Working Towards Sustainability
Here at Canvas Awning Company we've been making low-impact structures since the early 2000's.
For us, working towards sustainability begins with choosing high-quality UK materials and extending product durability, so that your Canvas Awning will last for many years.
Wooden Awning Frames
​The wooden frames for our Canvas Awnings are made from locally-sourced larch and ash poles.
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We source coppiced ash and thicket larch from local small-scale or community woodlands and we harvest it ourselves.
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Its gratifying to know that from tree to Awning - the whole process will happen within a very small geographical radius. So we're creating something beautiful and functional with minimal impact on the environment.
Heavy-Duty Canvas Canopies
We use UK-made regentex, a heavy-duty poly-cotton canvas, to make the canopy of our awnings.
Its the superstar of canvases because its extremely strong & it has the look of cotton but the longevity of polyester - so it gets the job done and it's made to last and last. We made our first Canvas Awning in 2011 and we're still using it today (13 years later).
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We source our Regentex from a Uk company that is part of The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a global not-for-profit organisation and the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world. BCI exists to make global cotton production better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector’s future. Learn more about BCI here.​​
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You buy an Awning, We'll plant a tree
We commit to planting one tree per Awning sold, and aim to plant many more...
Having worked in woodlands for many years, coppicing and harvesting hundreds of poles for our tents, tree planting has always been important to us.
In the last four years we've planted over 1,000 trees in hedging and shelter-belts around our workshop.
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We have identified strong disease resistant seed trees in our small woodland and stared to propagate ash and elm saplings - our own tiny tree nursery.
Our Workshop
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Our Northumberland workshop is just walking distance from our home - so no commute to work for us.
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Starting with the fresh-cut poles in Spring, we use traditional methods and hand-tools to produce our Awning frames.
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The making process is informed by green wood-craft.
When the sap is rising in the trees we harvest ash and larch poles and peel the bark by hand. This gives a beautiful finish and - leaving all the fibres intact - preserves the natural strength of the product.
Poles are then left to air-dry before we finish them with natural linseed oil.
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In the winter the workshop is heated by our saw-dust burner. Its very satisfying to heat the space using the natural 'waste' from the job in hand.
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