Seven Ways to Incorporate Plant-Based Textiles into Your Spaces
By Aliesha Crosby
From wallcovering and upholstery to acoustic panels, opting for plant-based textiles free of PVC and PFAS aligns with the A+D industry’s green goals while helping your clients achieve LEED certification. The options are endless when you leverage sustainable textiles approved for multiple applications, and your clients will be wowed by both the aesthetics and sustainability story of your designs. Avoid relentless industry greenwashing by specifying plant-based materials that are third-party certified. This ensures there is proof of sustainability claims!
Here are 7 creative places to opt for a plant-based textile option like Biobased Xorel®:
1. Wallcoverings
Walls are a carbon hotspot, so choosing a sustainable option here is key. Whether you want to play with texture or pattern, leverage a statement wall, or use these textiles to complement another design element, the options are endless. Biobased Xorel® has many different patterns and finishes including embroidery, emboss, metallic, as well as lustrous and matte solids.
Xorel Abacus Embroider
Xorel Nexus
Xorel Nexus
2. Upholstered Walls
If you’re thinking of using upholstered walls or wrapped panels to help with acoustics, your textile choices here can help create a dynamic interior while also being sustainably designed. From textural wovens, colorful solids, and statement patterns to wipeable and bleach-cleanable, the solutions are endless with Biobased Xorel®.
Xorel Dash
Xorel Nexus
3. Upholstered Headboards and Benches
When it comes to upholstery in commercial spaces, textile choices must be able to withstand the high demands of constant interaction. Upholstered pieces require protective measures like Xorel’s X-Protect Sit to prevent stains and moisture from passing through the textile to the foam. Headboards and luggage benches provide a perfect opportunity to opt for plant-based options that are known industry-wide as durable, cleanable, and sustainable.
Xorel Strie
Xorel Galway
4. Indoor/Outdoor Spaces
Though the type of spaces that qualify as indoor/outdoor varies, the need for textiles that can create cohesive design does not. Bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor spaces with knitted biobased fabrics with a soft hand for comfortable lounging. Because of the durability and cleanability properties of Biobased Xorel® that are inherent to the yarn, it’s quick drying and fade-proof, giving your sustainable investment major longevity.
Xorel Caspian
Xorel Marseille
Grab a sample for your moodboard | Learn more about Indoor/Outdoor Biobased Xorel
5. Acoustic Wall Panels
Acoustic treatments are often needed in high-traffic areas where aesthetics are paramount. What better way to create acoustically balanced spaces than by using sustainable wall art that infuses acoustic management, especially if it’s designed to be a visual statement in a lobby or main hub? The durability and cleanability of Xorel lends itself to Xorel Artform, an acoustic wall and ceiling system that is as remarkably effective as it is easy to install. With Xorel Artform, you’ll help protect the environment while also protecting ears.
Get connected with an acoustician or acoustic designer to help you design the perfect sustainable acoustical art piece for your space.
Xorel Artform Waveline 3D
Xorel Artform Waveline 3D
Xorel Dash and Nexus | Xorel Artform Slope 3D Panel
6. Architectural Doors, Walls & Partitions
In spaces that need movable walls for functionality and versatility, the amount of fabric that is specified can also become a carbon hotspot. Make moveable dividers work even more for the space with sustainable materials that add to the aesthetic appeal while also serving an important function for space division.
A wide range of Carnegie Xorel products are now pre-approved and graded into Modernfold’s supplier product database for quick, easy, and competitively priced specification of the textile on Modernfold’s custom movable walls.
Xorel Galway on Modernfold
7. Create a Custom Design
The needs of each space can vary greatly, even within the same vertical. Functionality certainly determines the design outcomes but another important consideration is how end-users feel when they interact with it. If you can't find the right plant-based material you’re looking to fit that need, creating your custom design may be the answer. Biobased Xorel® is our proprietary textile, so our team can create your perfect custom design that also lands within your budget!
Custom Design for MAC Cosmetics
Custom Design for Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe
About the Author
Aliesha Crosby is the Xorel Studio Director at Carnegie.