Most buyers can read a fibre colour chart, yet almost nobody can read a materials table, and that gap costs real money on large orders. This guide to artificial turf materials breaks the product into its three working layers: fibres, infill, and backing. Once you can name what each layer is made of, spec sheets stop looking like alphabet soup and start reading like a recipe.
Every artificial turf installation succeeds or fails on the same three materials, because the fibres carry the look, the infill carries the stand, and the backing carries the years. The same material questions reach our desk before every custom order, and our production team answers them with polymer names, weave types, and coating choices rather than marketing words. Read on and you will know exactly what to ask for.
What Artificial Turf Is Made Of
A finished roll hides three material layers under one green surface. The fibres are the blades you see and feel, extruded from polymer pellets in the first production step. The backing is the fabric and coating underneath that locks every blade in place. The infill is the mineral or granule brushed between the blades after the roll is laid.
The backing is the layer buyers read least, yet it decides how the pile behaves under load. We watch distributors bend a sample twice in our showroom and move on after the colour check. The weave under the pile is what decides how that sample ages on a real site. That habit is exactly what this guide exists to fix.
One boundary keeps this guide honest. How the layers stack on site, from geotextile to compacted sub-base, is covered in our essential artificial turf layers walkthrough. This article stays with the materials themselves, the chemistry you buy rather than the ground you build on top of it.
Fibre Polymers From Soft to Strong
Three polymers dominate the yarn side of the industry. Polyethylene is the softest and most grass-like, which is why it leads residential and landscape work. Polypropylene is slightly harder, lighter, and more heat-resistant, and it anchors the thatch layer that keeps blades upright. Polyamide, better known as nylon, is stiffer and more abrasion-resistant than the other two.
The most common landscape recipe pairs a polyethylene monofilament face with a polypropylene thatch. The blade you touch stays soft while the support fibre fights flattening under foot and furniture. Blade shape matters too, but geometry belongs to its own guide; the artificial grass blade shapes explained article covers the curves. Here the polymer is the point.
| Material | Feel and character | Typical role |
|---|---|---|
| Polyethylene (PE) | Softest, most natural touch, excellent moisture resistance | Monofilament face yarn on landscape and residential grass |
| Polypropylene (PP) | Lighter and stiffer, more heat-resistant, strong fatigue resistance | Thatch support layer and backing fabrics |
| Polyamide (nylon) | Stiffest of the three, with the highest abrasion resistance | Putting greens and extreme-traffic zones |
Why the pairing works is a weathering story. Polyethylene yellows with age unless UV stabilisers are built into the pellet, so the colour pack is part of the recipe, not a paint job. Polypropylene resists that fade better and takes the heat, which is why it suits the hidden thatch and the backing cloth. The polypropylene properties page covers the stiffness and heat resistance behind that choice. The blend is the cheapest way to get softness and stamina in one roll.