As sustainability pioneers, we carefully select materials that are safe, healthy and beneficial for humans and the environment. We believe in material transparency and Third-Party Certification processes.
We are committed to offering the highest quality materials that contribute to a healthier and better environment. Too many products in our industry contain materials that are harmful. We hold ourselves accountable for what's in the products we manufacturer and what we choose to offer. We vet by using independent third-party validation and transparently share details about the impact and credentials of our products.
We are a 100% PVC-free company, we took the principled position to never sell vinyl. We were the first and remain the only declared PVC-free company in our industry.
Access, visibility and understanding what goes into the products being specified and the impact of these materials is critical for a transparent marketplace.
We provide Health Product Declaration (HPD’s) on every product we offer. HPD’s transparency provides information about the material’s ingredients and their associated health impacts.
Whether the topic is performance, such as cleanability or durability, or environmental protocols, we use independent companies and labs to test, audit, measure and optimize our products and processes. Optimized products earning Third Party Certifications such as Declare and Cradle to Cradle Certified support LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge projects.
As the manufacturer of Xorel, we have led the charge on sustainability and transparency with over 10 certifications.
Material assessment and the continuous optimization of our products is paramount to guiding us forward. Xorel became the first textile/wallcovering product to be Cradle to Cradle - C2C Silver Certified in 2007. C2C assesses products on a number of criteria such as the use of safe and healthy materials, design for material reuse & recycling, efficient use of energy & water throughout production and instituting strategies for social responsibility.
The C2C audits set us on a path of continued improvement of existing materials, finding better alternatives, redesigning and pushing innovation.
In 2013 Biobased Xorel achieved Cradle to Cradle Gold Certification. This is an extremely high bar because the process examines a product in its full spectrum of manufacturing, use, and disposal touching on material health, material re-utilization, renewable energy & carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness. This third party certification is considered to be the most comprehensive environmental product evaluation in the world today since it considers a multitude of criteria, beginning with a thorough material input analysis.
Xorel and Biobased Xorel are assessed against the criteria of the Material Health category in the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard and were awarded a Platinum Level Material Health Certificate by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Declare label lists building products that have declared their ingredients, source and manufacturing locations. Living Building Challenge project teams can also use the Declare label for materials documentation, streamlining the process of project certification. Manufacturers of the products included in the Declare database have voluntarily disclosed their ingredients list and a company head has personally ensured this information is true. Biobased Xorel has the Declare label.
Biobased Xorel is the first textile to achieve the Living Product Challenge Certification. The Living Product Challenge is a transparent, holistic framework for rethinking the way we manufacture things, weaving together life cycle assessment, social equity and material health impacts. It helps manufacturers design and offer products with measurably net positive impacts and designers easily select products that give more than they take.
Facts was developed to recognize contract textiles that conform to the rigors of the multi-attribute standard NSF/ANSI 336 and are third-party certified. A Facts sustainability rating indicates a textile has been evaluated for environmental, economic and social aspects across its life cycle. Xorel is FACTS Silver Certified and Biobased Xorel is FACTS Gold Certified.
Xorel has achieved SCS Indoor Advantage Gold Certification. The program tests and certifies products for compliance with the indoor air quality emission requirements of California Department of Public Health based on California Specification 01350. Annual site audits ensure continued compliance each year. Protocols related to chain of custody, sample conditioning, air testing, chemical analysis and emission.
The USDA BioPreferred brand and stringent labeling process reflects and builds upon the credibility, integrity and trust of the USDA. Further, the label requires minimum content levels considered to be meaningful, as well as disclosure of the percentage biobased content. Biobased Xorel's Nexus, Dash, and Strie patterns are all USDA BioPreferred certified.
This independent non-profit examines and certifies that products are derived from renewable raw materials. Testing under ASTM D6866, the exact renewable carbon content of the material is determined by measuring the content of C14 isotope. Products are rated from a 1 star level to 4 star level, depending on the overall % of biobased content. Biobased Xorel is level 3 or 4 rated, depending on the pattern.
When it comes to certification, we don’t stop at our products. We continually measure our entire company against the highest corporate standards for sustainability, social fairness and employee compensation/benefits. We’ve been recognized as a Certified B Corp since 2014 and named one of the “Best for the World” in the environmental category in both 2018 and 2019.
CE Marking is a manufacturer's declaration that Xorel complies with the essential requirements of the European health, safety and environmental protection legislation. It indicates to governmental officials that the product may be legally placed on the market in their country, ensures the free movement of the product within the EFTA & European Union (EU) single market, and permits the withdrawal of the non-conforming products by customs and enforcement/vigilance authorities.
Xorel is GreenSpec Listed. Building Green's product guide, GreenSpec, lists over 2,200 environmentally preferable products, with key insights on the green attributes of each product and the most critical green issues for each product category. GreenSpec conducts its own independent research in assessing manufacturer claims, ensuring that the guide contains unbiased, quality information.
Xorel is Certified by Collaborative in High-Performance Schools. The standard that CHPS uses to determine which products are approved for low-emitting prerequisites and credits in the CHPS Criteria is the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method for the Testing and Evaluation of Volatile Organic Chemical Emissions from Indoor Sources Using Environmental Chambers, Version 1.1-2010 (also known as Section 01350). Xorel is an approved product on CHPS projects.
