Eco-Friendly and Woven
Eco-Friendly and Woven Bird repellent tape The Japanese company Arkhe Will Co., Ltd. develops and markets products made from bioplastics. One part of Arkhe‘s product range consists of so-called novelty goods. These promotional items are, for example, mouse pads, bottle openers, magnifying glasses, diary covers and much more. However, Arkhe Will is based in Fukui, an area where textile processing technology is well developed. That is why the company is also quite active in developing fibre and textile applications made from bioplastics such as PLA. The company has many years experience in textiles, and the necessary proficiency in processing and dying PLA fibres as well as printing on PLA fabric. When Arkhe Will started to develop biodegradable non-woven and woven fabric products they were looking for applications where the limited thermal properties of PLA were not exactly a disadvantage. “We were looking for products which would be burned after use. So we started making the PLA fabric for the special cloth called ‘shiro-shozoku’ (in English: white cloth), which is a gown for those who have died,” says Keiko Maeda, Managing Director of Arkhe. “Cremation is popular in Japan, and in most cases the body is cremated dressed in a ‘shiroshozoku,’” she adds. Thus this special cloth is used only once. Ropes Nets 28 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/08] Vol. 3
Fibers | Textiles Non-Woven Fabric from Arkhe Name-card holder and lanyards Shirts and jackets The pictures show examples of the various textile applications that Arkhe have developed since that time. Among these applications are all kind of bags, nets, tapes, ribbons, jackets and T-shirts. “One of our popular products made of PLA fibres is a name-card holder and lanyard” explains Mrs. Maeda. “Every piece (the lanyard, the clip and the card-holder) is made of PLA plastic or PLA fibres. The fibres exhibit almost the same physical properties as conventional synthetic fibres such as nylon or polyester. Strength and elongation can be readily controlled by adjusting production conditions.” Innovative animal repellents Quite a fascinating application for PLA fabrics and non-wovens is in the field of animal repellents. The bird repellent tape for example is made 100% from non-woven PLA fibres. The tape contains capsaicin as a deterrent substance. Capsaicin is an all-natural substance (the active component of red chilli peppers) that keeps birds away from the valuable fruit. Other applications are PLA tapes or nets with capsaicin to protect plants from animals. Deer, bears and other wild animals are deterred from browsing through plantations. It also helps to repel crows, rats and deer from gnawing at fruit crops and trees. www.arkhe-will.jp Animal repellent net bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/08] Vol. 3 29
