Chilewich’s portfolio and their EPD coverage, decoded
Chilewich makes design‑forward woven vinyl textiles that show up on floors and walls in hotels, offices, healthcare and more. If you sell or spec their materials, the question is simple: do the SKUs you rely on come with EPDs that keep a project’s LEED plan on track or do they create friction at bid time?
Who Chilewich is, at a glance
Chilewich Sultan LLC is best known for woven vinyl textiles. On the contract side you’ll see wall‑to‑wall flooring in rolls, tiles and planks, indoor and outdoor rugs, and wall textiles, with window coverings available for certain programs. The materials are US‑made, phthalate‑free, and marketed around easy cleanability and high traffic performance, with BioFelt, EarthFelt, and vinyl backings for different conditions (Chilewich Sustainability, 2025).
Product range and rough scale
Across flooring, rugs, and wall textiles, Chilewich offers dozens of patterns and colorways that add up to hundreds of SKUs. For specifiers, the practical buckets are simple to shop: rolls, 18" x 18" tiles, 6" x 36" planks, custom rugs, plus 36" wall‑textile rolls. That breadth helps designers coordinate vertical and horizontal surfaces with the same weave family, which is often how hospitality and workplace schemes actually get built.
Where EPDs stand today
Chilewich does have an EPD covering its BioFelt 2.0 floor textiles. Based on what is publicly visible, the rest of the portfolio appears only partially covered. That means many popular SKUs, backings, and wall textiles likely still require project teams to use generic values or industry averages during materials scoring, which can add friction in submittals.
Why this matters commercially
LEED v4.1 awards credit when a project uses at least 20 permanently installed products from five manufacturers with acceptable disclosures. Product‑specific Type III EPDs with external verification count as 1.5 products toward that tally, which is meaningful on tight schedules and budgets (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC, 2025). If a spec set includes woven vinyl without a product‑specific EPD, teams may pivot to alternatives that help them hit the 20‑product threshold faster.
Likely best sellers without full coverage
Basketweave, Ikat and other top patterns show broad availability across tiles, planks, rolls and rugs. If any of those surface variations or popular backings lack a corresponding product‑specific EPD, they are prime candidates to address next. One well‑scoped EPD per backing system can unlock dozens of colorways with minimal extra work, which is where the ROI shows up in bid calendars, not just in a slide deck.
Competitive set you’ll meet on projects
Direct woven‑vinyl rivals include Bolon and 2tec2, both publishing EPDs. Bolon has multiple EN 15804 EPDs valid to 2030 for rolls and acoustic felt systems, widely used in hospitality and retail (EPD International, 2021, EPD International, 2021). 2tec2 publishes EPDs for its SonoFelt systems and makes them available from its technical downloads hub, which helps teams document quickly (2tec2 Downloads, 2025).
In substitutions, LVT and resilient sheet often compete for the same spaces. Major players like Tarkett and Interface publish EPDs across these platforms, making it simple to hit disclosure counts while value‑engineering palettes. Example: Tarkett cites EPD S‑P‑01508 for iQ Natural and its bio‑attributed vinyl line, a data point many AEC teams already know by heart (Tarkett, 2025). Interface lists LVT and rubber EPDs in a centralized index that specifiers can grab and go (Interface EPDs, 2025).
What full coverage could look like
A practical roadmap starts with the flooring backings that drive most volume per square foot. One EPD per backing platform, scoped to a representative weave family, can cover a big swath of SKUs. Next, extend to the secondary backing and to wall textiles. The heavy lift is data collection from utilities, resin and yarn, backing lines, and packaging. The publishing step with a program operator is the easy part if your partner handles the data wrangling end‑to‑end. Do this well once and future refreshes are faster.
Where to point sustainability‑minded clients
Chilewich has begun publishing more detailed sustainability updates, including recycled content in TerraStrand yarns and end‑of‑life R&D with Worry Free Plastics. Link that page in submittals so owners see progress across material health, not only carbon (Chilewich Sustainability, 2025). Then pair it with product‑specific EPDs as they come online. That combo keeps design intent intact and avoids eleventh‑hour swaps that no one wants.
Bottom line for specability
Chilewich is a design pure‑play with distinctive textures across multiple categories. EPD coverage is improving but still leaves notable gaps. Close the gap on the biggest‑selling backings first, then wall textiles, and your specs get won more quietly. Waiting means competing against woven‑vinyl peers and resilient alternatives that already show up in LEED trackers as easy wins. It’s definately cheaper to prevent a substitution than to win a re‑bid.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does LEED require Chilewich products to have EPDs to get certified buildings points?
LEED certifies buildings, not products, but teams can earn MR points by using 20 qualifying products from five manufacturers. Product‑specific Type III EPDs with external verification count as 1.5 products toward that 20‑item threshold (USGBC, 2025) (USGBC, 2025).
Which competitors most often displace woven vinyl in bids when an EPD is missing?
Direct woven‑vinyl rivals include Bolon and 2tec2, both with published EPDs. In substitutions, resilient LVT or sheet from brands like Tarkett and Interface frequently step in because their EPDs are easy to source for submittals (EPD International, 2021, Tarkett, 2025, Interface EPDs, 2025).
Where can I send owners to see Chilewich’s sustainability stance while EPDs are in progress?
Share Chilewich’s sustainability page that outlines recycled content plans and end‑of‑life R&D, then match it with available product‑specific EPDs in submittals (Chilewich Sustainability, 2025).
About the Author
With a passion for sustainability and a love for complex data, Toby helps manufacturers efficiently collect data from across their organization and get their EPDs done right. He’s especially interested in how AI can support human expertise, helping R&D and factory teams work faster, smarter, and with less friction.
