We are always working on our website, trying to improve the look and feel of the site to improve your experience while visiting us. We hope that you will enjy these changes and the changes that will be coming on line in the next few weeks. We have loads of new articles coming on line to help you research your project. You will find loads of new information on draperies and soft treatments, plantation shutters as well as blinds and shades. We will be adding new areas covering drapery hardware, woven wood/grass cloth shades, and most exciting of all our new eco-friendly area. Check back soon to see all of the changes. Link

We hope you like the look and feel of our redesign

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Specialty Shaped windows are always difficult to find just the right treatment for. In some situations natural grass cloth or woven wood fabrics can be ideal. Call or stop in today to see our huge selection.

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Enjoy the beauty of natural grass cloth shades. These shades are woven from eco-friendly sustainable materials. See our full selection.

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Natural Soft Roman Shades

We are all concious of trying to be ‘Green’ today. There have always been options to choose sustainable, eco-friendly products for window treatments. Natural grasses and reeds have been used for thousands of years to create beautiful treatments for windows. Call or stop by today to see our huge selection of these natural options. Link

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As we discussed yesterday, the problem with finding eco-friendly window treatments is to understand the definition.

A whole host of products have been certified ‘Green Guard” by the Green Guard Environmental Institute. This group certifies that products are safe for indoor use and/or safe for children and schools. The primary concern of this group is indoor air pollution. In the window treatment industry, this is generally referred to as ‘off-gassing’, meaning the product will emit a gas or odor for a short period of time after installation. This is generally a factor with products made from vaious plastics or vinyls, or with painted products.

While certifying that these products are safe is quite important, this certification does not fit most definitions of ‘Green’, ‘Sustainable’ or ‘Eco-Friendly’. There is not a current organization that provides a clear certification for products in the home furnishings industry. this leaves the consumer, retailer and designer to do the research.

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Our first product for Green consideration is Drapery fabrics. These fabrics can be used for traditional draperies, but can also be used for valences and top treatments as well as shadings and even some upholstery and bedding.

Natural fibers are the obvious choice when looking for ‘green’. But the content is not the only thing to consider. How is the product dyed? does it have any other chemical additives like fire retardents? How is waste handled at the mill? Is the mill operated in an energy concious way? And finally, how far does the material need to be shipped?

We have a number of natural fiber materials that are dyed with plant based dyes and woven in state of the art Mills. Some of the lines of fabric that we carry that have made strides in this area include; Robert Allen, Kravet, Kasmir, Thibault and Tapestria. Link

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Featured Fabrics   Pure Style > Eco-Poly >

The Robert Allen Group recognizes the importance of protecting the environment and providing sustainable products. We are committed to delivering a beautiful experience to our customers by broadening our offering of ecologically friendly products and by reducing our environmental footprint in ways that range from waste reduction to energy efficiency.

The fabric that we designate as “eco-friendly” has met criteria we’ve established based on strict environmental standards for fabric content, dye/pigment composition and finishing processes/treatments.

FABRIC CONTENT: At least fifty percent of the fibers in our eco-friendly fabrics are sustainable, organic and/or recycled.

• Sustainable fibers come from rapidly renewable resources with growth and harvest cycles of five years or less. Fibers that fall into this category include alpaca, bamboo, mohair, hemp, wool, and cork.
• Organic fibers are grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. Fibers that fall into this category include organic cotton, organic hemp and organic linen. All of our organic fabrics are made from certified organic fibers.
• Recycled fibers come from post-consumer waste such as soda bottles. They also come from post-industrial waste: byproducts from the manufacturing process. Our post-industrial recycled fibers come from petroleum byproducts, recycled cotton, corn derivatives (PLA), recycled silk, and soybean husks.

COLOR: Our eco-friendly fabrics may simply reflect the color of their fiber content (i.e. in their un-dyed states, many fibers such as alpaca and recycled cotton come in ranges of rich hues from deep chocolates to luminous shades of gold.) Alternatively, these eco-friendly fabrics may derive color from metal-free or reduced metal dyestuffs and pigments. If the fabrics contain dyes or pigments, they meet the metal content standards set by the Ecological and Toxicological Association of Dyes and Organic Pigments Manufacturers (ETAD).

FINISHING: Our eco-friendly fabrics may be loomstate, meaning that they come straight from the loom with no additional performance preparations. Eco-friendly fabrics with finishing treatments may include washing (with water alone or with a mild soap), aero-ing (tumbling), steaming, pressing with hot rollers, or the application of a stain or water repellent. In general, it is our preference not to use a stain repellent or a water repellent except in cases where they are a practical necessity. These fabrics do not have synthetic backings.

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