P/Kaufmann Debuts Sustainable Line for Contract & Residential
October 31, 2008
NEW YORK, New York – Fifty-year-old fabric converter and wholesaler P/Kaufmann has launched P/K Conserves, a new collection of sustainable upholstery fabrics catering to both their residential and contract customers.
While several competitors have made similar efforts toward sustainable fabric creation and promotion, P/Kaufmann is the first to partner with the Nature Conservancy, the 56-year-old leading worldwide conservation organization that works to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. In the partnership, P/K Conserves will contribute five percent of the product sales of to the Nature Conservancy with a minimum contribution of $25,000. According to Armentrout, P/Kaufmann's vice president and director of woven design, the Nature Conservancy has laid out strict regulations for the P/K Conserves which must be upheld through at least the next three collections.
"The Nature Conservancy has the most consumer recognition with more than 700 scientists on staff and presence in 30 countries," said Armentrout. "They have never before had a relationship with a brand or related their name to a line of product. They are not a certifying program for textiles. We are required to make every effort to preserve [and] make a minimal footprint."
All P/K Conserves products use 100 percent certified non-toxic dyes to create a large range of SKAL-certified, saturated colors. No bleaches were used in the preparation and only water and mild soap were used in their cleaning. The products do not emit and known airborne toxins and the machinery used in organic manufacturing are isolated from other machines to stay contaminant-free and meet energy efficiency and low-toxin criteria.
(The full story on P/K Conserves will appear in the printed Winter 08/09 edition of Fabrics & Furnishings International.)
While several competitors have made similar efforts toward sustainable fabric creation and promotion, P/Kaufmann is the first to partner with the Nature Conservancy, the 56-year-old leading worldwide conservation organization that works to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. In the partnership, P/K Conserves will contribute five percent of the product sales of to the Nature Conservancy with a minimum contribution of $25,000. According to Armentrout, P/Kaufmann's vice president and director of woven design, the Nature Conservancy has laid out strict regulations for the P/K Conserves which must be upheld through at least the next three collections.
"The Nature Conservancy has the most consumer recognition with more than 700 scientists on staff and presence in 30 countries," said Armentrout. "They have never before had a relationship with a brand or related their name to a line of product. They are not a certifying program for textiles. We are required to make every effort to preserve [and] make a minimal footprint."
All P/K Conserves products use 100 percent certified non-toxic dyes to create a large range of SKAL-certified, saturated colors. No bleaches were used in the preparation and only water and mild soap were used in their cleaning. The products do not emit and known airborne toxins and the machinery used in organic manufacturing are isolated from other machines to stay contaminant-free and meet energy efficiency and low-toxin criteria.
(The full story on P/K Conserves will appear in the printed Winter 08/09 edition of Fabrics & Furnishings International.)
