Specialty Fabrics Review April 2021 - 14

[ BRIEFS ]

swatches

Bear Fiber launches first U.S.
farm-to-fiber hemp socks

ith proprietary methods that produce a soft, stronger, cotton-like hemp fiber,
Bear Fiber of Wilmington, N.C., is producing socks made from U.S.-grown hemp.
The socks allow wearers to treat their feet to " luxurious comfort, fashion and value "
while supporting " Made in the USA " sustainability, according to a press release from Bear Fiber.
One of the company's goals is to help reestablish industrial hemp production in the U.S. and bring
back a " new " natural technical fiber to make better, longer-lasting apparel and wellness products.
While hemp is the focus, the socks also contain a proprietary technology that conforms to
a wearer's feet, does not slouch or droop, does not have an irritating toe seam and breathes
naturally. Hemp fibers are " intimately blended " with organic cotton and REPREVE® recycled
performance fiber Nylon 6.
Bear Fiber has promoted hemp fiber for fashion since the 1990s, in addition to helping
develop the organic cotton market. The company's focus is to help grow the U.S. hemp fiber
industry by developing a commercially sustainable market to support farmers, processors,
yarn spinners, textile manufacturers and the U.S. apparel industry.
To develop the hemp/cotton sustainable sock, the company worked for more than a year
with expert knitters at the Catawba Valley Community College's Manufacturing Solutions
Center in Conover, N.C. Other partners include Carolina farmers and processors, Gaston
College's Textile Technology Center, North Carolina State's Wilson College of Textiles,
Fashion for Good, Textile Exchange, Outdoor Retailer, SEAMS and the North Carolina
Board of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Hemp fibers are blended with
organic cotton and REPREVE®
recycled performance fiber
Nylon 6 in socks from Bear
Fiber. Photo: Bear Fiber.

Land O'Lakes and Cotton Inc.
partner for sustainability initiative

T
A sustainability initiative between
Land O'Lakes and Cotton Inc. will
help cotton growers analyze 2020
agronomic data and generate
insights that can be incorporated into
the growers' production decisions
throughout the early spring months
in advance of the 2021 harvest
season. Photo: Truterra LLC.

14 SPECIALTY FABRICS REVIEW / April 2021

ruterra™ LLC, the sustainability business unit of farmer-owned cooperative
Land O'Lakes Inc., has announced a new collaboration with Cotton Inc.,
a not-for-profit research and marketing company representing Upland cotton,
to advance the adoption of sustainable farming practices across 50,000 acres of
cotton in the mid-South sourcing region.
The initiative will tap the Truterra Stewardship platform and Truterra retailer
member GreenPoint Ag to help connect consumer brands to verified sources of
more sustainable cotton in their supply chains.
Truterra and GreenPoint Ag will work with participating cotton growers to establish
an environmental sustainability baseline for each field, identify year-over-year
improvement opportunities and model the impact of various conservation practices on
sustainability and profitability. These efforts will help participating growers measure
and improve water quality, land use, soil conservation, soil carbon, irrigation water use
efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and energy use on their cotton fields.
As part of this drive to deepen sustainability practices among U.S. growers, Truterra
and GreenPoint Ag will also help participating growers enroll in the U.S. Cotton
Trust Protocol. The Trust Protocol is a system that will set a new standard in more
sustainably grown cotton, giving brands and retailers the critical assurances they
need to source U.S. cotton.

Specialty Fabrics Review April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Specialty Fabrics Review April 2021