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Malden Mills Expands Green
Polartec Fabric Program
 Malden Mills Industries, Inc. is expanding
its recycled and ‘renewable’ fabric program. As
the originator of modern fleece, Malden Mills was also
the first to bring recycled fleece fabrics to the market
over twelve years ago, best known in Patagonia’s
successful PCR Synchilla line of jackets, vests and
pullovers1.
Today, recycled yarn technology has advanced dramatically
enabling Malden Mills to offer a highly compelling
collection of recycled and renewable Polartec® fabrics
from lightweight base layers to warm fleece. These new
fabrics will save precious resources, reduce emissions
from manufacturing, and reduce stress on landfills by
recycling industrial and consumer waste.
As a company that derives much of its income from fabric
made for outdoor performance apparel, preserving the
environment for future generations is not just the right
thing to do, it is also a “mission critical”
strategy for the company’s long-term success.
This fall, two new garments will hit the market as the
harbinger of more ‘green’ things to come,
Patagonia’s Capilene 4 long underwear program and
Timberland’s new Mountain Sweater.
The expedition weight Capilene 4 long underwear
collection is made of a new recycled Polartec® Power
Dry® which will be made of at least 50% recycled
polyester fiber and it will be 100% recyclable through an
Eco-Circle® program that can turn old polyester garments
back into yarn.
This is the first time recycled fibers are a fine enough
denier to produce soft, comfortable next-to-skin fabrics.
And, like all Polartec® Power Dry® garments, the
Capilene 4 will wick and dry quickly, the key to staying
warm in any situation.
Timberland’s Mountain Sweater, which will hit the
market August 2006, highlights another approach to
environmental responsibility, using renewable fibers like
wool. The Mountain Sweater is made of a new Polartec®
Power Dry® with wool which combines natural wool fibers
with polyester to get a “best of both worlds”
garment – technical performance, the natural warmth
of wool, and the environmental benefit of using an
annually renewable resource.
“The Timberland launch is a great start. This is
just the tip of the iceberg in our work with renewables
and we already have quite a few more products in the pipeline for 2007,” states Doug Lumb,
Malden Mills Director of Development. In fact, by
September 2007 consumers may see a wide range of new
garments made of renewable Polartec® fabrics. Three new
polyester, wool blend Polartec® Power Dry® fabrics will
be available to clothing companies in addition to a new,
much anticipated corn-based fleece fabric made of fibers
called Poly Lactic Acid (PLA).
These corn based yarns, sold under the brand Ingeo®,
offer tremendous environmental benefits, not only as an
annually renewable resource, but the finished garments
will be compostable, meaning after years of use when they
eventually make it to a landfill, these garments are
biodegradable, they will break down naturally.
In addition to wool and corn-based fibers, the recycled
polyester product line will expand significantly by Fall
2007 including silkweight, midweight and expedition
weight recycled Polartec® Power Dry® fabrics as well as
a selection of new Polartec® Thermal Pro® fleece
fabrics.
For more information on recycled Polartec® fabrics or
Malden Mills visit www.polartec.com or contact Nate Simmons at Backbone Media.
970-963-4873 or nate@ backbonemedia .net.
Malden Mills Industries, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is
based in Lawrence, MA. In the early 1980’s the
company revolutionized the way the world dresses for cold
weather with the invention of performance fabrics.
Innovation continues to distinguish the company as the
world leader in performance textiles, now offering over
200 different styles of technical fabrics under the
Polartec® brand.
Polartec® products now range from lightweight wicking
base layers to insulation to extreme weather protection
and are utilized by the best clothing brands in the
world.
In addition, Polartec® fabrics are used extensively by
all branches of the United States military including the
Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Special
Operations Forces. For more information please
visit our website at www.polartec.com.
As an interesting side-note, the fabric in these garments
uses approximately nine recycled two-liter soda bottles
per yard.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The May, 2006 Edition of
the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2006, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 8,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
North Andover, Methuen, Haverhill,
Lawrence, Dracut, Tewksbury and Lowell.
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