This plant-based fabric collection is made using rapidly renewable sugar cane

Founded on the principle that ‘great design goes deeper than aesthetics’, US-based Carnegie Fabrics recently released a collection of outdoor bio-based upholstery fabrics called the Outdoor Biobased Xorel. The interesting part about the Xorel fabric is that it’s been made from sugar cane! It is the first plant-based, high-performance textile in the world. It claims to be the first indoor/outdoor commercial-grade performance textile.

Designer: Carnegie Fabrics

Crafted from rapidly renewable sugarcane, the Outdoor Biobased Xorel collection of textiles is carbon-positive, and is comprised of 90 percent of bio-based materials. Since it has been sourced from rapidly renewable sugarcane, it has a drastically and significantly lower environmental footprint as compared to any other fossil-fuel-derived product. “Sugar cane also has a lower carbon footprint than many other bio-based sources, such as beet or corn,” said Carnegie Fabrics.

The utilization and integration of sugarcane in the textile impart it with durable and antibacterial properties. This makes the textiles super easy to clean, and provides them with resistance against fading and stains, without the need for synthetic treatments. Besides being functional and sustainable, the textiles also rate high on aesthetics. They come in a collection of subtle and minimal geometric patterns and colors that are knitted, crocheted, and woven.

The fabrics are excellent for external applications such as seat coverings, drapery, cushions, and space dividers across hospitality, healthcare, workplace, industrial, and education settings. In today’s world sustainability and making eco-friendly choices is of the utmost importance, and we often opt for commercial mass-produced products rather than niche environment-friendly ones. The Xorel collection is a great range of fabrics that have been designed with a purpose. It attempts to be an eco-friendly solution that will help generations to come. The textiles are versatile, tactile, and durable, making them resilient enough for the outdoors as well.

“It’s not enough for us to say our products are the best – independent, third-party certification, annual data reviews, auditing, and extensive lab testing show our products repeatedly exceed industry benchmarks,” said Carnegie. Xorel has achieved the Cradle to Cradle Gold Certification, Declare label, the Living Product Challenge Certification, and the Nexus, Dash, and Strie patterns are all USDA BioPreferred certified.