Biobased Xorel®

Introduced in 2013, Biobased Xorel is the world's first biobased high-performance textile. It builds on more than 40 years of Xorel innovation, combining the same commercial-grade durability, cleanability, and versatility designers rely on with a different material pathway—one that incorporates rapidly renewable, plant-based sugarcane.

The result is a textile that delivers the same proven durability, cleanability, and versatility designers have trusted from Xorel for decades, while incorporating rapidly renewable, plant-based sugarcane into its material composition.

Today, Biobased Xorel is used across wallcovering, upholstery, acoustics, wrapped panels, and other commercial interior applications where long-term performance and thoughtful material selection matter. Many patterns contain up to 91% biobased content, and every Biobased Xorel product is supported by third-party certifications, declarations, and material documentation that help designers specify with confidence.

Since introducing Xorel in 1981, Carnegie has continued to ask how high-performance materials can evolve without compromising the qualities designers depend on.

That spirit of continuous innovation led to a simple question:
Could we create a plant-based version of Xorel without changing the performance that made it an industry benchmark?

After years of research and development, the answer was yes.

Rather than reinventing Xorel, Carnegie expanded it—developing a renewable material pathway that preserved the durability, cleanability, and versatility of the original while incorporating rapidly renewable, plant-based resources.
Biobased Xorel became another expression of Carnegie's long-standing commitment to responsible material innovation: improving what already works while continuing to explore better ways forward.

Biobased Xorel is still a polyethylene textile, but it incorporates rapidly renewable, plant-based sugarcane into its material pathway.

This approach allows Biobased Xorel to retain the durability, cleanability, stain resistance, and long-term performance that have defined Xorel for decades, while adding a significant level of biobased content.

The innovation lies in incorporating rapidly renewable, plant-based resources while preserving the performance qualities designers rely on.

Choosing a renewable resource wasn't simply about replacing one ingredient with another. It was about selecting a material that could support long-term innovation while maintaining commercial-grade performance.

Sugarcane is a rapidly renewable plant that naturally captures carbon dioxide as it grows. For every ton of raw material produced, approximately 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide are captured and sequestered, contributing to Biobased Xorel's significantly reduced embodied carbon footprint.

Many Biobased Xorel patterns now contain up to 91% biobased content, demonstrating how renewable resources can be incorporated into commercial textiles without compromising performance or design flexibility.

Biobased Xorel was engineered to perform exactly as designers expect Xorel to perform.

Depending on the application, Biobased Xorel offers:

• Exceptional durability for high-use commercial environments
• Bleach cleanability and easy maintenance
• Finish-free performance
• Stain-resistant, non-absorbent yarn construction
• Colorfast and lightfast solution-dyed yarns
• Applications across wallcovering, upholstery, acoustics, wrapped panels, drapery, and custom solutions

These performance characteristics are built into the yarn itself rather than achieved through added topical finishes, helping the material maintain its appearance and performance over time.

One of Biobased Xorel's greatest strengths is its versatility.

Because the same material technology can be woven, knitted, or embroidered into different constructions, designers can specify Biobased Xorel across multiple applications while maintaining a consistent material story throughout a project.

Today, Biobased Xorel is available for:

• Wallcovering — Durable woven wallcoverings that meets or exceeds Type II criteria under CCC-W-408D while offering hundreds of colors, textures, and patterns.
• Upholstery — High-performance seating textiles designed for demanding commercial environments, with performance up to 1 million double rubs on the Wyzenbeek Abrasion Test.
• Drapery — Textile options that bring softness, texture, and visual continuity to window treatments and interior spaces.
• Upholstered Panels & Acoustic Solutions — Acoustically transparent and tackable, Xorel is ideal for wrapped panels and solutions such as Xorel Artform.
• Custom Applications — Flexible material constructions and extensive design options allow Xorel to extend across tailored surfaces and project-specific solutions.

Whether creating a hospitality environment, workplace, healthcare facility, or education project, Biobased Xorel offers designers the flexibility to carry one material story across multiple surfaces.

Material innovation becomes more meaningful when its impact can be understood in real-world terms.

By replacing fossil-fuel-derived feedstocks with rapidly renewable sugarcane, Biobased Xorel offers a significantly reduced carbon footprint while maintaining the same trusted commercial performance.

Across a project, that impact begins to add up.

For example:

• Every 200 yards of Biobased Xorel used offsets approximately the same amount of carbon dioxide as one acre of trees.
• Every 100 yards of Biobased Xorel used avoids emissions roughly equivalent to driving a passenger vehicle 580 miles.

These comparisons help illustrate how thoughtful material choices can contribute to broader sustainability goals while delivering the long-term durability commercial interiors require.

Understanding what a material is made from is becoming just as important as understanding how it performs.

Every Biobased Xorel product is supported by transparent product documentation that helps designers better understand material composition and support project requirements.

Depending on the pattern, documentation and certifications may include:

• Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold or Silver
• Living Product Challenge Certification
• Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
• Health Product Declarations (HPDs)
• USDA BioPreferred®
• SCS Indoor Advantage Gold
• TÜV Austria OK biobased

Together, these resources provide designers with verified information that supports more informed material decisions and simplifies specification.

For more than a decade, Biobased Xorel has demonstrated that high-performance textiles can continue to evolve. By combining rapidly renewable, plant-based resources with the proven performance of Xorel, it gives designers another material pathway—one that brings together durability, design flexibility, and transparent material documentation.

Explore the Biobased Xorel collection, order samples, and discover how it can support your next project.

Brooke Kanell is a Content Marketing Specialist at Carnegie, where she creates content that brings the brand’s materials and stories to life. With a background in marketing and a passion for all things creative, she enjoys sharing the inspiration, people, and ideas shaping Carnegie’s work. Brooke’s goal is to make design feel engaging, welcoming, and easy to connect with.