Some window shade fabrics are greener than others. Over the past few years, several PVC-free window shade fabrics have been introduced. However, these fabrics often don’t perform as well or last as long as fabrics with PVC.
Recently there have been developments to make PVC shade fabrics more environmentally friendly. One of the most significant of these has been Phifer’s use of Dow Ecolibrium bio-based plasticizer with their PW3500 (4000), PW4100, and PW4400 fabrics. Ecolibrium is phthalate free, and is 98% derived from non-fossil fuel based feedstock. This significantly reduces the amount of petroleum used, and also reduces the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses produced during production of the plasticizer.
To show the benefits of Ecolibrium, Draper has developed a calculator for both petroleum savings and greenhouse gas avoidance. By entering the amount of window glass to be covered on a project, these savings can be calculated, and a PDF showing the results can be created. Here is the link to the calculator on the Draper website – http://www.draperinc.com/Go/GreenhouseGas.htm.
Phifer fabrics with Dow Ecolibrium plasticizer provide a more environmentally-friendly PVC alternative. Our new calculator shows just how much benefit there is.
For more information on Ecolibrium, including third party certifications/ratings, and available colors, click here.
