As Seen In World Footwear, September - October 2011
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A New Sustainable Fiber
Excerpt from article... There are times when good business decisions are born as much from instinct as from intelligent reasoning. Such was the case when Cindy Stangl, general manager of Faytex, the producer of Dri-Lex moisture management shoe linings, first started to investigate a new fibre from DuPont that had just been given its own FTC (US Federal Trade Commission) classification. It is called Triexta and it represents a new generic fiber subclass in the PTT (polytrimethylene terephthalate) category. At the time, it was the first new extension the FTC had approved for textiles in five years but that, was not the reason Triexta or, to use its brand name, Sorona intrigued her. The year was 2009 and Faytex was well into its fourth year of environmentally friendly fabrics for footwear manufacturers around the world. Under its brand name of Dri-Lex, the company had already created more than a dozen fabrics using recycled polyester, wool, organic cotton and rayon extracted from bamboo. But many of those same customers were looking for something new, something made from sustainable materials with benefits consumers could see, feel and easily understand. |
Instinctively, Ms Stangl felt Sorona might well be it. When the FTC issued its ruling on March 20 of that year, Sorona was well on its way to being a commercial success in a totally unrelated business: carpeting. SmartStrand carpeting by Mohawk with Dupont Sorona fibers was first introduced to consumers in 2004. As the FTC was delivering its ruling, the company's web site asserted that its new carpets represented the most advanced innovation in carpet fiber technology in the last 20 years. It went on to claim that features including softness, stain protection, durability and environmental benefits all added up to better consumer satisfaction. CARPETS TO LININGS Although carpets had little in common with shoe linings, Ms Stangl began to wonder if this new fibre could make the transition from 'underfoot' to 'against ' the foot. To find out, she began discussions with the DuPont team at the Winter Outdoor Retailer show in early 2010 and, within a very brief period of time, she had her answer. (click here for full article PDF) |
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