When it comes to garden and patio furniture, there are a ton of different brands and names you can choose from.
Two names that are on a lot of people’s lists are Polywood and DuroGreen – but which one offers the better products, and which one should you choose?
If you are stuck between choosing Polywood or DuroGreen to deck out your backyard, then this is the place for you.
We are going to be taking a look at both brands in depth and compare them against each other. This way, you can work out which brand is better for you.
So, check out the guide below!
What Is Polywood?
First up, let’s take a look at Polywood.
Polywood is an outdoor furniture manufacturing company which originates in Indiana, United States.
Manufacturing right at home in the US and from recycled plastic to make Polywood lumber.
As a company, Polywood has a dedication towards building a better future by encouraging recycling and sustainability.
It all began back in 1990, when one of the co-founders Doug Rassi wanted to make something ‘meaningful’ for future generations and took advantage of government-mandated recycling programs which led to the abundance of plastic in the US.
This led to the creation of high-density polyethylene plastic (HDPE), which Polywood uses to help create all of their products.
In fact, Polywood claims to be one of the first companies to use recycled plastic in their products.
With their on-site recycling facility processing millions of post-consumer plastic every year.
Its reputation as a sustainable source for outdoor furniture makes it super popular – but does this great reputation extend to its products?
What Is DuroGreen?
Now that we have had a look at Polywood, it’s time to check out the competition – DuroGreen!
DuroGreen is another outdoor furniture manufacturer with manufacturing units based in Indiana and Illinois.
The company was set up to help provide high-quality outdoor furniture that met the company’s three key values: stylish, sustainable, and sturdy.
As a result, DuroGreen uses HDPE poly lumber to make all of their furniture, manufactured from all kinds of recycled plastic ranging from jugs to containers.
Not only that, but DuroGreen also strives to make durable furniture to withstand all kinds of harsh weather, and to offer their customers a range of stylish furniture to decorate their backyards.
Clearly, customer satisfaction is a huge concern for DuroGreen but the company also has values deeply rooted in other areas as well.
For example, as DuroGreen was set up by a female entrepreneur, the company has strong morals regarding equal opportunities and pay, and 60% of DuroGreen’s employees are women.
Polywood Vs DuroGreen
So, on the surface, there are a lot of similarities between Polywood and DuroGreen.
Both use recycled HDPE plastic to make outdoor furniture so it’s super easy to see why so many people are torn between these two brands when it comes to choosing just one.
But, if you break down both companies and their products, it soon becomes clear that there are some huge differences between the two – and these differences could be the deciding factor as to which one you choose!
So, here we will dive into detail in different areas relating to Polywood, DuroGreen, and the products both companies offer. Check out the guide below to find out which brand is right for you!
Range Of Products
First, let’s take a look at exactly what both companies offer in terms of products.
Polywood, being the older company, has a wide range of products available through their website.
They make everything from Adirondack chairs and sets, rocking chairs, tables and coffee tables, dining furniture, benches, swings, chaise lounges, even bars and counters!
Polywood has a lot of options when it comes to outdoor furniture and seating but that’s not all.
They also offer accessories such as cushions and pillows designed for outdoor use to help make their products more comfortable.
Each accessory is designed to fit their products perfectly but are completely optional so you don’t have to spend money on something you don’t want. Or doesn’t work with your deck furnitur
e arrangement.
Polywood further divides their furniture into collections based on their style and appearance.
This makes it easy to browse for modern, classic and transitional-styled furniture giving you plenty of options to match your tastes and decor.
They even offer wider versions of their chairs to help accommodate customers so everyone can have a product that is comfortable to sit in.
A fun collection is their Wave Ardirondack chairs. When arranged in order the backs look like a wave. Just something fun for your patio.
DuroGreen also has an extensive range of products you can browse, but it’s definitely more limited when compared to Polywood.
DuroGreen also makes tables and dining sets, chairs, deep seating, rocking sets, and also offers accessories such as ottomans. However, they do lack additional products such as counters, bars, swings, and benches.
As for styles and fashions, DuroGreen does offer different designs to help suit a variety of tastes but again, the options are more limited when compared to what Polywood has to offer.
The only area where DuroGreen wins out is when it comes to colour palettes.
DuroGreen offers a range of colours running from neutral, wood colours such as tea, bright colours like red or lime green, and even offer multi-colour palettes.
Polywood does have a good selection of colours – just not as many as DuroGreen.
Despite this, it’s clear that Polywood has so much more to offer in terms of products, styles, and sizes.
This is understandable seeing as DuroGreen is the newer and smaller company of the two, but Polywood clearly takes the crown when it comes to which company offers the larger range of products.
So, the victory for this round goes to Polywood!
Durability And Warranty
Durability is an important factor to consider when purchasing outdoor furniture as extreme weather such as high temperature, snow, rain, and high winds, can all damage your outdoor furniture over time.
Durability is something both Polywood and DuroGreen take into consideration when making their products.
Both Polywood and DuroGreen use the same type of plastic (recycled HDPE) lumber to make all of their products, meaning that when it comes to material, both DuroGreen and Polywood have the same highly durable material.
HDPE poly lumber is well known for its easy maintenance and strong weather resistance, making it perfect for outdoor furniture use.
Plus, the material is UV-resistant so the colour of your furniture is less likely to fade over time. Being upfront, both companies, manufacture their material to not fade in the sun but warn that colour will fade
When it comes to design and structure, both DuroGreen and Polywood have been praised for the quality of their products.
This makes it even more difficult to decide which brand has the more durable products – both are made using great materials, and both are designed to be stylishly stunning and to be used for many years to come.
So, it comes down to warranty. Both brands offer a 20-year warranty for their products used for residential use.
DuroGreen also offers a 5-year warranty for commercially used products, and a 20-year warranty for the materials to remain free of rot, chipping cracks, and peels.
There is also a 5-year warranty for fabrics and structural integrity of their aluminum frames – but there are exceptions.
The warranties do not cover general wear and tear, damage as a result of misuse or abuse or acts of nature (e.g. hurricanes).
As for Polywood, they also offer a 5-year warranty for their metal frames, hardware, and woven inserts.
There is also a 3-year warranty for fabric used in slings and 1-year warranty for their cushions, pillows, and umbrella products.
There are more exceptions to Polywood’s warranties than to DuroGreen – so due to this, DuroGreen just nudges out Polywood to win this round.
The victory here goes (just) to DuroGreen!
Price
Cost is a huge deciding factor for many people when it comes to choosing between brands for pretty much anything.
Everyone has their own set budget with a set amount of wiggle room – so many people will automatically opt for the more affordable option purely because they can’t afford to spend the extra on a competitor’s products.
As a result, it’s important to consider which of the two brands is more affordable. The difference in prices and cost could swing your preferences to one brand over the other – so which brand is more affordable, Polywood or DuroGreen?
In general, Polywood and DuroGreen sell their products for very similar prices – the average Adirondack chair costs nearly $200 from both companies across different vendors.
However, it’s always worth checking the price of the product you are after across different vendors as places like Amazon, Lowes, or Walmart could be holding their own sales, offering a more affordable price compared to their competitors.
Both Polywood and DuroGreen also offer free shipping to homes within the continental United States, so even when it comes to shipping these two brands are at a tie.
Overall, we have to tie both Polywood and DuroGreen when it comes to cost.
Whether or not each company has the cheaper product all comes down to things like third-party sales and offers which means you can nab the same product for a slightly more affordable price.
So, keep your eyes peeled for the latest bargain!
Availability
It’s super important that you are able to get your hands on the product you want so how available are Polywood and DuroGreen’s products?
If you want to check out some of Polywood’s products in person, you can visit one of their showrooms around the US.
You can also check out their products online at websites including Polywood’s own home website, shope the Polywood store at Amazon.com, and at other vendors including Lowes, Walmart, Wayfair and Home Depot.
DuroGreen products are available at places such as Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes. You can also view them on DuroGreen’s own home website.
So, Polywood has better availability as you can view and purchase their products on more websites such as Amazon, whereas DuroGreen’s products are sold at less places. Making Polywood the victor in this category!
Sustainability
Clearly, both Polywood and DuroGreen care about the sustainability of their products.
Both utilize recycled plastics to make sustainable products, which means that there is less plastic littering nature and those old bottles and jugs get a second chance of being useful.
The durability of their products also helps with their sustainability, as the longer the products last, the less customers have to spend to keep beautiful and functional patio furniture in their backyard.
So, overall, both Polywood and DuroGreen are great when it comes to sustainability. Although it was difficult to pick a winner for this category, we are going to give it to Polywood.
This is because on their website, Polywood talks about all the different kinds of plastic they recycle to make their products – plastic wrap, bottles, and even scrap plastic lumber from their own production lines.
Not only that but nearly all of the materials in their waste stream is recycled. This includes cardboard, glass, fabrics, resin, aluminum – everything!
DuroGreen, while still a very sustainable company, does not mention going to such an extent.
So, from this, we assume that less of their waste stream is recycled and this makes Polywood the victor!
Final Thoughts
So, Which Is Better – Polywood Or Duro Green?
After much consideration, we’ve decided that Polywood is the superior brand but it only just beat out DuroGreen in areas such as availability and sustainability.
Plus, Polywood definitely offers its customers more choice in terms of style and product options.
However, we have to give it up to both brands for creating durable, sustainable products with plenty of styles and colours to suit a lot of tastes and preferences.
Both offer similar warranties and are in a similar price range, so both are still brands to purchase from – but Polywood won out in more categories, making it our ultimate choice!
