23 April 2010, Portland, Oregon
- Naturally Advanced
Technologies Inc. (NAT) has concluded further trials which it says prove
the quality
and volume capabilities of its Crailar hemp fibres and expands
applications to
include tee-shirts and finer gauge knit garments.
The company recently conducted full scale commercial
processing trials in Germany that were then replicated at the G.J.
Littlewood
& Son processing facility in Pennsylvania. According to NAT, final
verification of the effectiveness of the processing protocols
established
during the past two months was evident during spinning trials that were
successfully concluded last week at Patrick Yarns in Kings Mountain,
North
Carolina. In addition, the trials have confirmed the effectiveness of
the Crailar
process on other bast fibres such as flax, the company says.
NAT says it can now spin Crailar organic fibres into
commercial grade yarns with counts as high as 1/20s and blends of up to
50% Crailar
and the results also create the opportunity to manufacture commercial
volumes of
finer yarn weights blended with 80% cotton and 20% Crailar. The
successful
spinning expands the commercialization potential for Crailar beyond its
current
applications to include heavier knits such as socks and fleece to finer
knits
such as Tee-shirts.
Following the achievement of spinning the 50/50 cotton/
Crailar blend and the newly tested Crailar flax/ cotton blend, Patrick
Yarns is
said to have found success spinning fibres suitable for everything from
carpet
to upholstery and denim to outerwear.
"The trials demonstrate a significant breakthrough in
environmentally sustainable yarns," said Gilbert Patrick, CEO of Patrick
Yarns. "These successful trials continue to open a door of many industry
possibilities for apparel and textile yarns."
Crailar Organic Fibers
are made from hemp, which is known as
a sustainable crop. The ultra-strong hemp fibres are transformed through
the
all-natural Crailar process, which is said to preserve their tensile
strength
while enhancing their texture and feel.
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