The Burlington Labs division of Burlington WorldWide (BWW) — a business unit of Greensboro,
N.C.-based International Textile Group Inc. (ITG) — has announced the debut of BWW’s Easy WOOL™
washable 100-percent worsted wool fabric line targeted for trousers and suitings.
According to Pete Baumann, vice president of merchandising, Easy Wool fabrics retain their
look, shape and feel through 25 washings and dryings; and the hand improves after each washing. In
addition, he said, the fabrics provide an environmentally responsible and economical alternative to
wool fabrics that must be dry cleaned using harsh chemicals; and they are preferable to superwash
wools from a sustainability standpoint because the wool does not go through a descaling process,
which requires the use of chlorine.
“The technology involves a combination of yarn formation, fabric construction and
nanotechnology,” Baumann said. “The nanotechnology is part of the finishing process, which will
allow the fabric to stay within 3.5-percent maximum shrinkage after 25 washes, and most of the
fabrics perform well under that — shrinking no more than 3 or even 2.5 percent.”
Easy Wool, which is included in BWW’s Easy Care Collection of washable wools, joins Cocona™
wool with activated carbon derived from coconut shells and Invisible Barrier™ stain-repellent
fabrics in the company’s portfolio of innovative wool fabrics. BWW manufactures the new line at its
plant in Mexico and expects also to transfer the technology to ITG’s sister company, OCM India —a
cquired earlier this year by ITG owner, WL Ross & Co. LLC, New York City — for production for
the Spring 2009 season.
December 4, 2007
