Felt acoustic panels: the complete guide to sustainable PET felt

PET felt is a pressed, non-woven material made from polyester fibres, the same base polymer used in PET plastic bottles. Chameleon’s felt is 100% recyclable and made from 50 to 60% recycled content, so the material stays genuinely circular rather than recyclable only in theory.

The open, fibrous structure of felt is what makes it acoustically useful: instead of reflecting sound the way a hard, flat surface does, the fibres let sound waves pass partway into the material, where friction between the fibres converts some of that energy into a small amount of heat. That’s the entire mechanism behind every felt acoustic panel Chameleon makes, from a single Sharp Acoustics element to a full wall-filling covering.

It’s worth being precise about the name, too. “Felt” often makes people picture the thin craft-felt sold by the metre, but acoustic PET felt is a denser, engineered material, pressed to a consistent thickness and density so its acoustic performance is predictable and repeatable across every panel in a batch. That consistency is what allows Chameleon to publish real αw figures rather than a vague “good for acoustics” claim.

Sustainability isn’t a marketing layer added on top of the product; it’s built into what the felt actually is. Recycled PET fibres are pressed into sheets without the resin binders or foam backings some acoustic materials rely on, which keeps the material simpler to recycle again at the end of its life. Combined with a two-year warranty and a fire safety rating of EN13501 class B-s1, d0, the felt is built to perform for years, not to be replaced after one refit.

For architects and specifiers working to sustainability targets, this matters as much as the acoustic numbers: a material that’s honestly recyclable, not just recyclable-sounding, is easier to defend in a specification document. It also means a felt panel doesn’t need a separate acoustic core hidden behind a decorative layer, the way some composite acoustic products do: the felt is the acoustic material and the visible finish at the same time, so there’s nothing extra to manufacture, ship or eventually dispose of separately.

Felt acoustic panels are rated by αw, a weighted sound absorption coefficient from 0 to 1. Chameleon’s two felt thicknesses perform differently:

• 9 mm felt: αw 0.25 mounted flat against the wall, rising to αw 0.55 with a 50 mm air gap, and αw 0.75 with a 100 mm air gap
• 18 mm felt: αw 0.45 flat against the wall, rising to αw 0.75 with a 50 mm air gap, and αw 0.80 with a 100 mm air gap

The air gap behind the panel matters roughly as much as the felt’s own thickness, since it gives sound waves more distance to travel through and around the fibres before they can reflect back into the room. A thinner felt panel mounted with a proper air gap can match or beat a thicker one mounted flat against the wall. These figures come from standardised testing, not estimates, which is why they can be compared directly against other acoustic materials when a project’s specification calls for a minimum αw value.

Acoustic foam, mineral wool and fabric-wrapped fibreglass all absorb sound too, so it’s a fair question why felt is worth choosing over them. Foam and mineral wool are usually hidden behind a fabric or perforated finish, since the raw material isn’t meant to be seen; felt, by contrast, is finished and durable enough to be the visible surface itself, in a through-dyed colour that won’t fade or chip. Fabric-wrapped fibreglass panels perform well acoustically but are heavier, less impact-resistant, and harder to cut into custom shapes on site than a pressed felt sheet.

The trade-off is that felt’s peak absorption at very low frequencies is generally lower than a thick mineral wool build-up, so for a recording studio or a space with heavy bass, mineral wool behind a felt-look finish may still be the better technical choice. For the office, school and hospitality spaces most acoustic panel projects are actually about, felt’s combination of absorption, durability and finish quality makes it the more practical material.

Standard shapes cover most projects, but felt is also one of the more forgiving materials to customise. Because it’s a pressed sheet rather than a moulded or laminated product, it can be cut, grooved and shaped to a specific pattern, logo or wall dimension without losing its acoustic performance. This is where Chameleon’s Creatives line comes in: 8 patterns across a 240 x 480 cm wall design, velcro-mounted, that can be adapted to a brand’s colours or a building’s architecture.

Bespoke felt panels are worth considering whenever a standard rectangular or hexagon tile won’t fit the wall, the brand, or the room’s proportions, for example an angled wall, a reception desk backdrop, or a feature wall that needs to read as custom rather than off-the-shelf. Customisation isn’t limited to shape, either. Grooved and layered patterns, such as those used in the Layer and V-Layer panels, add a three-dimensional texture to the felt surface itself, which changes how light falls across the wall as well as how the panel reads up close. For brand-led interiors, this level of control means a felt wall can carry a logo, a wayfinding pattern or a signature colour block without needing a separate graphic layer on top of the acoustic treatment.

The full felt range comes in 23 colourfast colours, and because the felt is through-dyed, the colour runs through the entire thickness of the material rather than sitting on the surface as a coating. That means a cut edge, a scuff, or years of wear never expose a different colour underneath, which matters for panels that get repositioned or trimmed on site.

Beyond colour, felt has a soft, tactile texture that hard acoustic materials can’t match, which is part of why it’s chosen as often for its appearance as for its acoustic performance. Warm neutrals suit a calm office interior, while stronger accent colours can turn a plain acoustic requirement into a genuine feature wall. Because every colour in the range shares the same production process, panels and wall coverings in different finishes can sit on the same wall without the slight sheen or tone mismatch that sometimes shows up when materials are sourced from different batches or suppliers.

Felt is available both as individual, magnet-mounted elements (Sharp, Curve, Round and Pebbles Acoustics) and as a continuous, adhesive-mounted wall covering (Sharp Wall and Curve Wall Acoustics, or a full 9 mm Single Layer surface). The material and its acoustic performance are identical either way; the choice comes down to whether the wall needs to stay flexible or whether a permanent, seamless finish makes more sense.

A project space that gets reconfigured often benefits from individual panels that can be lifted off and reused. A reception wall or a boardroom that won’t change shape is usually better served by a wall-filling covering, which reads as a single, considered surface rather than a collection of separate elements. It’s also worth thinking about how visible the installation itself should be. Individual panels leave small, deliberate gaps between elements that read as part of the design, while a wall-filling covering is engineered with seamless seam transitions so the wall reads as one continuous material. Neither is objectively better; the right choice depends on whether you want the wall to look assembled from parts or finished as a single surface.

Felt doesn’t have to be the only material on a wall. Chameleon’s Curve Wall Combi and Sharp Wall Combi bring a ceramic steel whiteboard surface and acoustic felt together in one wall-filling solution, so a meeting room gets a genuinely usable writing surface alongside reduced reverberation, without treating acoustics and functionality as two separate purchases.

Felt panel pricing depends on a handful of real factors rather than a flat per-square-metre rate:

• Thickness: 9 mm versus 18 mm felt
• Format: individual elements versus a wall-filling covering
• Standard shapes versus a custom or bespoke cut
• Coverage area
• Mounting method and any substructure the wall needs

Custom and bespoke felt work in particular varies project to project, since it depends on the complexity of the pattern being cut. The most reliable way to get an accurate number is a short conversation about the wall and finish you have in mind, rather than a generic price list. As with any wall-filling or custom-cut material, it’s worth asking early whether the wall itself needs any preparation, since an uneven or previously finished wall can add time to an installation regardless of which felt product is chosen.

Felt needs very little maintenance: regular dusting or a light vacuum keeps the surface clean, and because the colour is through-dyed, minor marks don’t expose a different colour underneath. For a full walkthrough on cleaning and day-to-day care, see our guide on how to properly maintain Chameleon PET felt.

Specifying felt acoustic panels usually comes down to five decisions: which rooms need treatment, individual panels or a full covering, standard shapes or a custom design, which colour fits the space, and how the panels should be mounted. For bespoke or architecturally led projects, our team works directly with architects and interior designers to turn those decisions into a finished specification, including custom cutting where a standard shape won’t do the job. Once those decisions are made, we typically confirm the specification, prepare any custom cutting files where a bespoke design is involved, and agree an installation plan before the felt is ordered.

What is PET felt made from?

Is felt as effective as foam or mineral wool for sound absorption?

Can felt acoustic panels be custom shaped?

How many colours are felt panels available in?

What is the difference between individual felt panels and felt wall covering?

How thick are Chameleon felt acoustic panels?

Are felt acoustic panels fire safe?

How do I maintain felt acoustic panels?

See the full range on our felt acoustic panels page, or get in touch with our team to discuss a custom project.