Is that Corn you’re wearing?
In today’s ever-increasing environmentally conscience world, we are seeing some really innovative materials emerging as eco friendly alternatives. Another example of this is Ingeo.
Ingeo™ (a trademark of Natureworks LLC) is a man-made fiber made out of corn. Natureworks claim that Ingeo is the world’s first man-made fiber derived from 100% annually renewable resources. Natureworks describe Ingeo as follows:
Ingeo fiber combines the qualities of natural and synthetic fibers in a new way. Strength and resilience are balanced with comfort, softness and drape in textiles. In addition, Ingeo fiber has good moisture management characteristics. This means that Ingeo fiber is ideally suited to fabrics from fashion to furnishings.
Ingeo fabric:
- Is color fast (i.e. does not fade).
- Is wrinkle free (doesn’t need ironing).
- Is resilient - it doesn’t shrink.
- Doesn’t absorb odors.
- Has excellent soil release and stain resistance.
- Has excellent performance when compared to other fibers.
- Is hypoallergenic. Ingeo has never caused an allergic reaction in independent testing.
- Has excellent U.V. resistance (better than polyester).
- Will not retain moisture. It can be spun dry in the washer, and requires little or no drying.
- Is more breathable than polyester
If you’re interested, here’s a report from the Hohenstein Institute comparing Ingeo fabric to cotton and polyester as a fabric for sporting applications. (Hint: Ingeo came out on top).
Tags: cotton, eco friendly fabrics, fibers, ingeo, natural fibers, polyester
February 14th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I think you need to reconsider a few of the “eco-friendly” fabrics, corn and milk fibers in particular. These are not necessarily the least bit friendly unless they are organic. Corn uses more petroleum, more unfriendly fertilizer and pesticides than many other foods. Not to mention the overuse of the land. Milk, when cost of production is considered, is hardly low impact or friendly either. Start with the cows that eat the corn and go from there. And consider this: Corn and milk are primarily foods. When demand for these increases (due to other uses such as fabric, fuel, etc.), cost goes up. Hungry people pay more for their protein, as does everyone. I just don’t see anything very friendly about these products used as fabric.