May is Asthma Awareness Month, also known as “breathe easy month.” Keeping dangerous volatile organic compounds (VOC) out of the air is an important part of ensuring air quality. Here are four ways Draper makes that happen:
Greenguard Gold products
GREENGUARD Gold-certified materials meet or exceed industry standard limits for off-gassing. This helps protect sensitive children and adults in places they spend much of their time, including schools, daycares, healthcare facilities, homes, and businesses. Draper uses GREENGUARD-certified materials in each of our primary product lines: projection screens, window shades, and gymnasium equipment. We were the first projection screen manufacturer to receive GreenGuard Certification for projection screen fabrics. Draper’s Matt White XT1000E and XT1000V, Grey XH600V, and Contrast Grey XH800E front projection viewing surfaces are all GREENGUARD Gold-certified.
Shade fabrics with bio-based plasticizers
Many products, including a variety of shade fabrics, contain chemicals known as phthalates. The Environmental Protection Agency has expressed concern about toxicity of phthalates and “evidence of pervasive human and environmental exposure to these chemicals.”
Phifer SheerWeave fabrics made with DOW ECOLIBRIUM™ are an answer. This bio-based plasticizer is a renewable, phthalate-free alternative, offering a more sustainable option. Shade fabrics with bio-based plasticizers cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40% versus existing PVC compounds. Since it’s mostly from non-fossil fuel-based feed stock, there’s also a much lower carbon footprint.
Draper and Phifer have created a calculator to approximate petroleum savings and greenhouse gas avoidance when using SheerWeave® Ecolibrium™ fabrics. Click here to use the calculator.
Cradle-to-Cradle shade fabrics
Mermet’s Evolve and Revive are made primarily of REPREVE polyester, a US-manufactured recycled and recyclable fiber made from used water bottles. This fabric helps keep a lot of plastic out of the landfill. Repreve is fiber made with 100% recycled content and is made responsibly to make a difference. The Repreve process not only diverts post-consumer waste, it also includes collecting and using pre-consumer waste from manufacturing. Revive is Cradle-to-Cradle Certified™ Silver and Evolve is Cradle-to-Cradle Certified™ Bronze, meaning they meet minimum standards for material health, material reutilization, renewable energy/carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.
Powder coated products
We utilize powder coat instead of wet paint on many products, including shade hardware, basketball backstops, and more. Powder coatings do not contain solvents, and release little or no volatile organic compounds (VOC) into the air. They also have a more efficient process. Waste powder can be recovered and reused. In addition, most powder coatings are not defined as hazardous waste by the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), so most states allow the same disposal methods as for non-hazardous industrial wastes.
For more information on Draper’s sustainability efforts, click here.
