The fiber is being produced as a joint venture (Cargill Dow Polymers LLC) between Cargill, Inc. and The Dow Chemical Company, two of the biggest names in agriculture and chemicals. Cargill markets, processes and distributes agricultural products on an international scale. Dow is a global manufacturer of chemicals, plastics and agricultural products. Cargill supplies the lactic acid and Dow brings the large-scale polymer manufacturing economics to the joint venture. An application for generic fiber classification has been submitted to the Federal Trade Commission.

Fabrics made with NatureWorks PLA offer consumers a unique combination of options. These properties have attracted considerable attention. The fabrics exhibit the comfort and hand of natural fibers such as cotton, silk and wool while having the performance, cost, and easy care characteristics of synthetics. PLA fibers demonstrate excellent resiliency, outstanding crimp retention and improved wicking compared with natural fibers. Fabrics produced from PLA are being utilized for their silky feel, drape, durability and moisture properties.

PLA is not a new polymer. But the recent advances in the fermentation of glucose (which is obtained from the corn) had led to a dramatic reduction in the manufacturing cost of the lactic acid used to make the polymers. For the first time these fibers can be made entirely from a renewable resource (corn) while at the same time compete in the marketplace in relation to cost and performance.

“People have know for years that plants hold the potential to meet a number of our society needs,” says Pat Gruber, Vice President of Technology. What we have done is take a basic plant function that has been going on for eons and learned how to tap into it to make two of the world’s most used items, plastics and fibers. And, we are doing so in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.”

Fiber producers, yarn spinners, manufacturers have already been working with this fiber. NatureWorks PLA can be used in a wide range of woven and non-woven applications, including: clothing, carpets, diapers, mattresses, upholstery, interior and outdoor furnishings, filtration and geotextile applications. Industrial applications are attributed to its UV resistance, reduced flammability, low smoke generation, toxicity and soil resistance and stain removal. Several U.S. mills are spinning yarn made from NatureWorks PLA including Unifi, Fiber Innovations Technology and Parkdale Mills. At the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan, Cargill sponsored a fashion show of “clothes from the earth” which included fabrics made with NatureWorks PLA.

Most important among its many advantages is that NatureWorks PLA is a renewable resource. Nature Works PLA is being touted as an eco-efficient and environmentally friendly product. The NatureWorks PLA process uses 30-50% less fossil fuel than usually required to produce conventional fiber. PLA products can be disposed of by composting. According to William Stavropoulos, president and CEO of Dow Chemical Company, “What’s exciting about this technology is its breadth of applications and the fact that it comes from annually renewable resources. NatureWorks offers the opportunity to truly develop sustainable products because we are using raw materials that can be regenerated year after year and it is cost competitive and environmentally responsible.”

Cargill Dow Polymers currently operates a plant near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company is investing $8 million to double capacity this year to meet immediate market development needs. Cargill and Dow have invested more than $300 million in a new manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska, which is scheduled to come on stream at the end of 2001. This new plant will serve global demand until capacity is added in Europe and Asia.

Future plans call for extracting dextrose from other plant sources such as sugar beets, wheat, rice and other products containing cellulose. Worldwide production is an implication of this renewable resource…a boon for farmers here and around the globe. A major new market for producers of agriculture crops is created, securing an employment base for rural workers.

“To think that what is grown in a field can now be converted into plastic is really quite amazing,” says Jim Stoppert, President and CEO of Cargill Dow Polymers. “The Nature Works process allows us to tap into the natural raw materials contained within plants and creates plastics with performance that is equal to or better than those made from non-renewable sources.”

Sources:

• http://www.dow.com
• http://www.seedquest.com
• http://textileworld.com
• http://cdpoly.com
• http://www.ifj.com