At Sunbrella, our fabrics are rooted in sustainability throughout the manufacturing process, from the foundational fibers to the finished products. We have committed ourselves to company-wide initiatives and programs focused on taking care of people, our planet, and leaving this world better than we found it.
Dedication to Quality
Our approach to sustainability begins with our dedication to producing high-quality fabrics and products. The Sunbrella team employs state-of-the-art third-party certified testing to ensure quality and durability.
Each yard of Sunbrella fabric is checked for quality more than 100 times throughout manufacturing as part of our commitment to producing only the most exceptional performance textiles. This commitment to quality ensures that you are getting a product that lasts longer and needs to be replaced less often, ultimately creating less waste.
Sunbrella Renaissance
The manufacturing process for textiles often produces leftover fiber, yarn, and fabric—from Sunbrella manufacturing facilities as well as from the cutting tables of our various partners and customers. Sunbrella took on the challenge of finding a new purpose for this manufacturing waste and the Sunbrella Renaissance yarn program was born.
To create our renaissance yarns, postindustrial fiber waste is segmented into color groups, reduced back to its fiber state, and then mixed with Sunbrella virgin fiber. This new fiber blend then makes its way back through the fabric manufacturing process. Sunbrella Renaissance yarns are tested for quality along with all-virgin fibers, ensuring the product meets our stringent performance standards.
Not only does the Renaissance yarn program divert postindustrial fiber waste from landfills, but it creates unique textiles with natural variation, color specks, and unique composition. The resulting textiles feature vintage charm, rich coloration, soft feel, and excellent performance.
Recycle My Sunbrella
For more than 30 years, Sunbrella has recycled our manufacturing waste through a number of processes to reduce the about of fabric waste entering landfills. In 2010, we launched the ‘Recycle My Sunbrella’ program, allowing domestic consumers to participate in our corporate recycling process. This special take-back program provides an alternative to disposal for fabric scraps, awning covers, boat covers, and upholstery fabric.
Since the inception of the program, Recycle My Sunbrella has collected over one million pounds of fabric that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. This number includes nearly 72,000 pounds in 2022 alone.
Sunbrella Initiatives
We took on the challenge many years ago to find long-term, sustainable solutions to minimize waste and decrease our carbon footprint through initiatives for waste, water, and landfill reduction.
All Sunbrella facilities are focused on minimizing waste and recycling as many materials as possible. Our manufacturing facilities already divert over 90% of waste from landfills, and we continue to expand our waste minimization efforts with new goals each year.
Our parent company, Glen Raven, owns and operates solar arrays at our plants in Anderson, South Carolina and in Norlina, North Carolina. They collectively generate 1.5 megawatts of energy–capable of producing enough energy to power over 150 homes. In 2021, Glen Raven secured 25% of our total electricity use around the globe from renewable resources.
