Cotton rag matboard is the natural choice when the highest levels of protection are required for the display, protection and preservation of artwork. While both cotton and alpha-cellulose wood pulp meet all conservation standards, cotton matboard offers several advantages:

1. Cotton is naturally acid-free and lignin-free, compared to alpha-cellulose wood pulp, which has had acid and lignin chemically removed.
2. Cotton is time-tested. Cotton is specified for currency, stock certificates and government documents because of its permanence and durability.
3. Cotton is the matting and mounting material preferred by museums and preservationists. Cotton is directly specified in the Library of Congress and F.A.C.T.S. standards and in The Fine Art Trade Guild of Great Britain now recommends cotton exclusively for the highest levels of museum matting.
4. Cotton is an annually renewable resource. The cotton used in matboard is a byproduct of the cotton used for other textiles.
5. Cotton processing for matboard does not require the extensive chemical bleaching needed for purification and therefore does not contribute to water or air pollution like chemically bleached wood pulp. Additionally, Crescent uses only starch adhesives in the lamination of its RagMat products. Starch adhesive is safe for artwork, pure, environmentally friendly, adn it is the perfect complement to the purity of cotton fiber.

For the highest levels of conservation matting, cotton RagMat is the natural choice.