To meet a growing demand for sustainable fashion options, Eastman and DuPont Biomaterials today announced the launch of a fabric collection made with sustainable, bio based materials. The collaboration blends Naia™ from Eastman and DuPont™ Sorona® fibers to create garments with exceptional stretch and recovery, luxurious drape and a smooth, soft hand feel. The new collection will expand the future of sustainable textiles for designers to use for comfortable everyday casual wear. Visitors to the Intertextile show this week in Shanghai, China, will be able to experience the new fabrics by visiting booth 4.1 -E103. Brands can also see the collection at the Première Vision marketplace site.
Eastman Naia™ cellulosic fiber is the perfect choice for fabrics in womenswear. The Naia™ portfolio of sustainable fibers gives designers more choices and versatility to create. Naia™ filament yarn transforms fabrics into luxurious, comfortable, and easy-to-care-for fabrics, while Naia™ staple fiber blends perfectly with other eco-conscious fibers to create supremely soft, quick-drying fabrics that consistently reduce pilling.
Made with responsibly sourced wood from sustainably managed pine and eucalyptus forests and plantations, Naia™ brings the richness of nature to comfortable and effortlessly luxurious fabrics. Produced in a safe, closed-loop process where solvents are recycled back into the system for reuse, Naia™ is made through optimized, low-impact manufacturing. It has a low tree-to-fiber environmental footprint and a third-party-reviewed life-cycle assessment compliant with ISO 14044. Naia™ is also certified as biodegradable in freshwater and soil environments and is compostable in industrial settings, receiving the “OK biodegradable” and “OK compost” conformity marks from TÜV AUSTRIA. Most recently, Naia™ staple fiber received the “OK compost” certification for home settings.
With a rich history of textile innovation, DuPont has invented groundbreaking fibers such as nylon, Lycra®, DuPont™ Kevlar® and rayon. Its Sorona® brand — made from 37% renewable plant-based ingredients — offers a high-performing, responsibly sourced material option. Fibers made with Sorona® polymer are currently used in various apparel applications, including athleisure and athletic wear, insulation, swimwear, outerwear, suiting, faux fur and more.
DuPont™ Sorona® polymer is a breakthrough, biobased, high-performance polymer offering unique benefits for the apparel industry. Sorona® minimizes the impact on the environment without sacrificing quality and performance. It offers unique performance benefits, including incredible softness, stretch and recovery, and inherent stain resistance without the need for topical treatments. Sorona® is a USDA certified biobased product and received OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 Certification.
“With Naia™, we are committed to building a more sustainable fashion industry in collaboration with industry partners. Weare very excited to be working with the Sorona® team to launch a collection of wonderful fabrics that are a great choice for womenswear fashion. More and more, designers are looking for sustainable fabric choices. And this sustainable fabric collection with biobased, renewable materials showcases that fashion can come without any compromise on beauty, quality or comfort,” said Ruth Farrell, global marketing director of textiles for Eastman.
“We believe collaboration is the only way we will deliver on our promises to the textile industry. Our collaboration with Eastman’s Naia™ branded fibers will allow more apparel brands the opportunity to address tomorrow’s challenges through renewably sourced fiber materials without compromising performance and value. Sustainable fashion is the future, and this new collection is a great example of how you can create stunning designs while caring for our planet,” said Renee Henze, global marketing director at DuPont Biomaterials.
