Sugar cane-based textiles promote LEED procurement

Exemplifying sustainable product sourcing, Carnegie Fabrics introduced its innovation of plant-based interior textiles through its new Xorel line, Green Biz said. In an interview with the Carnegie's president Cliff Goldman, the publication detailed the seven-year ordeal that the company underwent to source BioBased content and textile products from sugar cane.

"We achieved this while keeping the price, aesthetics and performance exactly the same," Goldman said to Green Biz. "We were not willing to make any compromises, and that is why it was a seven-year process. We were careful to make sure that the new material would still meet all the high expectations that both the company and our customers already have for the brand."

While the federal government dictates that products labeled as BioBased must have been made by at least 25 percent of biocontent, Carnegie textiles exceed that number. Carnegie's Xorel product is billed as "the world's first Bio-based high performance interior textile," according to its site. Instead of being manufactured from fossil fuels, the various Xorel patterns are composed of 60-85 percent polyethylene made from sugarcane.

Incorporating natural, raw materials like sugar cane in its production of textiles allows the company to continue its sustainable sourcing for years to come.

"Using a rapidly renewable material reduces our company's dependence on the planet's finite fossil fuels resources," Goldman said. "I have seen estimates that manufacturing ethylene with sugarcane uses 60 percent less energy and generates 40 percent less greenhouse gas emissions when compared to making petrochemical ethylene. Furthermore, growing the sugarcane plant naturally captures carbon dioxide."

In its effort to make ensure its materials were approved for LEED procurement, Carnegie said Xorel textile products are certified by Cradle to Cradle guidelines and attribute up to 4 points under LEED v4 requirements for building manufacturers, including for indoor air quality and material optimization.

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