Hunter Douglas launches first sun control system made

from gerecyclede recycled plastic bottles

Following its acclaimed EOS®500 roller blind system, Hunter Douglas has come up with another innovation in the field of light and energy control for project application. Part of the new collection’s appeal lies in the exceptionally sustainable materials used for its development. For instance, GreenScreen® Eco consists of one hundred percent recyclable polyester fibres, while the GreenScreen® Revive™ material was produced from recycled plastic bottles. Hunter Douglas is the only manufacturer in the branch using these sustainable materials for project-based light and energy control. At the firm’s Dutch daughter company Artex, André Weiss was responsible for the development of GreenScreen. He’s convinced there is a big future for this collection on the market for project-based light and energy control: "Every year, around 20 million square metres of used roller blind materials end up in the garbage. These materials often contain large amounts of PVC, so their potential impact on the environment is huge. GreenScreen is a sustainable alternative, thanks to the use of PVC-free and completely recyclable materials."

GreenScreen Eco is a material consisting entirely of polyester fibres; no other materials are added. This means that after usage the fabric can be melted down without the need for waste separation and used as raw material for other products. Weiss: "For example, we’ve teamed up with a company that uses recycled roller blinds to produce playground equipment, such as slides and swings. GreenScreen Eco has been awarded Cradle-to-Cradle certification for this product property." The product line offers an affordable alternative to architects and interior designers in search of a sustainable, decorative sun control solution.

The GreenScreen Revive roller blinds are also fully recyclable. The remarkable fact about this product line is that the raw material itself is a product of recycling. Explains Weiss: "The thread that goes into this fabric is made from PVC-free, recycled plastic water and soft drink bottles. To do this, Hunter Douglas works with waste processing companies in Japan and Germany, where these products are commonly separated from the waste flow. Every square metre of material contains two half-litre bottles. That’s an average of six bottles for every roller blind."

All of the GreenScreen product lines are compliant with the internationally recognised Greencode classification scheme for environment-friendly textiles. They also contribute to the LEED certification of buildings.

The GreenScreen collection can be used in EOS®500, the roller blind system that won Hunter Douglas an iF design award in 2012 – thanks to its modular structure, which consists of no less than 300 interchangeable components. The system allows for the production of roller blind systems to project specification, while the EOS®500’s wide range of combination possibilities contribute to quick and easy installation.