One of the hottest trends today in home furnishings – performance fabrics – is also possibly one of the most confusing. With so many competing products claiming to offer “performance,” it can be difficult for consumers to sort through all the hype and recognize that some performance offerings require compromises in look, feel and performance.
“For some consumers, if they see a fabric that beads water, they assume it’s a performance fabric,” said John Coates, vice president of research and development for Glen Raven Custom Fabrics, the makers of the Sunbrella brand of performance fabrics. “We encourage consumers to look deeper to assure that they are not compromising unnecessarily on styling, comfort or performance.”
For example, a fabric may be waterproof, but has a stiff feel, or a fabric may offer ease of cleaning for a minor spill, but bleach or acetone cannot be used for really tough stains without damaging the fabric.
“Traditionally, fabrics have been a study in compromises. You could have a luxurious look and feel, but performance would not be as good. Or, you could have performance, but the fabric would be stiff and scratchy,” Coates said. “The newest generation of performance fabrics, such as those offered by Sunbrella, no longer requires compromises.”
Coates offers the following tips for sorting through performance fabric offerings:
- Coated fabrics – Many of today’s so-called performance fabrics are created by just applying a coating to an ordinary fabric. The coating may be an inexpensive means of enhancing such properties as water repellency and ease of cleaning. While these fabrics may look and feel stylish, their performance features will diminish over time and their range of performance characteristics will be limited. The fabric might be easy to clean during the first few months, but that feature could disappear with long-term use and without regular reapplication of the coating; a fabric relying solely on a protective coating will not be resistant to UV rays and will fade from sun exposure. While virtually every performance fabric relies on high performance treatments, consumers would be well advised to look for performance features embedded in the product.
- Engineered for performance – True performance fabrics are entirely engineered to meet a set of specific requirements such as abrasion resistance, fade resistance, ease of cleaning, comfort and styling. Performance attributes that are incorporated as afterthoughts are likely to disappoint today’s consumers. A fabric that claims to be fade-resistant might well retain its color, but lose much of its strength after exposure to sunlight. Fiber composition, yarn construction, weaving techniques and finishing applications all play a part in how well the fabric will endure in a stressful environment. Engineered performance fabrics can be more expensive than alternatives, but offer the best value and the fewest compromises between durability and aesthetics.
- Testing and research and development – Manufacturers committed to producing performance fabrics must also be committed to ongoing programs of testing and research and development. Textile technology is a rapidly evolving science and improvements should be evaluated and incorporated into existing products as appropriate. Performance fabrics companies should also be committed to extensive testing of their products, including long-term exposure to actual environmental conditions in a variety of climates.
- Air quality – Some of the chemicals used to enhance the performance of fabrics can be bad for indoor air quality if those chemicals leach from the fabric into the air. Consumers should look for fabrics certified by the independent GREENGUARD Institute as low-emitting fabrics, which means these fabrics contribute to healthy indoor air quality.
- Consumer education – The Internet is an effective tool for consumers to research competing products and trends in performance fabrics. A little time on the Web can help a consumer identify fabrics that have a solid history of engineered performance versus those that just bead water. Careful research will also help identify compromises in performance, look or feel that are inherent in many fabrics.
“Consumers do not often think of textiles as a high-tech product, but today’s performance fabrics are truly technology-driven,” Coates said. “We can engineer performance and aesthetics into home furnishings like never before so that consumers don’t have to compromise look and feel for durability, fade resistance and ease of cleaning. Today, you can have it all.”
