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New Life for Soda Bottles in Ford Hybrid

The dobby-weave polyesters are piece-dyed in six colorways exclusive to Ford.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

Thanks to InterfaceFabrics, soda bottles take on a softer form in the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. In collaboration with the car manufacturer, the textile manufacturer, a division of carpet manufacturer Interface, has tapped this waste product to produce a greener answer to fabric seating.

Launched this week at the L.A. Auto Show, Eco and Nature are 100 percent post-industrial recycled polyester fabrics made from soda bottle resin. The dobby weave polyesters, piece-dyed in six colorways exclusive to Ford, also carry a new backcoating that the manufacturer reports “minimizes the use of traditional chemicals in favor of a new, phosphorous based flame.” The coating does not use decabrome and antimony trioxide, the more frequently used "reportable" flame retardants.

"Like Ford, InterfaceFabrics is invested in a long-term, far-reaching journey to sustainability that is not about one product or one process but about the whole system of manufacturing and the entire life cycle of each product," says Mark LaCroix, vice president of global sustainability for
InterfaceFabrics.