Your Essential Guide to Coated Fabrics

Whether you're involved in designing spaces for healthcare, workplace, hospitality, or other projects, this guide was put together to equip you with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions.

Read “This Deadly Chemical Should Be Banned” by The New York Times here.
Coated fabrics are made with one or more layers of a film-forming polymer, chemically bonded together to create an impermeable and very cleanable surface. With so many different types, how do you know which ones are safe, sustainable, and right for your project?

This is the highest performing polyurethane resin on the market. It has a higher resistance to humidity and greater hydrolysis (a breakdown or delamination of the polyurethane film layer from the backing substrate in the form of cracking and peeling due to extreme heat and humidity) rating than other lesser polyurethanes. However, not all polyurethanes are created equal. There are three types of resins used to create polyurethanes with polycarbonate being the best:

1. Polycarbonate

·       High Abrasion

·       High resistance to humidity

·       Hydrolysis 7-15 weeks

·       Ideal for high traffic commercial applications

2. Polyether

·       Average abrasion

·       Average resistance to humidity

·       Hydrolysis 3-5 weeks

3. Polyester

·       Low abrasion

·       Low resistance to humidity

·       Hydrolysis 1-2 weeks

You can rest easy knowing that all of Carnegie’s polyurethanes are made from the highest quality resin, which translates to performance and longevity in the field without harmful chemistry.  

Performance benefits:

·       High resistance to humidity

·       Hydrolysis 7-15 weeks

·       Minimum 250,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek

·       Inherently antimicrobial

·       Bleach Cleanable

·       Approved for hospital grade disinfectants

·       5 year warranty

This is a category of Carnegie’s coated fabrics with a stain inhibiting technology that prevents ink, indigo denim dye, and other stains from setting into the material, allowing for easy cleaning. Carnegie’s Clean Slate fabrics protect you from those troublesome pen and ink mishaps with graffiti-free technology that keep stains on the surface. Even ink from a ballpoint pen will easily wipe away with a simple dry cloth - perfect for education and workplace projects.

Performance benefits:

·       95% recovery rate prevents puddling concerns

·       Minimum 250,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek

·       Extremely low VOCs

·       Minimum 7 week hydrolysis

·       Inherently antimicrobial

·       Bleach cleanable

·       Approved for hospital grade disinfectants

·       Inherently flame resistant

·       5 year warranty

Explore all Clean Slate fabrics here.

Tekloom is a brand name for a proprietary process where a woven textile is chemically bonded with the durable components of a coated top layer to create a fused hybrid textile. Tekloom allows you to achieve the look and feel of a woven textile with the performance, durability, and cleanability of a coated fabric. It’s perfect for environments that call for a softer, more sophisticated texture and feel, but need to be easy to clean and maintain on a commercial level.

Performance benefits:

·       Ink & stain resistant
·       1 million double rubs Wyzenbeek
·       Approved for IMO use
·       15 week hydrolysis
·       Extremely low VOCs
·       Inherently antimicrobial
·       Bleach cleanable
·       Approved for hospital grade disinfectants
·       Inherently flame resistant
·       5 year warranty

A compound made from rubber and thermoplastic materials that consists of both thermoplastic (heat-sensitive) and elastomeric (rubber-like) properties. TPE coated fabrics are engineered to be impervious to hydrolysis issues due to their ability to stretch and return to their original shape, creating a longer life and better physical range than other materials. These fabrics are great in the hospitality, retail, and dining sectors because they can fit a variety of different furniture shapes.

Performance benefits:

·       Minimum 200,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek
·       Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI) / Kaiser approved
·       Red List Free
·       15+ week hydrolysis
·       No hydrolysis or puddling issues
·       Extremely low VOCs
·       Inherently antimicrobial
·       Bleach cleanable
·       Approved for hospital grade disinfectants
·       Inherently flame resistant

Silicone hybrids are made from a hybrid of silicone and polycarbonate polyurethane—taking advantage of the best properties of both materials. Used in the manufacturing of coated products to impart performance properties, silicone is the generic name for certain compounds obtained from silicon, a component of sand. Carnegie’s collection of printed, coated fabrics look like woven textiles but perform like silicone - perfect for healthcare and senior living sectors, or any environment with rigorous cleanability, disinfection and durability standards.

Performance benefits:

·       Approved for IMO use
·       Minimum 250,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek
·       15 week hydrolysis
·       Extremely low VOCs
·       Inherently antimicrobial
·       Bleach cleanable
·       Approved for hospital grade disinfectants
·       Inherently flame resistant
·       5 year warranty

Explore all Silicone Hybrid fabrics here.

Siltech fabrics are made with second generation silicone technology using three layers of silicone for increased strength and an improved natural hand. Siltech products deliver unmatched scratch and tear resistance, along with incredible stain resistance and ease of cleaning—all with no added finishes. 

Performance benefits:

·       Indoor/Outdoor
·       Approved for IMO use
·       Double knit backing for stability and controlled stretch
·       Unmatched scratch and tear resistance
·       Minimum 200,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek
·       Extremely low VOCs
·       Inherently antimicrobial
·       Bleach cleanable
·       Approved for hospital grade disinfectants
·       Inherently flame resistant
·       10 year warranty

Staying true to our forever promise of being 100% PVC-free, PFAS-free, and finish-free, all of our coated fabrics are always free of harsh chemicals including antimicrobials, antimony, bisphenol A (BPA), chlorine, DMF, formaldehyde, halogenated fire retardants, heavy metals, ozone-depleting chemicals, PFAS, phthalates, plasticizers, solvents, and stain resistant finishes—giving you peace of mind and a wide design palette when specifying our fabrics for all your high-traffic commercial environments. 

For additional resources on coated fabrics, visit our curated hub of information here. 

Mary Holt is the Chief Design Strategist at Carnegie. With over 30 years of experience, Mary is passionate about solution-driven design and ethical and sustainable product development. She was previously featured in Interior Design, Officeinsight, BoF, and Metropolis Magazine among other places.