Eco Friendly Frames

What Polcore is

Every frame we sell uses Polcore moulding, made in the UK by Mainline Mouldings. It is an alternative to wood: recycled polystyrene with an outer skin of high impact polystyrene, which gives a smooth surface for the decorative finish to be applied to.

What it is made from

Mainline state that Polcore is made from 80% to 95% recycled polystyrene, with the remainder virgin polystyrene, and that it is 100% recyclable at the end of its life. Mouldings are stamped to show their recycling status, so a frame can go back into the recycling stream once it is no longer wanted.

What the manufacturer says about the process

Mainline Mouldings publish two further claims about Polcore on their own website, which we reproduce here as their statements rather than as findings we have verified independently:

• That their manufacturing process is clean and waste free, using solar and hydroelectric energy.
• That Polcore is 38% more carbon efficient than an equivalent wood moulding.

We have not seen the underlying testing behind the carbon figure. If that matters to your decision, Mainline are the people to ask, and we would rather tell you that than imply we hold evidence we do not.

Why we chose it

We use Polcore across all fourteen of our frame styles because it takes a finish well, it is light enough to hang safely on a plasterboard wall, it does not warp the way some softwood mouldings do, and because a moulding made largely from recycled material is a better starting point than one that is not.

Your print is produced and framed by us in Manchester, then sent out from here.