Tarpaulins built to the same spec UNHCR ships in cargo planes.
4m × 6m white sun-reflective plastic sheeting, 200 g/m², 500N tensile strength per ISO 1421-1, fire-retardant EN 13823+A1 class D. Manufactured in Karachi to the IFRC/ICRC/IOM unified standard adopted by every major humanitarian procurement office. Ready stock airliftable in 24-72 hours.
There is one tarpaulin specification, and most "tarps" don't meet it.
In 2020 the IFRC, ICRC and IOM consolidated their plastic-sheeting requirements into a unified specification , partly because each agency was buying slightly different tarpaulins for the same job, and warehouses were stuck managing seven SKUs of essentially the same product. The result is the document procurement officers now reference when they write a tender: 4m × 6m, 187-231 g/m², 500N tensile, EN 13823+A1.
It's a much higher bar than what gets sold at builder's yards. A typical hardware-store tarp is 80-120 g/m², carries no fire-retardancy testing, no third-party tensile certification, and starts to UV-degrade after one summer in a refugee camp. The IFRC version is engineered to last through monsoons, withstand cooking fires nearby, and protect the people sleeping under it from the sun above and the dust below.
We've been manufacturing to this spec , and its predecessor specs going back to the 1990s , at our Karachi factory. Every batch ships with assay reports per ISO 1421-1.
IFRC/ICRC/IOM Unified Plastic Sheeting · October 2020
- Dimensions
- 4m × 6m (also 4m × 5m, 5m × 7m, custom on order)
- Body weight
- 200 g/m² (within 187-231 g/m² tolerance band)
- Reinforcement bands
- 150-200 g/m², heavy-duty
- Tensile strength
- ≥500N at 15-25% elongation per ISO 1421-1 (warp + weft)
- Fire retardant
- EN 13823+A1, minimum class D-s2-d2
- Coating
- White sun-reflective on both sides; grey on bands; black inner fibres for full opacity
- Eyelets
- Aluminium, rust-proof, 100cm spacing along reinforced edges
- Shelf life (sealed)
- 24+ months in palletised storage; in-service 12-18 months under tropical sun
- Compliance
- Per-batch third-party assay; specifications shared with PO
Same tarpaulin, six very different jobs.
Damaged-roof / transitional cover
Stretched over partial-collapse roofs after earthquake or flood. Two pieces, lashed and overlapped, give a four-person family enough dry floor area to hold them through the first six weeks while permanent repair is organised.
Latrine, kitchen, bathing screens
The opacity is what matters here , a tarpaulin without the black inner layer leaks light at night, which destroys privacy at communal latrines and bathing areas. Specified opacity is non-negotiable.
Triage, isolation, mortuary screening
In sudden-onset response, IFRC tarps go up before the hospital tents arrive. The fire-retardant rating matters , sterilisation candles and gas stoves run nearby, and the EN 13823+A1 class D classification is the threshold that makes them safe in those settings.
Temporary classroom roof
After the 2022 floods in Sindh, our tarpaulins went out as classroom roofs while damaged government schools waited for slow government rehabilitation budgets. Three years on, several are still in service , a function of the 200 g/m² body weight.
Cargo cover, loose-bag protection
When relief items arrive at airfields ahead of warehouse capacity, tarpaulins protect bagged commodities (rice, flour, NFI kits) on the tarmac for 2-4 weeks before they're sorted into longer-term storage.
Ground cover, curing tents, market stalls
Beyond emergency response , concrete curing covers, agricultural ground sheeting, market-stall roofs, livestock-trade canopies. We sell the same spec to commercial buyers at a different price point.
Karachi factory · UN supplier history · per-batch assay.
Same factory has supplied UN agencies for two decades
UNHCR, ICRC, UNICEF, OXFAM, MDM, ADRA and Red Cross/Red Crescent societies have all received shelter materials from our Karachi production. The same family has run the line since 1994 , institutional memory of what passes a UN inspection and what gets rejected at port.
Third-party certified, every batch
ISO 1421-1 tensile/elongation testing, weight verification, and EN 13823+A1 fire-retardancy documentation accompany every container. Reports go directly to your procurement file , no chasing for paperwork at acceptance.
Karachi airport adjacency
15 km from Jinnah International. Truck-to-cargo-bay in two hours. We've consolidated humanitarian airlifts via DHL Aviation, Saudia Cargo and Turkish Cargo to East Africa, the Levant, and Bangladesh in 24-72 hours from confirmed PO. Container loading for surface freight runs 5-7 working days.
No middleman, no markup-on-markup
We are the manufacturer. The person you reach on WhatsApp at 11pm is the same person who quoted the order, ran the production schedule, and watched the container leave the gate. Most "Pakistani tarpaulin suppliers" are traders re-exporting Chinese stock with a 15% margin layered on top.
What buyers ask before signing the PO.
What is the IFRC tarpaulin specification?
The IFRC/ICRC/IOM unified plastic sheeting standard specifies a 4m × 6m woven-and-laminated polyethylene tarpaulin weighing 187–231 g/m² (target 200 g/m²) with a minimum tensile strength of 500N at 15–25% elongation per ISO 1421-1. Reinforcement bands are 150–200 g/m². The tarpaulin must carry a white sun-reflective coating on both sides, grey on the bands, and black inner fibres for full opacity. Fire retardancy is classified per EN 13823+A1, minimum class D-s2-d2. Aluminium eyelets are placed every 100cm along reinforced edges.
What's the difference between an IFRC tarpaulin and a standard hardware-store tarp?
A hardware-store tarpaulin typically weighs 80–120 g/m², lacks fire-retardant treatment, has no opacity guarantee, and carries no third-party tensile-strength certification. The IFRC tarpaulin is engineered for emergency shelter , 200 g/m² body weight ensures it survives multiple monsoon seasons, the 500N tensile rating means it doesn't shred when staked under wind load, the fire retardancy is mandatory in camp settings where cooking fires are nearby, and the white-over-black opacity prevents UV penetration that would degrade the material and skin underneath.
Are BNC tarpaulins UN-procurement compliant?
Yes. BNC manufactures plastic sheeting to the IFRC/ICRC/IOM unified specification , the same standard adopted by UNHCR for non-tent shelter materials. Our factory has supplied tents and shelter materials to UNHCR, ICRC, UNICEF, OXFAM, MDM and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement for over twenty years. We provide third-party assay reports per batch.
What sizes do you manufacture beyond 4m × 6m?
The 4m × 6m bale is the IFRC default and what most agencies stockpile, but we manufacture custom dimensions at our Karachi factory. Common alternative sizes include 4m × 5m (smaller-footprint shelter), 5m × 7m (extended cover), and 6m × 8m (school or clinic tent annex). We also produce roll stock for camp infrastructure work. Minimum order quantity for non-standard sizes is 500 units; standard 4m × 6m ships from ready stock.
How fast can BNC ship tarpaulins to a disaster zone?
Ready stock at our Karachi warehouse can be on a truck to Jinnah International Airport within 24 hours of confirmed PO and at the destination airport within 48–72 hours via standard cargo routes. We have prior experience with airlift consolidation through DHL Aviation, Saudia Cargo, and Turkish Cargo for humanitarian shipments. For surface-freight consolidations through Karachi port, container loading typically takes 5–7 working days from order confirmation.
Why source tarpaulins from Pakistan rather than China or India?
Pakistan has been a primary humanitarian-tent and tarpaulin manufacturing hub since the 1970s , proximity to historical refugee response zones (Afghanistan, Bangladesh) drove the industry. Karachi factories like BNC operate at scale that smaller Indian producers cannot match, while Chinese alternatives often lack the per-batch third-party certification UN agencies require. Pakistani manufacturers also offer established INCOTERMS for humanitarian routes (DDP Karachi, FOB Jinnah) that simplify procurement for in-region NGO buyers.
Ten tarpaulins for a pilot order, ten thousand for a Tier-1 emergency. Both get the same call.
Tell us volume, destination port, INCOTERMS preference, and whether you need standard 4m × 6m or custom sizing. We come back with a quote , not a brochure , usually the same business day.