November 4, 2009
The Refinishing Touch's 'Touch Textiles' Brand Broadens Range to Include New 100%-Recycled Fabrics With New Eco-Friendly Finishes
Alpharetta, GA--(Marketwire) - The Refinishing Touch, a world renowned specialist in environmentally safe and sustainable on-site furniture refinishing, upholstery and armoire modifications, has added new environmentally-friendly materials to its Touch Textiles fabrics brand.
The new line includes a range of 100% recycled fabrics finished with GreenShield, a Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) recognized, low fluorocarbon treatment that uses two-thirds less chemicals without compromising the durability, moisture resistance, stain resistance or nonflammable qualities of the fabric.
In recent years, the industry has seen a massive increase in the use and demand for eco-friendly textiles. Close to 12 billion pounds of post consumer textile waste ends up in our landfills every single year, reflecting the growing need and continuing opportunity for recyclable and sustainable textiles throughout the world.
As a part of the additions to its eco-collection, Touch Textiles introduces fabrics from partners at three different mills that hold third-party certifications for environmentally friendly practices such as Lean Manufacturing (1). While remaining leaders in fabric design and development, these partners make use of innovations such as GreenShield, a fabric finisher that uses up to 10 times less fluorocarbons than other finishes and one-third of the chemicals while preserving color, maintaining fabric breathability, providing water and stain repellency and allowing for anti-odor, antistatic and non-flammable characteristics.
Touch Textiles' new line of green fabrics is complementary to The Refinishing Touch's commitment to sustainable practices that utilize non-toxic materials in its refinishing business. To date, The Refinishing Touch has refurbished the equivalent of 1.5 million rooms of furniture for approximately 20,000 different clients across the government, educational and hospitality sectors. Its practices of recycling, refurbishing and reupholstering furniture have saved approximately two million hardwood trees from landfill.
On top of environmentally sustainable properties, the new range of fabrics feature new designs, textures and materials to accommodate the extensive and selective tastes of The Refinishing Touch's client base across hospitality, university and government sectors.
Mario Insenga, founder and CEO of The Refinishing Touch, said, "Market demand for quality and environmentally friendly fabrics is continuing to grow more and more each year. Through Touch Textiles, The Refinishing Touch is responding to that demand and seeking out these fabrics to offer to our clients. We're determined to provide the highest quality, most environmentally sustainable fabrics, and we're very proud of our new line within the Touch Textiles brand."
He went on to say, "It makes good environmental and business sense to source the textile and refinishing work from the same company. By including these more eco-friendly options, we're hoping to bring new benefits to our clients and provide products and services that are in line with The Refinishing Touch's sustainable mission."
To view the new fabrics that are available immediately, visit The Refinishing Touch's Touch Textiles website. Fabric sample swatches can be requested by calling The Refinishing Touch at (800) 523-9448 or emailing them at sales@therefinishingtouch.com.
About The Refinishing Touch
Founded in 1977, The Refinishing Touch® is a world leader in providing on-site environmentally safe and sustainable furniture refinishing, upholstery and armoire modifications to private and public organizations. It enables its 20,000 customers across the following markets: government, hotel, hospitality and academia to save up to 80% of their budgets and maintain environmental sustainability.
To date the company has transformed over 1.5 million rooms of furniture worldwide, preventing the equivalent of approximately two million hardwood trees being lost to landfill. Services comprise furniture refinishing, reupholstering, armoire modification and re engineering, granite and fabric selection through the Touch Textiles division. The company has patent pending clean material processes that are odorless, non-toxic, non-flammable and environmentally safe to enable immediate room re-occupancy.
The Refinishing Touch was awarded the US General Services Administration Evergreen Award for innovative environmentally friendly practices. Long term clients include: The White House, The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, US Department of Justice, US Congress, Department of Defense, US Military and Coastguards, Hyatt, Marriot, Wyndham, IHG and Starwood, plus a number of top universities. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.
www.therefinishingtouch.com (1) In its most basic form, Lean Manufacturing is the systematic elimination of waste from all aspects of an organization's operations, where waste is viewed as any use or loss of resources that does not lead directly to creating the product or service a customer wants when they want it. http://www.epa.gov/lean/leanreport.pdf
SOURCE: The Refinishing Touch
How to Choose an Upholstery Fabric
By Beth Larson,
Leather
Although leather is more expensive than other types of upholstery fabric it is extremely durable and can last for years. It also brings a certain elegance to a piece of furniture and helps it to look upscale and classic. Leather is one of the most popular choices in upholstery fabric because of its durability and simply because it looks beautiful.
Vinyl
Although vinyl upholstery fabric may seem like a good alternative to leather, it actually can be quite uncomfortable to sit on. Not only that but over time it has a tendency to crack as it ages which means it won't last nearly as long as many other types of upholstery fabric. The main benefit of choosing vinyl for your upholstery fabric is that it is easy to clean; however the uncomfortable texture and relatively short lifetime should be considered before choosing vinyl for your furniture.
Linen
Linen is probably not the best choice for upholstery fabric for most people. Linen wrinkles easily and also takes a lot of care to help keep it clean. The fibers in linen can have a tendency to stretch which means it will also require extra care to help keep its shape. When it comes to upholstery fabric there are much better choices than linen.
Denim or Heavy Cotton Fabric
Denim or heavy cotton fabrics are a great choice for upholstering a piece of furniture. Cotton fibers are durable and tough and stand up well to most types of cleaning solutions and to every day wear and tear. Look for cotton fabric or denim that is color fast for ease of cleaning. After you've upholstered the furniture consider treating the fabric with a stain resistant spray to help protect it.