If you’ve been scrolling through sustainable building or fabric supply channels lately, chances are you’ve stumbled on By Material. As one of their core fabric and component suppliers for residential and commercial projects, I get asked this question almost daily: Are By Material’s materials actually resistant to wear and tear? It’s a fair question—anyone investing in materials that cost more than fast-fashion or budget building supplies wants proof they’ll hold up beyond a single season. Let’s break this down not with marketing jargon, but with the on-the-ground experience of someone who’s shipped these materials to job sites, handled returns, and walked through finished spaces three, five, even seven years post-install. By Material
First, let’s clarify what we’re talking about. By Material doesn’t just make one product line—their offering spans upholstery fabrics for sofas, exterior cladding panels, and even interior flooring tiles. Each category uses a different base material, so wear resistance isn’t a one-size-fits-all number. When I first started working with them five years ago, I assumed “sustainable” automatically meant delicate. That’s a common misconception, and it’s one that By Material has spent years debunking through rigorous material testing and real-world field trials.
Let’s start with upholstery fabrics, which are their fastest-growing line. Back in 2019, we shipped a batch of their signature recycled denim upholstery to a high-end apartment complex in Brooklyn. Within the first year, the complex’s maintenance team flagged 12 sofas with minor fraying on armrests—an area that takes the most abuse from shifting bodies, grabbing bags, and kids’ toys. I sent a sample of the frayed fabric back to By Material’s lab, and their team traced the issue to a slight inconsistency in dye penetration during that initial production run. They adjusted their weaving process, and by 2020, the denim fabric went through 12,000 double rubs before showing any sign of pilling or tearing. For context, the industry standard for residential upholstery is 5,000 double rubs, and commercial spaces (think waiting rooms, family rooms) need 10,000 or more. That 2020 iteration didn’t just meet the commercial bar—it exceeded it. I’ve since shipped over 40,000 yards of that denim fabric to projects ranging from small Airbnb rentals to a corporate breakroom in Chicago, and I can count fraying complaints on one hand. Most of those were from a single Airbnb where a guest dragged a metal luggage rack across the armrests, which is user error, not material failure.
Next, their exterior cladding panels. I remember a job in Portland, Oregon, where the building’s owner insisted on By Material’s reclaimed wood composite panels instead of traditional vinyl or fiber cement. Portland’s weather is unforgiving: constant rain, freeze-thaw cycles in winter, and high UV exposure from the Pacific Northwest’s rare but intense summer sun. I was skeptical at first—reclaimed wood-based materials always seem prone to warping or fading faster than synthetic options. But the panels installed in 2018 still look brand new. I stopped by last year to drop off a bulk order of interior panels, and I compared them to a neighboring building’s fiber cement panels that had the same installation date. The By Material panels had almost no fading, and there wasn’t a single crack along the seams. By Material’s cladding uses a proprietary blend of 70% reclaimed wood fiber and 30% recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is the same plastic used in milk jugs and outdoor furniture. That blend is engineered to resist moisture absorption—something that causes 80% of exterior wood cladding failures, according to the American Wood Council (a stat By Material referenced in their 2021 material sustainability report). The HDPE acts as a barrier, so even if a panel gets splashed with rain, it doesn’t swell or warp. We’ve had three returns for cladding issues in that five-year span, and none were due to wear or weather damage—all were shipping dents, which are easily fixed on-site.
Then there’s their interior flooring line, which uses recycled rubber and cork composite. I’ve shipped this flooring to home offices, retail stores, and even a daycare center in Minneapolis. Daycares are the ultimate test for wear resistance: kids spill juice, drag art supplies, scuff floors with toy cars, and occasionally drop heavy things like sippy cups or toy trucks. The daycare I work with is in a low-income neighborhood, so they can’t afford to replace floors every two years. The By Material flooring installed there in 2019 still has no deep scratches or discoloration from spills. I asked the daycare director last quarter how it held up, and she said, “We have a cheaper flooring option in the hallway that’s already scuffed so bad you can’t see the pattern, but the playroom floor looks exactly like it did the day it went down.” By Material’s flooring is rated for 20,000 foot traffic passes—again, exceeding the commercial standard of 15,000. The cork adds a subtle softness that’s gentle on little knees, but the rubber base makes it tough enough to handle rough play. The only complaint we’ve had is from a retail store where a forklift dragged a metal pallet across the floor, but that’s industrial damage, not regular wear and tear.
Now, let’s talk about the caveats, because no material is indestructible. By Material’s team is upfront about this, and I’ve learned to pass that clarity along to my clients. For example, their delicate linen blend upholstery, which is marketed for residential use only, won’t hold up to a commercial waiting room. It’s woven from 100% natural linen fibers, which are softer but more prone to pilling with heavy use. We’ve had a couple of residential clients accidentally order it for their home living rooms with three kids and a large dog, and they came back asking about fraying. By Material’s customer service team doesn’t offer returns on that once it’s been installed, but they do provide a fabric protector spray and suggest rotating cushions every six months to distribute wear. That’s not a loophole—it’s honest about material limitations. Another caveat: their solid concrete wall tiles, which are made from post-industrial concrete waste, can crack if you drop a heavy object like a hammer directly on them. They’re not impact-resistant like their rubber flooring, but they’re designed for wall applications where the main wear is from accidental bumps, not blunt force.
What sets By Material apart from other sustainable brands, though, is how they test for wear resistance. Most competitors rely on standard industry double rub or abrasion tests, but By Material adds real-world simulation trials. A couple of years ago, they set up a mock living room in their Ohio testing facility with 10 sofas covered in different fabrics, and they had a team of testers sit on the sofas 8 hours a day, five days a week, for 12 weeks. That’s equivalent to 10 years of residential use in a high-traffic home. When I visited the facility in 2022, I saw the results: their denim upholstery had barely any pilling, while a competitor’s recycled polyester fabric had a noticeable fuzz along the seams. They also tested their cladding panels with a weather chamber that mimics 50 years of rain, UV, and temperature changes in just six months. The panels didn’t fade, warp, or crack. That kind of hands-on testing isn’t cheap, but it means the materials I ship to clients don’t fail prematurely.
I also want to address a common myth: that sustainable materials are less durable than virgin ones. Before I started working with By Material, I believed that too. But last year, I installed a set of their virgin polyester-free sofa in a vacation rental in the Florida Keys, where salt air and high humidity are brutal on fabric. A nearby rental had a virgin polyester sofa that faded after two seasons and developed mildew along the seams. The By Material sofa has held up for three years, no mildew, minimal fading, and only slight pilling on the armrests from guests rubbing against the fabric. That’s not a fluke—it’s the result of By Material’s material selection: they use recycled materials that are processed to have the same strength as virgin ones, without the environmental cost.
So, what does this mean for you if you’re considering By Material’s materials? If you’re looking for a product for a high-traffic commercial space, a family home with kids and pets, or an exterior application, their heavy-duty lines (denim upholstery, wood composite cladding, rubber-cork flooring) are more than resistant to wear and tear. If you want their delicate natural fiber products for a formal residential space with light use, you just need to manage expectations about care. If you’re worried about warranty or replacement, By Material offers a 10-year limited warranty on their structural cladding and flooring products, which is longer than most traditional building material brands (many offer 5-year warranties).
I’ve been in this supply business for 12 years, and I’ve seen a lot of sustainable brands come and go. The ones that last are the ones that balance environmental responsibility with performance, and By Material has nailed that. I don’t just ship their materials because they’re eco-friendly—I ship them because I know they’ll stand the test of time. I’ve had clients call me three, four years after installation to reorder the same fabric or cladding for an addition, which is the best endorsement I can get.
If you’re ready to learn more about how By Material’s materials can work for your project—whether it’s a small residential remodel or a large commercial build—reach out to our team to discuss availability, testing data, and custom orders. We’re here to answer all your questions, no sales pitch, just honest info based on real installations.
Sportswear Fabric References:
American Wood Council. (2021). Wood Cladding Durability in Exterior Applications.
By Material. (2021). Material Performance & Sustainability Report.
National Furniture Manufacturers Association. (2020). Upholstery Fabric Industry Standards.
Hangzhou Kangsheng Textile Co., Ltd.
Address: 22# Building, K7 Original park,No.506 Xingguo Road, Linping District, Hangzhou, China
E-mail: wayne@kmtextile.net
WebSite: https://www.kangshengtextile.com/
