GASTONIA, N.C./HAYWARD, Calif. — September 12, 2018 — Parkdale Advanced Materials Inc., the innovative fibers and yarns division of Parkdale Inc., and Intrinsic Textiles Group LLC, have announced the formation of Intrinsic Advanced Materials, a joint venture to bring CiCLO Sustainable Textile Technology to market.
CiCLO textile technology allows polyester and other synthetic materials to biodegrade like natural materials do in wastewater treatment plant sludge, sea water and landfill conditions. CiCLO is the first textile technology to market that apparel brands can easily implement at the manufacturing level to take responsibility for reducing synthetic microfiber pollution generated during washing, and minimizing plastic accumulation in landfills caused by discarded textiles.
Recent studies claim that annual estimates of plastic microfiber pollution in the oceans is equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles by weight. While several researchers are currently working to quantify microfiber pollution contributions from textiles and specifically which textiles are the main sources, there is industry agreement that microfibers are shed during the washing cycle. Additionally, textile waste to landfill is a significant environmental concern. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about 5 percent of landfill mass is textile waste. Considering that greater than 60 percent of the world’s textiles are synthetic materials, more than 40 million pounds of synthetic “plastic” textiles are sent to landfill every day in the United States alone.
CiCLO is also ECO PASSPORT certified by OEKO-TEX, a third party verification process demonstrating safety for use in sustainable textile manufacturing and conformance to the MRSL of the ZDHC Program.
“The Parkdale team has been working with Intrinsic Textiles Group for quite some time to vet CiCLO technology,” commented Charles Heilig, president and CEO of Parkdale Textiles Division. “We’re confident that CiCLO is the best solution for synthetic microfiber pollution and unrecycled textile waste. The joint venture is a strategic fit, leveraging each company’s strengths, and represents Parkdale’s commitment to continual innovation for our customers. We couldn’t be more excited to help bring CiCLO to market.”
“We are pleased to add CiCLO to the Parkdale Advanced Materials family of brands and are encouraged by the opportunity to be a solutions provider to our customers in the environmental responsibility and sustainability platform,” said Anderson D. Warlick, chairman and CEO of Parkdale Inc.
“Parkdale is contributing considerable resources and expertise to enable CiCLO to lead the textiles industry in sustainable solutions. Their partnership presents a powerful opportunity for us to significantly scale up manufacturing and quickly make product available to customers worldwide, ultimately making the greatest environmental impact.”, said Andrea Ferris, CEO of the new joint venture.
Posted September 11, 2018
Source: Intrinsic Textiles Group LLC
