Solvent-free, water-based, disinfectable EPU Powered by Crypton
Crypton, leading makers of performance fabric for the contract trade & residential markets, introduces a first-of-its-kind, environmentally friendly polyurethane (polycarbonate) that has all of the softness, durability and cleanability for which Crypton fabrics are renowned: Crypton Epure. The process of making Crypton’s new Epure is uniquely 100% solvent-free and the product itself is manufactured from a water-based process and uses no plasticizers.
Innovative, with an eco-friendly manufacturing process, Crypton CEO Lance Keziah explains that “Epure offers contract designers and facilities managers ease and peace of mind. It is indicative of our mission to constantly innovate textiles to benefit both the design community and the planet.” Epure is stain and odor resistant, bleach and alcohol cleanable. Like all Crypton barrier fabrics, it is an EPA-listed disinfectable surface, and Epure’s moisture barrier keeps unwanted liquids and stains away ensuring permanent liquid repellency. Extremely cleanable, Epure even resists ink and upholstery’s dirtiest nemesis: denim dye. It boasts perhaps the ultimate endurance, passing the abrasion test at an astounding 1 million double rubs.
Designtex launched the first Crypton Epure collection with its distinctive Tilt + Nest collection. Crypton will debut new Epure collections in early summer, including two new open lines which will include a modern box-embossed pattern and vibrant prints. Aside from the stocked collections, Crypton’s contract and healthcare distributor partners can work with Crypton’s design and development team to create custom designs in Epure with a 300-yard minimum order.
Epure may be both printed and embossed, and printing can be either rotogravure or digital. This custom capability is handy for interiors that require durable fabrics that can connote specific corporate identity requirements or wayfinding cues, or for designs where a signature look is required.
According to Crypton’s Creative Director for Contract, Sarah Wolfe, who developed and designed the first lines of Epure, “It took two years of testing and trials to develop something soft and supple enough” to meet Crypton’s aesthetic standards, among other goals for Epure. Crypton also required that Epure offer myriad colors from soft to vivid, plus variety in textures and designs. The result, she says, is a product that is “completely sustainable with high performance and design ease. Epure is so versatile, you can have deeper embossing and you can print on it. In designing textiles for use by design professionals, it’s good to have more options.”
The specs of Crypton’s Epure would delight any designer seeking the performance of polyurethane with the highest standards of sustainability. Other EPUs on the market are made using solvents, but Epure uses no solvents in the manufacturing process. It also contains no plasticizers of any kind, and is free of PFOA, PFOS, PFC, PVC, formaldehyde, phthalate, BPA and heavy metals. It complies with the Healthier Hospitals Safer Chemical Guidance and California Section 01350. It complies with California Prop 65 and is GREENGUARD Gold certified. It is reliably disinfectable using bleach (10% ratio), Isopropyl alcohol (70% solution), hydrogen peroxide or Crypton’s own EPA-approved quaternary Disinfectant & Deodorizer.
To further clarify the supply chain and sustainability compliance, and help designers make more informed decisions, Crypton is now working closely with Toxnot. Epure is listed on the HPD Public Repository as well as on Mindful Materials. Keziah sums it up: “Epure is a true textile solution. A uniquely sustainable textile that is highly durable, cleanable, disinfectable and beautiful.”
Crypton Epure: Quick Facts
Sustainable, cleanable, durable, disinfectable…beautiful.
- Complies with Healthier Hospital’s Safer Chemicals Guidance
- GREENGUARD Gold Certified
- California Section 01350 compliant
- California Prop 65 compliant
- Mindful Materials listed
- Superior stain resistance & water repellency
- Soft, supple hand
- Embossable
- Easy to clean
- Durable: 1,000,000 Wyzenbeek double rubs
- No Solvents, no plasticizers
- PFOA, PFOS, PFC and PVC-free
- No anti-microbial additive/inherently antimicrobial
- Formaldehyde, phthalate & BPA-free
- Heavy metal-free
- ‘Puddle’ resistant
- Bleach Cleanable (10% ratio) + disinfectable
- Isopropyl alcohol cleanability (70%) + disinfectable
- Hydrogen peroxide cleanable + disinfectable
- Quaternary ammonium disinfectable (EPA listed)
- Ink resistant
- Denim dye resistant
- Fluid repellency
- Disinfectable with Crypton’s D&D