California Apparel News

Wilmington, Del.–based chemical manufacturer DuPont is betting on China to be a key supplier of its new polymer, Sorona.

The company has already signed eight licenses worldwide for the newly launched polymer, including two deals in China, and expects to sign a third deal by the end of the year.

DuPont’s strategy is to have Sorona production in place when the phaseout of quotas begins for Chinese goods imported to the United States. (China joined the World Trade Organization in late 2001, just in time to participate in the elimination of quotas for WTO members in 2005.)

“From a textile standpoint, obviously China is not just critically important today. Over the next year or so, [when] they are fully into the WTO and quotas disappear, China is going to dominate this textile industry,” said Joe Carroll, global business manager for Sorona.

DuPont, which sold its Invista apparel and home textile division earlier this year to Wichita, Kan.–based Koch Industries Inc., launched Sorona two years ago. The company is licensing the technology to produce Sorona to fiber producers, including Koch’s Invista division.

To date, DuPont has eight licensees worldwide making the Sorona fiber: Invista, the licensee for North America; Sabanci, the licensee for Europe; Toray Industries Inc. in Japan; Huvis and Saehan Industries Inc. in Korea; Far Eastern Textile Ltd. in Taiwan; and the Fine Yarn Corp. and Quanzhou Haitian Textile Co. Ltd., a specialty producer of circular knit products and the company’s newest licensee, in China. Carroll said DuPont expects to sign another licensee in China by the end of the year.

Mills that are licensed Sorona customers include Quanzhou Haitian Textile in Shanghai and in Quanzhou, China; Tay Shin International, the Chia Her Industrial Co. Ltd., the Houndey Enterprise Co. Ltd. and the New Wide Enterprise Co. Ltd. in Taiwan; and the Jaesung Textile Co. Ltd., O Sung Textile Co. Ltd. and Ewha Dyeing Co. Ltd. in Korea.

“Licensing provides partners with rapid access to market and gives licensees access to DuPont’s patented processes,” said Carroll, who added DuPont is conducting a polymer study to find companies to make the Sorona polymer in China.

DuPont is planning to have polymer production set up in China by late 2005, Carroll said. “Ultimately, we want the whole value chain in China,” he said.

Going green

DuPont first made Sorona from a petrochemical source, but the company has already begun shifting to a renewable source: corn. The company has also developed a process to modify its licensees’ existing facilities to produce Sorona, according to Carroll.

“We continue to have the capability of taking existing polyester polymer units, regardless of the raw materials, for very low-cost modifications,” he said. “We can convert them from polyester to making Sorona.”

The polymer ingredient that gives Sorona its key characteristics is propanediol (PDO), currently made from a petrochemical material.

Cornstarch can be fermented, converted into PDO and distilled to its pure form to make the Sorona polymer.

DuPont and British carbohydrate-processing conglomerate Tate & Lyle PLC recently created DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts LLC to produce the new corn-based polymer, dubbed bio-PDO.

“The technology is now complete, and we expect that plant to be up and running in 2006,” Carroll said. “Then we will switch all from petrochemical to biopropanediol. DuPont is committed to moving businesses to sustainable raw materials.”

The first bio-PDO facility will be in Loudon, Tenn. DuPont has been running a pilot facility in Decatur, Ill., for a few years, according to the company.

Fashion applications

Sorona fibers can be used to make apparel and home furnishings textiles, the largest application of the polymer, according to Carroll. But Sorona is also used for packaging, nonwoven structures, engineering resins and molding composites.

For the fashion industry, DuPont is highlighting Sorona’s softness, stretch and recovery, hand, stain resistance, crush resistance and easy-care characteristics. Sorona also is quickly and easily dyed, according to Carroll, who said the fast-dyeing properties speed up the sample-making process.

“It dyes so quickly and so thoroughly that the mills find they can get their shade matching [done] very quickly and very easily,” he said. “Because this strikes so quickly when they either heat transfer or screen print, the prints come out perfectly.”

Sorona also takes color very well, Carroll said. “[Mills can get] depths of colors that you can’t even get with nylon. Black is actually black, not a muted black. The navy is a true navy,” he explained.

Sorona is also colorfast, wash-fast and resistant to chlorine and ultraviolet-light degradation.

DuPont has launched a trade campaign for Sorona and has targeted three key areas in the fashion industry: ready-to-wear, activewear and intimate apparel. The company is rolling out print ads and has put together a video and technical brochure about the polymer. The company is also launching a direct-mail campaign aimed at buyers and designers in the three targeted areas. Designers and buyers will receive swatches of fabrics made from Sorona along with information about the polymer’s attributes.

DuPont is also updating its Web site to include links to its licensees and mills that manufacture fabric from Sorona.

“DuPont has been very influential in textile development for many, many years,” Carroll said. “This is just the latest in a long line of product developments that DuPont has provided to this industry.”