Sustainable material makeovers

Advances in marine fabrics mean it's now possible to make your boat look brand new again without costing the earth, Jake Kavanagh

- Jake Kavanagh

The marine industry has made a major shift towards sustainable fabrics in recent years.

There is also a new global trend called 'Slow Fashion', which counters the wasteful 'fast fashion' trend of 'wear-once-and-discard'. By contrast, slow fashion fabrics are designed to last for years, with very little degradation, making them ideal for boats.

Sometimes branded as 'endless' fabrics, these acrylics, polyesters, and vinyls are increasingly being made with ever higher amounts of recycled material. Even the factories themselves are being run more sustainably. However, quality remains paramount, so manufacturers are creating seating materials that are soft to the touch (especially for boat cushions), easy to clean, and nice to look at. The range of possible textures and colours has also dramatically increased, allowing a boat owner to transform the upholstery into virtually any style they wish, from classic to ultra-modern.

Advances in fabrics

Boat fabrics have a hard life, but gone are the days of those tough, sticky vinyl cushions with the hard plastic bead around them. Instead, boat owners have a wide selection of fabrics perfectly matched to their purpose, from completely waterproof awnings to fire-retardant cabin linings.

An area of significant growth is in artificial leathers. These are vinyl-based materials that are easy on the skin, hard-wearing and resistant to spills. Red wine, suntan oil, encrusted salt and black mould are the main destroyers of boat fabrics, so protective additives and membranes are used. Other advances have included the removal of harmful perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals and the favouring of 100% solution-dyed acrylic (see panel over the page).

Soundproofing acrylic