Earth-Friendly Window Treatments
In honor of Earth Day, we've decided to look at the green properties of some of our most popular window coverings. From raw materials to manufacturing to shipping, our Signature Series of blinds, shades, and shutters are created and packaged in environmentally responsible ways.
Did you know:
- Our aluminum blinds are 100% recyclable and create an insulating buffer between your home and the outdoors.
- Our cellular shades have an insulating effect of between R2 and R5, reducing energy consumption and lowering energy bills.
- Many of our roman shades and roller shades come in fabrics that are certified with the Oeko-Tex Standard 100: "Confidence in Textiles" label. This verifies that the fabrics are free of PVC, halogen, lead, formaldehyde, allergenic dyes, pesticides, phenols, and heavy metals, among others.
- Plastic components in our faux wood blinds contain up to 50% pre-consumer recycled material.
- Our roller shades and are designed, engineered and tested to ensure a long life, reducing landfill waste from short-lived products.
- Solar Shades have a shading coefficient ranging from .33 to .74 that blocks solar heat gain transmitted to the home, lowering energy costs.
- Natural Shades with liners block up to 100% of UV rays when the shade is completely lowered.
Even the manufacturing process of many of our Signature Series products leaves as small an environmental footprint as possible. For example, the fabrics used in our woven wood shades are stained using a boiling process, then air dried, saving energy.
At our Signature Series manufacturing facility, wood waste is used to fuel the boiler, which provides steam to heat the lumber drying kilns and the factory. Excess sawdust is turned into wood pellets in a waste-to-energy program. Over 4,500 tons (99%) of sawdust were recycled in our Grayling plant in one year alone.
Signature Series wood blinds and shutters are produced using North American hardwoods that are carefully harvested through “sustainable yield forest management”. This means that the amount of wood harvested is far below the levels of growth. In fact, the volume of hardwoods in American forests today is 90 percent larger than it was 50 years ago.
Because this wood is sourced and processed domestically, the transportation energy to get the wood to market is minimized. Many of today’s wood products travel long distances from other continents, consuming significant energy along the way.
Even the shipping packaging our facility uses is 100% recyclable. The cardboard itself contains 35-40% recycled content. The angle board used to reinforce the cardboard is 100% recyclable and contains 80% post-consumer recycled material and 20% pre-consumer recycled material. Polytubes, EPS pads, parts tub and bubble wrap used in packaging are also 100% recyclable.
Environmental responsibility is part of taking care of our customers. We are proud to work with manufacturers who take their commitment to the planet seriously, continually improving their products and methods to ensure a greener future for all of us.
