Sustainability
Sustainable hospitality.
Accountable to the planet.
When fabrics meet performance standards and exceed sustainability expectations, it’s a win for brands and guests. At P/Kaufmann Contract, we are committed to continuously improving the way we design, manufacture, and deliver high-performance textile products for the hospitality industry.
Earthbound Hyphyn™ vinyl biodegrades over 90% within 24 months in landfill conditions—after a useful life of hospitality performance.
Our suppliers develop materials that prioritize responsible practices.
Our design studio translates ingredients into must-have hospitality fabrics.
Our customers demand responsible product attributes—and we’re listening.
Better Materials Start with Collaboration
Our commitment to sustainability drives us to expand our use of responsibly sourced materials by working directly with our global network of suppliers and listening to customers, strengthening relationships and collaborating on healthier materials that advance supply chain sustainability, one yard at a time.
500+
products with OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 Certification
100%
PFAS-Free product inventory since 2025
200+
products with recycled content
60+
biodegradable woven polyester and coated fabric SKUs
Earthbound is available in five patterns and 56 colorways.
SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT
Earthbound: Quick Ship Meets Accelerated Biodegradation
P/Kaufmann Contract’s Earthbound Collection of Quick Ship vinyl upholstery fabrics combine leather-look sophistication with durability and a lower environmental impact.
Engineered with Hyphyn™ technology, these versatile coated textiles are proven to biodegrade by over 90% within 24 months under landfill conditions—after a useful life of high performance in contract spaces. Earthbound offers responsible material choices that perform beautifully.
Better choices start with transparent product information.
Why is it so difficult to specify sustainable materials for your project? How can you find the information you need? Where do you even start? Answers: It’s complicated. We’re working on it. Start here.
Our research into the sustainable materials landscape led us to the Mindful Materials Common Materials Framework, a resource that guides our initiatives to focus on what matters most to designers, purchasers, and brands.
Aligning our efforts with the CMF's five impact areas has provided us with organizing principles that help us deliver transparent product information and enable customers to make informed decisions.
Sustainable Hospitality is Outdoorsy. Terrazza Collection indoor/outdoor upholstery fabrics are engineered for inherent performance and certified GREENGUARD Gold for indoor air quality.
Supporting human health.
Our commitment to supporting human health through safer materials and cleaner manufacturing practices is reinforced by our dedication to verifying and transparently disclosing product ingredients.
Ingredient Disclosure
We believe in transparency and disclose the ingredients for each product on our website. Many of our fabrics comply with REACH standards and are certified under OEKO-TEX® Standard 100, which verifies the absence of harmful substances.
Safer Chemistry
We prioritize alternatives to traditional textile ingredients and finishes. All our products are PFAS-Free. Since first transitioning our in-line contract fabrics in 2019, all fabrics across PK divisions have been PFAS-free as of January 2025. In addition, we offer PVC-free coated fabrics, phthalate-free vinyl and polyurethane fabrics, antimony-free polyester fabrics, and halogen-free flame retardants and IMO backings.
Inherent Performance
We continue to introduce materials with inherent performance properties that reduce the need for added chemicals, such as our Thistledown Collection silicone coated fabrics. These fabrics are naturally flame-retardant, antimicrobial, stain-resistant, and durable against cleaning agents.
Indoor Air Quality
To further support healthier indoor environments, we offer select products with third-party certifications, including GREENGUARD® Gold, which verifies low chemical emissions and supports improved indoor air quality.
Sustainable Hospitality is Dimensional. Just-In-Time Collection domestically-produced upholstery fabrics reduce consumption at every stage of the lifecycle, from the water used in production to the energy required for transport, minimizing environmental impact.
Environmental impact reduction.
Protecting ecosystem health is another key focus. We are working toward industry-level Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to assess and communicate the lifecycle impacts of products across our product line.
Through material transparency and sustainable product attributes, many of our textiles can also contribute to LEED and WELL building certifications. Additionally, we are reducing the environmental impact of packaging and transportation by minimizing and reusing shipping materials and prioritizing land or sea transport over air freight whenever possible.
Sustainable Hospitality is Decorative. Our Boundless Collection celebrates the possibilities of print design across upholstery, blackout, drapery, sheers, and cruise ship applications.
Climate health.
Our climate health initiatives emphasize accountability, operational transparency, and more sustainable production methods.
Accountability Partnership: MindClick
Since 2012, P/Kaufmann Contract has participated in the MindClick Supplier Sustainability Assessment Program (MSAP), where we have consistently been recognized as a Leader. We work closely with our manufacturing partners to collect environmental impact data on energy use, waste, water consumption, and carbon footprint. Do we have any data on carbon footprint?
Cleaning Printing Practices
Sustainable printing practices are another key component of our environmental strategy. Approximately 95% of our printed fabrics are produced domestically, and 95% of our printing uses digital heat-transfer technology, which significantly reduces energy consumption and eliminates water use in manufacturing. Many of our upholstery print base cloths contain recycled content.
Sustainable Hospitality is Ethical. P/Kaufmann Contract prioritize suppliers who practice socially-responsible manufacturing.
Social health and equity.
Social responsibility and equity remain central to our global supplier standards. We support third-party auditing and certification programs that assess ethical labor practices and environmental responsibility, including SA8000, BSCI, and ISO 14001. We conduct blind audits to ensure accountability and transparency throughout the supply chain.
Sustainability is Elegant. Sheer Solace is our first sheer fabric collection to feature PrimaLoft®BIO™ biodegradable fabrics and SEAQUAL® YARN recycled polyester made from reclaimed marine plastic waste.
Circular economy.
We are committed to advancing a circular economy by designing products with end-of-life in mind and expanding reduce/reuse/recycle initiatives across our corporate office and warehouse operations.
Recycled Content
A growing number of our products across all categories incorporate recycled content, including SEAQUAL® YARN made from upcycled marine plastic, recycled wool, and others that meet the Global Recycled Standard.
Biodegradable Materials
We have introduced products featuring technologies that accelerate biodegradation at the end of the product lifecycle. Hyphyn™ vinyl coated fabrics, CiCLO® and Primaloft® Bio™ polyester fibers incorporate additives that enable naturally occurring microbes to biodegrade the material under landfill conditions at the end of its lifecycle.
Waste Reduction
Reducing waste across all areas of our operations remains a priority. We donate excess fabric from our warehouse and design studio to nonprofit organizations that reuse and recycle materials, including FabScrap and Good360. In addition, accepting sample returns at our warehouse and using shipping materials made with recycled content help us minimize unnecessary waste.
Sustainable Hospitality is Creative. Our Earthbound Collection of vinyl upholstery fabrics combines leather-look sophistication with durability and a lower environmental impact.
Biodegradable Textiles
- These innvoative synthetic fibers are engineered with additives that accelerate the breakdown of fibers at the end of a fabric’s useful life.
- Tested to biodegrade via naturally occurring microbes under landfill conditions without contaminating the soil.
- P/Kaufmann Contract offers biodegradable fabrics and finished products including bedding, with more products coming soon.
About biodegradable technology
Learn more about the science of Hyphyn™ performance upholstery material.
Sustainable Hospitality is Sea-Worthy. Luxurious velvet Aria Velluto from our Modern Elegance Collection contains more than 50% recycled content and is IMO-compliant for drapery and upholstery.
Recycled Content
- Sources include post-consumer PET bottles, marine plastic waste, and pre-consumer textile production waste.
- Several of our manufacturing partners are certified under the Global Recycled Standard (GRS), which tracks and verifies recycled content across the supply chain.
- P/Kaufmann Contract offers over 200 products that feature recycled content.
Resources and reports
Take the next step
At P/Kaufmann Contract, we lead by our values and aim to make durable, long-lasting, responsible products. If you have queries about our sustainability practices, please contact us. We're happy to help.