Textile production had
Textile production had to turn to science to satisfy global fiber demand. Crude oil was the magic ingredient of choice during the 20th century, and many profited from the vast array of synthetic fiber production. Over consumption of oil for fuels and chemicals led to the situation today, with demand outstripping supply. The difference now is that it is well known that crude oil is a finite resource, is price volatile and its use allows more harmful emissions into the atmosphere, putting ever increasing pressure on the environment The textile industry was always at the front edge of how communities begin to do business and is often the pioneer of new ideas that mirror a consumer need. The organic or eco revolution for example, caught everyone by surprise, moving fast from a niche to mainstream. Not so for NatureWorks LLC, who anticipated this shift in both needs, for a better, more responsible approach to fiber resourcing and manufacture, as well as the growing consumer desire to choose better products that better protect their environment. 100% Ingeo skirt by Marithé + François Girbaud In late 2007 NatureWorks became a 50/50 joint venture between Cargill Inc., and Teijin Ltd. Now with the integrated Ingeo: A New Era for a More Responsible Textile Industry Article contributed by Giusy Bettoni, Ingeo Global Communication Manager Ingeo dress Naturevsfuture by Nina Valenti 22 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/08] Vol. 3
Fibers | Textiles support of a major fiber player on the world stage, NatureWorks is set to consolidate its lead in bio-based manufactured fibers. The company is the first commercial scale producer and supplier of a new biopolymer designed as an alternative to oil based plastics such as polyester and nylon. This new ingenious PLA material is called Ingeo, and it’s made from plants instead of oil. NatureWorks owns patented technologies that produce the resin on an industrial scale and has a capacity to meet a growing business and consumer demand for renewably sourced, cost competitive products. It does this with a world scale facility in Nebraska, USA, capable of producing a name-plate capacity of 140.000 metric tons per annum for use in the plastics and fibers industries. Ingeo sock by Fox River Ingeo was launched in New York on January 2003 and since then, a wide assortment of textile products has been adopted in the market. In April this year, NatureWorks hosted the third edition of its Ingeo Earth Month 2008, with events held in New York, Paris and Tokyo. These events showcased the latest Ingeo commercial products available today, such as couture wedding dresses by Gattinoni (wich can be seen on the cover of this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE), and avant` garde technical fashion from M & F Girbaud. Other brands highlighted were Bens Land for childrenswear, codiceasbarre for T shirts, Designtex in the US for home furnishings, Faribault Mills for blankets, Fox River for socks, Linda Loudermilk for fashion, Moral Fervor and NatureVsfuture for women’s separates, and Rianne de Witte from Holland also for womenwear. All of these brands are a testimonial for the real innovation possible using Ingeo today, one that satisfies from a design and eco perspective but also from a high performance need. Ingeo long sleeve shirt Ecomako by Masako Oka Some of these key performance attributes are that it is quick drying, has good moisture and humidity transfer, is UV resistant, is naturally stain resistant and has low flammability characteristics. Also, by replacing petroleum with a renewable plantbased feedstock, NatureWorks uses up to 67 percent less fossil fuels to produce than traditional polymers. The environmental credentials are backed by a rigorous, peer reviewed, published eco-profile. The full 24-page ecoprofile, as published in Industrial Biotechnology , as well as the reviews, are available on NatureWorks’ website. Ingeo bridges both plastics and fiber categories, and is fueling innovation and spearheading creativity across a wide range of products from clothing to homeware, personal care products as well as natural plastic food packaging and even durable goods. www.natureworksllc.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/08] Vol. 3 23
