Meridian Specialty Yarn Group (MSYG), a US-based leading specialty yarn and fibre wet processing operation company, is now offering polyester yarns processed with CiCLO technology, which allows polyester fibres to break down in landfills and ocean at rates comparable to a natural fibre like wool. The yarn is being processed at Valdese, North Carolina.
MSYG is currently introducing yarns with CiCLO technology to hosiery markets, initially for performance and hiking socks. Yarns with CiCLO technology are also available to manufacturers of medical PPE for use making medical gowns, lab coats, medical setting curtains and other medical textiles typically made from polyester.
Meridian’s new yarns with CiCLO technology can be treated with antimicrobials proven effective at reducing exposure to viral infections and have the same beauty, wear-ability, durability, functionality, and performance characteristics consumers expect from polyester. At the same time, when thrown away, CiCLO yarns reduce the persistence of synthetic textile accumulation in landfills and synthetic fibre fragments in the ocean.
The facility, which opened in July 2019, is the most modern and up-to-date dyehouse in the US and equal to, or better than, any other yarn dyeing operation worldwide.
The plant has been engineered to use dramatically less water and power than comparable textile operations and generates much less effluent as a byproduct of the dyeing and drying process.
“This represents a breakthrough for the performance apparel and hosiery industries, which have been looking for sustainable alternatives to traditional synthetic fabrics,” Tim Manson, president of MSYG, said in a press release.
Fabrics made from yarns with CiCLO technology can be treated to have the same performance characteristics as the synthetic fibres and yarns now widely used in performance apparel, including outdoor hiking and running socks.”
CiCLO technology is a product of Intrinsic Advanced Materials, which was formed to develop and commercialise innovative and sustainable solutions for the textile industry.
