New York, NY, Jan. 22—Ingeo, a new fiber brand concept from Cargill Dow, is based on technology that allows manmade fibers to be derived from renewable resources. Ingeo, pronounced "in-gee-o," is a brand whose name literally means "ingredients from the earth."
Ingeo is the world's first manmade fiber derived from 100% annually renewable resources. It represents the start of a journey toward sustainability, where it is possible to meet the world's textile needs while helping limit the collective impact on the earth's natural resources. Ingeo is also the first natural based synthetic fiber to meet the performance requirements of traditional petroleum based fibers. However, unlike many of today's synthetics, the raw material used to create Ingeo can be re-grown every year. And when products made from Ingeo reach the end of their usefulness they will, under the right conditions, fully degrade into natural ingredients that add nutrition to the soil.
The process to create Ingeo essentially harvests the carbon that plants remove from the air during photosynthesis. So, instead of using carbon from petroleum sources to make the base polymer (as all other synthetic fibers do), Ingeo derives its carbon from an annually renewable resource, such as corn.
To make Ingeo, plant starches are broken down into natural plant sugars. The carbon and other elements in these natural sugars are then used to make a polymer, called NatureWorks PLA. The development and manufacturing of PLA polymer relies on basic fermentation and distillation as its core chemical process, followed by simple polymerization. The resin is then converted into a fiber.
"Ingeo holds a simple promise...performance for you, respect for all," said Tim Eynon general manager of fibers for Cargill Dow. "The fiber has comparable performance characteristics to current synthetic fibers. Yet it offers a better social solution and an environmentally responsible business system from raw material through end products. So, regardless of whether someone is a consumer or part of the textile supply chain, Ingeo makes it easy to embrace change for the better."
Ingeo is suited for use in a range of apparel, carpet, fiberfill, furnishings and industrial applications. Currently, more than 85 brand owners and manufacturers in each of these segments are developing and introducing new products made from Ingeo. Products made from Ingeo are available today in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Additional retail launches are planned throughout 2003 on five continents.
Ingeo combines the most desired physical characteristics of natural fibers, such as wool, cotton and silk with those of conventional, petroleum based synthetics. In addition, the fibers have environmental benefits that result from using renewable resources as their origin, including reduced CO2 emissions and less fossil fuel usage than incumbent materials (estimated at up to 50% reduction).
At the end of their useful life, products made from Ingeo will fully degrade in industrial compost systems, similar to cotton. Where composting is not an option, Ingeo is compatible with standard waste disposal systems including recycling, landfill and incineration.
