fabrics using recycled fiber content and each fabric has a green criteria which reflects the diverse and interconnected nature of sustainability. Their eco-fabrics includes high performance and high quality eco-friendly faux leathers, and beautiful upholstery patterns and contract textiles
Evaluation of work:
Trend: Yes for sustainability, Eco friendly, recyclable materials
Colours: 59 colourways with the Gemn fabrics. Lots of beiges, browns and deep reds with yellow and blue thrown in.
Nova packs an explosion of triangles into a compact form. Exactly half the size of Brentano’s award-winning Equinox in the same seven colorways, Nova undulates from dark to light and back to dark as if lit by its namesake. Cotton lends the fabric its softness and rich coloration, while fine, post-consumer recycled polyester yarns define the pattern. Available from: www.brentano fabrics.com
Very futuristic and innovative new material and idea. Company is the leading authority on Eco materials.
Price Bracket: Prices and samples available to registered parties only. I am unable to register as I do not have a sales representative with the company. Will be in the high end price bracket.
Negatives points: Unable to purchase through the website. Enquiry form needs to be completed to be registered – business owners only!
Brentano Fabrics was launched in 1990 by textile artist, Iris Wang and her husband E-Kwan Chen. Together they have grown their business into an internationally acclaimed textile house that sells to architects and designers through showrooms worldwide.
Brentano began as a predominantly contract textile line with Iris`s design inspirations coming from her Asian heritage; paying reverence to nature, changes in seasons, tranquillity and balance. What marks Brentano out amongst the top of high-end contract textile lines in the marketplace is their distinct approach to textile design. They have been able to balance beautiful design with the rigid standards required by the contract market.
Brentano offers a variety of fabrics using recycled fiber content, including recycled cotton, nylon, and polyester. Use of recycled fibers reduces waste destined for landfills and also preserves resources such as oil and energy needed to manufacture new materials. Recycled fabrics from Brentano include blends of various recycled fibers as well as several 100% post consumer recycled polyester textiles.
One source of post consumer polyester is recycled soda and water bottles that otherwise may have ended up as waste. Their recycled polyester fabric is fully recyclable, and is never intended to reach the landfill. Brentano have also developed green criteria for their fabrics that reflect the diverse and interconnected nature of sustainability. Their eco-fabrics include their high performance and high quality eco-friendly faux leathers, as well as beautiful upholstery patterns and contract textiles -- overall displaying an uncommon variety of design and versatility available in environmentally-conscious textiles. The Brentano Green fabric label demonstrates our commitment to pursuing green mindfulness while designing textiles with beauty + performance in mind.
In order to qualify for the Brentano Green label, their fabrics complied with green standards in at least two of the following three categories: raw material, process, and facility and social responsibility.
Raw Material
To satisfy the raw material requirement, the textile must either incorporate recycled materials or degradable fibers. If the raw material is a naturally grown fiber, it must be a rapidly renewable resource and grown without or with minimal harmful pesticides, chemicals, and fertilizers.
The Process
The process takes into account the environmental aspects of manufacturing a textile as well as the entire series of actions required to produce it. No part of the process - from dying and spinning the yarn to weaving and finishing the fabric - can involve harmful chemicals. The manufacturing facility must also comply with environmental protection laws governing energy conservation, water treatment, and chemical regulation.
Facility and Social Responsibility
Facility and social responsibility consider working conditions, public health, and implementation of green programs. Manufacturers must comply with fundamental human rights laws and initiate programs to promote the green movement. Such initiatives include utilizing energy saving and air quality improvement devices, supporting recycling programs, and encouraging green consciousness among employees.
Brentano recognizes the following global third-party verifications from the textile industry as accreditation for the above criteria for green fabrics:
• ACT Facts ( USA )
• Enviro-Mark ( New Zealand )
• ETAD ( International )
• Greenguard ( USA )
• Environmental Choice New Zealand
• GOTS ( International )
• MBDC Cradle to Cradle Certification ( USA )
• EU Eco-Label ( Europe )
• IMO ( International )
• SCS ( USA )
• Oeko-Tex ( Europe )
• ISO 14001 ( International )
In addition to being extremely stain resistant, Crypton fabrics also provide breathable comfort, act as a moisture barrier, add strength and durability to the fabric and are engineered to provide antibacterial protection. Brentano's Crypton fabrics come in a variety of designs and colors, making them suitable for commercial use in hospitals, restaurants and public areas. Furthermore, they are appealing for home use.
Brentano offers Nano-Tex finishing options, both on Brentano textiles or as an additional option. Nano-Tex repels liquids, causing them to bead up and roll off fabric. It does not change the natural hand of the fabric, meaning fabrics will retain their original softness and remain breathable. Because Nano-Tex will not change a fabric's ability to pass NFPA 701 fire code, fabrics that inherently pass 701 will still do so after Nano-Tex is applied. Fabrics finished with Nano-Tex can also be treated to pass flame codes. Nano-Tex is an environmentally friendly finishing option. A fabric finished with Nano-Tex can be recycled.
GreenShield is a topical finish that utilizes 7-10 less fluorocarbons than similar finishes and releases no VOC emissions. The technology is based on amorphous silica nano-particles that permanently adhere to a fabric in a mesh network that prevents particles from becoming airborne. The manufacturing process also requires lower temperatures, and therefore less energy, compared to similar finishes.
Brentano offers several fabrics with GreenShield as well as GreenShield + Balance Barrier, a combination that makes it even more difficult for liquids or contaminants to penetrate a fabric. Fabrics with GreenShield + Balance Barrier have: GreenShield stain-resistant finishing
antibacterial finishing, enhanced abrasion, moisture barrier backing.
Bibliography:
Brentano [2016] Brantano Fabrics [Online] Available from: www.brentano fabrics.com [Accessed 16 April 2016]
