Specialist Seating & Hospital Furniture

Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics is the sustainable choice for seating applications within Healthcare & Medical environments.

This is because polyurethane-coated fabrics are by their nature PVC-free.

The need to eliminate PVC in medical settings has long been recognized:

• Flexible PVCs can contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (phthalates) which are known to be damaging to health and the environment

• Chemical degradation caused by rigorous cleaning with sodium hypochlorite will crack the structure of the PVC polymers and result in the fabric failing over time exposing threads and becoming an infection control risk

• As most clinical waste is incinerated, there is a risk of toxic dioxin formation when PVC is burned in poorly managed high temperatures

• Upgrade your PVC coated fabrics to polyurethane - Polyurethanes do not need plasticizers, and do not create dioxins when incinerated.

The right choice for complex patient needs

 To help keep a patient’s skin cool and dry, it is important to consider the Mositure Vapour Permeability (MVP) or ‘breathability’ of the fabric. How much it ‘breathes’ is determined by the Moisture Vapour Transfer Rate (MVTR), which essentially means how quickly moisture vapour travels through the fabric and away from the patient’s skin.

For patients that are seated for prolonged periods of time, Dartex® fabrics can help the patient stay cooler for longer. Keeping vulnerable skin cooler for longer could help reduce the occurrence of pressure injuries.

Dartex® polyurethane coated fabrics also provide immersion and envelopment properties; these are fundamental to helping redistribute pressure and preventing avoidable pressure injuries in patients that are seated for longer periods of time.

Manufactured in the UK and USA, Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics are:

• PVC Free/Latex Free/Phthalate Free/Halogen Free FR
• REACH & RoHS compliant
• BS EN ISO 9001:2015 (FM 14842) certified
• BS EN ISO 14001:2015 (SE006995) certified

ALSO AVAILABLE – Selected Dartex® Performance products available to purchase by the roll. Download the Dartex® PER464 Stock card in ‘Additional Resources’ for more information.

• Are You Sitting Comfortably? 3 studies into Seating & Microclimate
• Cleaning Guidance for Support Surfaces
• Dartex® PER464 Stock Card
• Healthcare & Medical Product Range
• Healthcare Furniture Textiles brochure
• No Sweat: PU vs. PVC
• UV Printing
• Why Choose PU over PVC?