Using the latest technology, beautiful fabrics are being designed to provide optimum performance, even in the harshest conditions.

Stain Resistance
There are many different stain resistant finishes and treatments in the market these days and more and more people are looking for an easy to clean solution to protect their investment from day to day accidents, wear and tear. During a soil or stain repellent finishing process, chemicals are applied to either the yarn (pre weaving) or finished fabric, creating a barrier that inhibits absorption of spills and aids in the easy removal of soiling or stains from the fabric.

Inherent Stain Resistance Construction
A process whereby the molecular structure of the fibre/yarns used to produce a fabric have been engineered to possess stain resistant characteristics. The stain resistant nature of these products will remain true for the full life of the product as it is inherent in the yarn and therefore cannot be washed out.

Stain Resistant Treatment
A chemical process whereby a fabric has a stain resistant treatment applied onto the yarn retrospectively, or after the fabric has been produced. The treatment creates a barrier on top of the fabric. Stain resistant treated textiles can be more affordable than inherently Stain Resistant fabrics. The lifetime of the treatment cannot be guaranteed as it can dissipate in time through wear or washing. This finish acts to buy some time to quickly remove a spill from the surface with a dry cloth, acting as a temporary barrier.

Outdoor Performance
Many of our outdoor textiles offer a combination of high performance aspects such as UV resistance, soil and stain resistance, mildew resistance, high abrasion results and fire retardancy along with the added value of being machine washable. This ensures their suitability for residential, commercial, indoor and outdoor applications where high performance attributes and ease of care is required and/or desired.

Designed and engineered for both outdoor and indoor use, these high performance textiles are durable, easy care and have excellent sunlight resistance. Due to technological advancements in outdoor yarns, nowadays outdoor textiles achieve a more natural appearance, softer handle and finer construction than ever before. This improves the flexibility of application with outdoor textiles,enabling them to work seamlessly in both indoor and outdoor spaces where the fabric is subjected to direct sunlight, weathering and heavy usage. Outdoor fabrics should be woven with tried and tested fibres designed to withstand the elements such as solution dyed acrylic and solution dyed olefin/polyolefin/ polypropylene. These compositions are proven to provide benefits in both the quality and longevity of the fabric in our harsh outdoor environment.

UV Resistant
Wherever you live in the world, it’s fair to say we are all enduring a significant amount of damaging sunlight into our homes. However, even when there is no direct sunshine, harmful UV rays are still present, bombarding our interior furnishings and slowly causing damage to our furniture, curtains, art and flooring. It’s not actually the fabric fading – a common misconception, it’s the dye stuffs themselves within the yarn.

All fabrics will fade under exposure to UV, the speed of that fading is where the UV resistance factors comes in. Through a combination of yarn type and dying processes, fabrics will perform to a greater or lesser extent under harsh sun conditions and UV exposure.

The Blue Scale rating is a way to understand the relative resistance a fabric may have to UV. The Blue Scale runs from 1= very poor to 8=exceptionally good. As a general rule of thumb if you are seeking a UV resistant fabric select one with a blue scale of 7 or 8, usually products achieving these results are specifically designed for use outdoors.

We take great care to imbue our outdoor designs with a quality of finish, a palette and a design sensibility which could work just as well in indoor spaces. This is great as our lifestyle promotes a real blurred line between the indoor and outdoor, and these spaces are very much designed to intersect. Items achieving a blue scale result of 6 will also perform excellently over time and many of our indoor products have succeeded in achieving this.

Flame Retardant
FR stands for Flame Retardant. FR properties can be either an inherent yarn quality, or applied as a finish to the woven fabric. Inherent FR cannot be washed out and generally achieves a high certification for fire retardancy. An after-market or solution finish applied to the fabric can also achieve a good FR rating in the short term but may lessen over time depending upon how the fabric is treated and cleaned. Some 100% Polyester qualities can also produce a successful fire retardancy test result due to the nature of the fabric, which is inclined to melt in direct heat, rather than contribute to a spread of flame.

FR standards vary across countries and sometimes regionally within countries. When specifying a commercially applicable FR rated fabric it is best to check with an expert about the local standard or building code requirements and fabric suitability. The responsibility for attaining the appropriate FR certification lies with the specifier, as every project and location has a different requirement with varying context.

Anti-Microbial / Healthcare
Hospitals, clinics and aged care environments were once stark, clinical interiors. Anti-microbial textiles have evolved across technical performance, comfort and design to now provide attractive and comfortable fabric solutions suitable for these locations making them less daunting, more comfortable, highly designed and welcoming.

Anti-microbial fabrics are inherently ‘bio-static’ textiles which will inhibit the growth of microorganisms and provide protection against yeast, fungi and bacteria developing and settling within the weave. It also has stain resistance and liquid barrier properties, inhibiting the absorption of liquids such as blood and other bodily fluids. This is essential in the Health Care sector where spread of infection is of paramount concern and must be limited. Anti-microbial textiles are required for beds, seating and privacy screens in hospitals and hospice applications but also add value wherever there is a high use environment. Hospitality is a growth market for these types of textiles as they too can be constantly exposed to food and liquid which can encourage the growth of bacteria, and also require high durability, performance, ease of care and cleanability.

Anti-microbial fabrics provide the ultimate peace of mind for any high-traffic, high use environment where lots of people will be interacting with the fabrics.

Zepel

About