Let's talk fabrics

We field a lot of questions about what our products are made from and how they perform. So we thought it was a good time to start at the beginning and talk about our outdoor fabrics, arguably one of the most important elements we decide on when we're designing our beautiful beach umbrellas, garden and patio umbrellas. 

Outdoor fabrics are designed to withstand being outside all the time and are generally high tensile, making them resistant to rips and tears, and most of them have water and UV resistant factors built in.

Outdoor fabrics also come in a range of fibres, including cotton blends, olefin, woven acrylic, synthetic polyester and linen. The various qualities of each outdoor fabric depend on the fibre used and how they’re manufactured. 

High quality outdoor fabrics will be UV and water resistant, as well as offer mould and dirt resistance.

It’s a pretty good rule of thumb that you pay for what you get, so the price is usually higher as a result of all the treatments and finishes built into the cloth.

Likewise, when you're comparing so called "Outdoor" products, make sure you're comparing apples with apples - that each are made from the same fabric and feature similar ratings. 

Waterproof fabrics are impervious to water, which means that there is usually some sort of barrier preventing water from moving through the fabric. Water resistant fabrics mean that water will be repelled but over time and prolonged exposure, the water will eventually come through and whatever is underneath may get wet. We use both coatings across our range. It's worth noting that even with these coatings, unless the product is completely sealed, prolonged exposure to water will eventually cause damp and the fabric to become wet. So we always recommend that the fabric be stored away, dry, when not in use.

Fabrics make up the biggest element of our products and we think about them A LOT. The cloth we use is mostly a printed or dyed polyester canvas, or a solution-dyed woven Acrylic.

Our woven acrylic fabrics meet the strictest Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 environmental standards, which means that the fabric mill meets high environmental and social responsibility standards from the start to finish of the production process.

Our printed and dyed fabrics are also responsibly made. We work with an ethical factory that meets independently verified environmental pollution standards.

Cotton and Linen fabrics do not react well to moisture (aka summer humidity) so degrade pretty fast. Put that together with how intensely farmed cotton is, it doesn’t tick any boxes for us in terms of either the environment or function.

We believe that making a considered purchase of a product that will last a long time is a good way to go with outdoor products. 'Buy once, and buy better' is a good motto!

The Weekend Umbrellas and Premium Beach Umbrellas are made from dyed or printed fabric, which meets a standard of 4. They are designed to be used and then stored, so in their case, the fabric selection suits their more occasional use.