Polywood and Trex are retailers that focus specifically on outdoor furniture. Polywood was the first company to create outdoor furniture using recycled materials in 1990, and its eco-friendly mission has inspired other companies ever since.
Trex has had a licensing agreement with Polywood since the early 2000s. This means they use Polywood’s recycled materials for their outdoor furniture, which makes comparing these furniture brands even more interesting!
We’re going to compare the types of furniture each company offers, along with their styles, affordability, and more, to see what the difference really is between these two outdoor furniture brands. Let’s dive right in!
About Polywood
Polywood Furniture was founded in 1990 by two high school students with a vision. Government-mandated recycling programs took out in the late 1980s, and the founders of Polywood saw an opportunity to corner the market on outdoor furniture that utilizes recycled materials.
The co-founders of Polywood were determined to create a brand of American-made furniture that’s based on using recycled materials. All Polywood furniture is manufactured in Syracuse, Illinois, and is made of high-density polyethylene plastic.
This type of plastic is extremely durable and able to withstand any type of weather, so using it to create outdoor furniture was a simple decision to make. Today, Polywood recycles millions of landfill-bound and ocean-bound plastic every year, and they continuously recycle any scrap from their production floor.
This company makes furniture that’s built to last for generations, and each of their products comes with a 20-year warranty. They received so much success with their business model that they recently opened a second facility in North Carolina.
About Trex Outdoor Furniture
Trex Outdoor Furniture was founded around the same time as Polywood furniture, and their brand has an equally eco-conscious mission. While some of their other products, like decking, are made of composite materials, which include reclaimed wood and polyethylene plastic, all of their furniture is made with pure Polywood materials. This company aims to provide their customers with high-quality outdoor furniture that’s weather resistant and extremely durable.
Much like Polywood, each of Trex’s pieces of furniture comes with a 20-year warranty and is designed to resist the weather conditions of all four seasons. Trex Outdoor Furniture is dedicated to protecting the environment through the use of recycled materials and other programs.
This company is partnered with Trees for the Future, so they will plant one tree for every piece of furniture they sell. If you buy a single chair, they’ll plant one tree. If you buy a 7-piece seating set, then they’ll plant seven trees. Throughout its lifetime, this company has planted more than 1 million trees!
What Types of Products Do Polywood and Trex Offer?
Polywood and Trex both use high-density polyethylene for their outdoor furniture, so they tend to offer very similar products. However, there are some minute differences between the products these two companies offer, and we’re going to go into more detail about this.
Polywood Furniture
Polywood proudly uses high-density polyethylene plastic to make its outdoor furniture. We’re going to take a look at the various categories of outdoor furniture that Polywood has available.
Here are the categories of furniture you can find through Polywood:
- Adirondack Chairs & Sets
- Rocking Chairs & Sets
- Coffee & Accent Tables
- Dining Furniture
- Deep Seating & Sets
- Benches, Swings, and Gliders
- Chaise Lounges & Sets
- Bar and Counter Furniture
- Accessories
Each of these categories contains a dozen or more products that range in color, size, shape, and price. Most of Polywood’s furniture has a modern design, although they also have classic and transitional collections.
Trex Outdoor Furniture
Trex tends to follow Polywood for its outdoor furniture. They use the same high-density polyethylene as Polywood and have very similar styles. Most of Trex’s o
utdoor furniture falls into the modern category, although they have some classic and transitional styles.
Much like Polywood, Trex separates their outdoor furniture into different categories. Here’s a list of the furniture categories they offer:
- Adirondack Chairs
- Rocking Chairs
- Dining Sets
- Dining Chairs
- Deep Seating
- Benches, Swings, & Gliders
- Chaise Lounges
- Tables
- Outdoor Furniture Sets
- Other Chairs
- Accessories
As you can see, the categories Trex offers are very similar to those offered by Polywood. Each of their categories also contains a dozen or more products that vary in shape, size, color, and price.
How Do Polywood and Trex Outdoor Furniture Compare?
At first glance, it may seem as though there’s no significant difference between these two brands. Both are made with Polywood lumber and high-density polyethylene plastic. Each company states that their furniture is made to last and offers a 20-year warranty for their furniture.
They even have the same modern, transitional, and classic styles available for their furniture. So, to find the difference between these two, we’re going to compare specific categories of their furniture. Let’s get started!
Polywood Adirondack Chairs
Polywood’s Adirondack chairs are all made of high-density polyethylene plastic. They have three style categories for these chairs; modern, transitional, and classic. Some of their Adirondack chairs feature a deeper back than others, and some come with a small table.
This product comes in a wide range of color options, including Teak, White, Sand, Mahogany, Slate Gray, Sunset Red, Tangerine, Lemon, Lime, Aruba, and Pacific Blue. You can also buy some with a two-colored tone, such as Pacific Blue and Aruba, or Sunset Red and Tangerine.
See the latest price of Polywood’s Adirondack chairs.
Trex Adirondack Chairs
Trex Outdoor Furniture uses the same materials as Polywood for their Adirondack chairs. Many of their chairs fall into the same three categories of modern, transitional, and classic, as well.
You have a wide range of color options through Trex. You can get an Adirondack chair in Sunset Red, Lime, Aruba, Pacific Blue, Charcoal Black, Classic White, Rainforest Canopy, Sand Castle, Stepping Stone, Tree House, and Vintage Lantern. Unlike Polywood, Trex doesn’t offer these chairs in two-toned colors.
See the latest price for Trex’s Adirondack chairs.
Polywood Deep Seating
Deep seating refers to a chair or set of chairs made to look like a sofa or couch that has deep cushions. This allows you to scoot back farther in your seat for maximum comfort. Polywood has over 100 items available on their website in the deep seating category and has options for each of their three main styles.
They have deep seating options that can sit as few as one person or as many as seven people. There is a range of different cushions available, and they’re all made of high-quality performance fabrics that can hold up to strong weather conditions.
You have an excellent range of color options for their deep seating furniture, including Teak, Green, Black, White, Sand, Mahogany, Slate Gray, Vintage Coffee, Vintage Sahara, and Vintage White.
See the latest price of Polywood’s deep seating furniture.
Trex Deep Seating
Trex also has a solid variety of deep seating options, although they only have 34 items listed on their website. Their outdoor seating furniture is also made with high-quality performance fabric cushions and high-density polyethylene.
You can fit pieces that will sit a single person or up to seven people, so your options are just as varied with Trex as they are with Polywood. Along with that, Trex has an impressive range of color options available, including Tree House, Rainforest Canopy, Charcoal Black, Sand Castle, Classic White, Vintage Lantern, and Stepping Stone.
The price range for Trex’s deep seating furniture is anywhere from $450-$3,800+.
What’s the Difference Between Polywood and Trex Outdoor Furniture?
After reviewing some of their furniture categories, price ranges, color options, and more, there’s a clear minute difference between these two brands. While Polywood and Trex both use the same materials, offer the same styles, and have similar color options, the difference appears to be in the variety of products they offer.
Polywood has many more options available across all categories of furniture than Trex. The quantity and variety of their furniture are much bigger than Trex’s. On the other hand, Trex appears to offer more color options for their furniture.
Another key difference between these two brands is their prices. Polywood consistently has a higher end to their price range than Trex does, and this is probably due to the fact that they produce more furniture options than Trex.
Comparison Questions (Polywood vs Trex Outdoor Furniture):
Which Brand is More Eco-Friendly?
Polywood and Trex are both largely eco-friendly brands. Polywood makes all their furniture using recycled materials converted into high-density polyethylene plastic, and they continuously recycle any scrap from their production floor.
Trex also uses this same material, but this company takes its eco-friendliness to another level. Their partnership with Trees for the Future allows them to plant a tree for every product sold, which has a massively positive impact on the environment.
Is Polywood or Trex More Affordable?
Despite using the same materials, one brand is clearly more affordable than the other. While comparing some of their furniture categories, it became obvious that Polywood consistently has a higher price range end than Trex. This is probably due to Polywood manufacturing a greater variety of products.
If you’re looking for an affordable and eco-friendly furniture brand, then you’ll want to shop with Trex.
Related Questions:
Are Polywood and Trex The Same Company?
Polywood and Trex are not the same company. These are two separate companies that both had a desire to produce eco-friendly outdoor furniture. The reason many people believe these two companies are the same is that they use the same materials.
Trex uses Polywood’s lumber for the framework of all their outdoor furniture. Trex entered into a partnership with Polywood back in the early 2000s and continues to use Polywood’s materials to this day. However, these are definitively two separate companies.
Is Composite The Same As Polywood?
Some of Trex’s other products, such as decking, are made with composite materials. This can easily be confused with Polywood, but they are actually two separate things. Polywood uses high-density polyethylene derived from recycled materials, while the composite materials that Trex uses are made from a blend of reclaimed wood pulp and plastic.
The Verdict– What’s the Difference?
Polywood and Trex are separate companies with many similarities. They use the same materials, offer the same types of furniture, and use the same types of styles. There are a few key differences between these two brands. First, Polywood manufactures far more products than Trex does, which causes them to have a higher price range. The other key difference is that Trex offers more color options for their furniture. If you want to support an eco-friendly brand and buy outdoor furniture that will last you a lifetime at an affordable price, then you’ll want to shop with Trex!
Jamie is the founder of The Backyard Pros. When he was 15 years old he started working at a garden centre helping people buy plants, gardening products, and lawn care products. He has real estate experience and he is a home owner. Jamie loves backyard projects, refinishing furniture, and enjoys sharing his knowledge online.