Growing a business often means changing locations, which can be a real learning experience.

Four marine fabricators share the latest trends in marine bedding and how other industry professionals can meet the demand.

Driven by ethics, increasingly stringent regulations and demand by customers, marine fabricators continue to fine-tune their raw materials, products and practices to be gentler on the environment. Some industry trends include more biodegradable textiles, use of recycling catalysts to manage textile pollutants, better polyester recycling and chemical-free alternatives to flame-resistant textiles.

Some canvas fabricators get excited when a customer asks for seat covers, helm covers and bolster covers, while others begin to get anxious.

I have been sewing for the better part of 52 years. My dad started a custom canvas company in 1963, when I was a teenager, and I eventually went to work with him. That is where I really started learning about sewing machines.

There are so many marine canvas-related products, like the weatherproof frown, which have almost faded into the past. This is primarily due to mass producers taking shortcuts by creating cheap imitations of the original.