Poly rattan
Polyrattan is the generic term for an artificially manufactured wicker material made of polyethylene , which is supposed to represent an industrially manufactured alternative to natural rattan .
Origin of name
"Polyrattan" is a suitcase word made of polyethylene and rattan . The term rattan garden furniture has established itself in popular parlance due to its visual connection to real rattan .
Emergence
The first wicker material made of polyrattan, which was used for the production of garden furniture, appeared in the late 1980s. Robert Dekeyser played a key role in the production at the time . At around the same time, a company in Indonesia specialized in the production of polyrattan, which is now considered the largest global producer. With the increasing popularity of so-called lounge furniture at the end of the 1990s, the number of imitators also grew rapidly. Polyrattan is now mainly produced in low-wage countries and also by two companies in Germany. The synthetic fibers are processed exclusively by hand. For greater stability, frames made of rustproof metal are used to make garden furniture . In addition, poly rattan has the following properties:
- high stability and elasticity
- weather-resistant, water-repellent
- low dead weight
use
Polyrattan is mainly used for making garden furniture. The frames of the garden furniture are usually made of aluminum and are woven by hand with the individual braided strands. In addition to garden furniture, planters, baskets and garden fences are made from the weather-resistant material.
Optical distinctions
Wicker material made of polyrattan is available in numerous optical and haptic differentiations. A major difference lies in the cross-section of the individual strands. Polyrattan is available as flat ribbon and round braid. Haptic distinctions are based on different surface structures produced during manufacture. There is polyrattan with a smooth or typical plastic look and wicker material, which can only be distinguished from real rattan with great difficulty.
Differences in quality
Polyrattan is a generic name for wickerwork and, as with any product, there are quality differences. Depending on the manufacturer, different types of polyethylene are used for production. The term poly rattan is therefore a very imprecise name and the different types of poly rattan are not to be assessed as the same. In connection with poly rattan, the resistance to ultraviolet radiation and a so-called weather resistance are often advertised in sales brochures and offers . The fact is that currently only very few manufacturers can prove the UV and weather resistance through standardized tests and test procedures and also make this public. A standardized test to check these properties is carried out with the aid of ISO 4892 (plastics - artificial irradiation or weathering in devices). For this purpose, in this case, polyrattan is subjected to accelerated artificial aging and, after a specified time, the color change is indicated on a gray scale with a number between 1 (bad) to 5 (no color change).
Environmental sustainability
Poly rattan products are completely recyclable. According to the manufacturer, this also protects the environment as no natural resources are required. However, this is not entirely correct as, like most plastics, the material is made from mineral oil. Finally, polyrattan is produced using the intermediate steps of petroleum, ethene and polyethylene. The production is neither resource-saving nor energy-saving.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Properties of polyrattan. Retrieved May 10, 2017 .
- ↑ ISO test procedure weather resistance