BEDFORD, Mass./MONTREAL — February 14, 2019 — Today, Drinkworks and sustainable plastics technology company Loop Industries Inc., announced a partnership to allow the users of the Drinkworks Home Bar by Keurig® to return used cocktail, brew and cider pods to be recycled and upcycled by Loop.

This announcement comes on the heels of Drinkworks launching the Drinkworks Home Bar by Keurig in November 2018, through an early access pilot program in St. Louis, Missouri. The Drinkworks Home Bar by Keurig uses proprietary pods made from 100-percent recyclable materials, and precision on-board chilling and carbonation systems to prepare quality cocktails, brews, ciders and more at the touch of a button.

The mail-back process is simple: consumers can fill pre-paid, recyclable Loop and Drinkworks co-branded pouches with empty pods, seal them up, and drop the materials in the mail. A complimentary mail-back pouch is included in the Home Bar packaging, and more pouches are currently available for free when requested from 1-855-DRINKWORKS.  Pouches will be available online and in retail locations as Drinkworks expands later this year.

“We’re thrilled to work with the sustainability experts at Loop Industries to provide our loyal customers with the means to recycle and drive forward a circular economy,” shared Nathaniel Davis, CEO of Drinkworks. “Following our successful launch last November, we’re excited to continue gathering feedback on this partnership to help shape our future advancements.”

“Drinkworks has developed a fun and innovative way to help consumers enjoy the full cocktail experience from their own home — and they have harnessed their innovative spirit to ensure their pods are fully recyclable, too,” added Nelson Switzer, chief growth officer, Loop Industries.  “Providing consumers access to a free program to recycle and upcycle the PET content in their pods increases the sustainability of their pods and system, especially as the Loop logo will appear on Drinkworks pods and packaging reminding consumers to upcycle.”

Posted February 14, 2019

Source: Loop Industries

WILMINGTON, Del. — February 14, 2019 — DuPont Industrial Biosciences has expanded its distribution agreement with Essential Ingredients Inc. In addition to distributing DuPont’s Personal Care portfolio, Essential Ingredients will now distribute the company’s cleaning enzyme solutions, which offer next-generation cleaning for next-generation living to customers and end consumers.

“We are very excited to be expanding our partnership with Essential Ingredients to the North American household, industrial and institutional (HI&I) market segment. The unique capabilities of Essential Ingredients make them the right partner to support growth in this segment,” said Marvanne DeClerck, Regional Industry Leader, Home & Personal Care. “We are looking forward to using their channels to bring our innovative products to the market and inspire more sustainable, cost-efficient cleaning solutions.”

“Essential Ingredients is pleased and proud to add cleaning enzymes to our growing portfolio of DuPont products,” said Kris Maynard, CEO of Essential Ingredients. “DuPont has a rich history in innovative chemistry and this fits perfectly into Essential Ingredients’ strategy to add only the best suppliers and products to our portfolio as we continue to enter new market segments.”

From the lab to the home, DuPont’s cleaning solutions, including the PREFERENZ® line of laundry enzymes and EXCELLENZ® line of dishwashing enzymes, deliver the sustainable performance customers are demanding. Our market-leading biological catalysts deliver industry-leading cleaning performance while allowing for reduced labor and cycle-times, decreasing the impact of harsh chemicals on the wear-and-tear of equipment, and extending the lifetime of linens and fabrics.

Posted February 14, 2019

Source: DuPont Industrial Biosciences

KINGSTON, R.I. — February 13, 2019 — More than 225 years after the industrial revolution was born at Slater Mill in Pawtucket, textiles continue to be a vibrant industry with boundless potential here in the state of Rhode Island, was the message Monday at the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network’s (RITIN) first-ever academic/industry networking event on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus.

Hosted by the URI College of Business, the URI Business Engagement Center and RITIN, the event drew more than 200 attendees including members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation; more than 20 textile industry and business groups; faculty from the URI College of Business’ Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design and the College of Engineering; alumni and students.

Established in late 2016 by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and the URI Business Engagement Center, RITIN operates with planning grant funding from Real Jobs RI and the Rhode Island Commerce Corp. through fiscal agent Polaris MEP, also an arm of the University. The network fosters collaboration among textile industry leaders, designers, academia and government with a mission to make Rhode Island a leader in advanced textile manufacturing and to recruit and train the industry’s future workforce.

“As time has moved forward, so has the textile industry,” said Whitehouse, who discussed the myriad of Rhode Island businesses in the textile industry such as Pawtucket’s The Cooley Group and Propel LLC; and Coventry-based Concordia Fibers. According to Whitehouse, whether it is a textile roof membrane covering a Super Bowl stadium, a protective suit for U.S. Navy personnel conducting repair work on a submarine hundreds of feet below sea level, or textile veins within a jet engine that are stronger than metal, textiles are the wave of the future.

“We have companies here that through their products are saving lives in hospitals. We have companies that are seeing to it that men and women going into combat are going in with the best possible equipment,” said Whitehouse. “We are all here to celebrate that industry and to make sure that the Rhode Island textile industry has a future to match its past.”

Michael McKeldon Woody, CEO of Cranston’s Trans-Tex and president of RITIN, discussed the network’s goals, including connecting Rhode Island textile companies with business opportunities worldwide, efforts to close the manufacturing skills gap and increased collaboration among members of the textile industry – including students, academics and industry members. In addition to the event, Woody noted an inquiry from a major U.S. retailer into opportunities for collaboration, as well as a curriculum for workforce programs to provide training for industrial sewers and loom mechanics, which is close to being submitted to Real Jobs RI as progress against those goals.

A panel discussion involved faculty members from the URI Colleges of Business and Engineering as well as two alumni now employed in the textile industry. In addition to the discussion, textile companies from across Rhode Island exhibited and demonstrated their products and discussed their hiring needs.

Panel member Jessica Zaretzky, who earned her master’s degree in textile science at URI, is now employed as a technical applications manager at Kenyon Industries. She praised the textiles, merchandising and design program at URI and became involved in mentoring students through Kenyon’s internship program because of her connection to the URI community. “The ability to work with interns through the URI community has allowed Kenyon to look at projects with not only fresh eyes, but creative minds,” she said. “I am thankful for my experience at the University and for the educated and well-prepared students that we’ve been fortunate enough to work with at URI.”

One such student is senior Briannah Plasse, who is in her third semester as an intern at Kenyon, currently working in the dye laboratory and involved in a quality control project. Students in the internship program at Kenyon may choose different paths based on their interests and backgrounds — such as chemistry versus business — however, Plasse felt that her coursework at the University within the Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design Department gave her the hands-on experience to hit the ground running at Kenyon.

“It’s incredible to be able to walk into an internship and already know how to use something that you are potentially going to be working on. You don’t need to spend as much time training, you get to learn more,” said Plasse. “It helps you feel confident in what you are doing and when you already feel prepared it really allows you to be the best the version of yourself.”

Most panelists said that outdated perceptions of the textile industry need to shift and that RITIN is well-positioned to promote that change. Part of that includes networking events like Monday’s, which included not only URI students and faculty, and a discussion of the future of the textiles industry, but also brought in students from Shea High School in Pawtucket, recognizing they are part of that future.

“There is so much that goes into developing textile products and so much that the industry touches — from automotive and aerospace to tablecloths. We are developing fabrics for the medical industry, for consumers, for the military,” said Zaretzky. “These are products that are intricately involved in so many aspects of our lives that people don’t even realize. And, in many cases — for instance with military products — we are talking about products that protect and improve people’s lives.”

Posted February 13, 2019

Source: University of Rhode Island

NEW YORK CITY — February 13, 2019 — The Inside, a home furnishings startup, announces today that it is launching a collaboration with the decorative textiles and venerable American heritage design house, Scalamandré, which will be sold exclusively on The Inside, starting February 19. Founded in 1929 in New York City, Scalamandré is best known for its part in the Kennedy White House, The Grand Curtain at the Metropolitan Opera House and countless historic restorations. This is The Inside’s first of its ongoing partnerships with the interior design industry’s most beloved textile brands.

The Inside revolutionizes how home is made by offering 100+ exclusive designer fabrics that can be customized to the consumer’s furniture of choice, all at a comparable price point to other mainstream furniture retailers including West Elm, CB2, and Wayfair, and delivered within 3-4 weeks. Because of its disruptive supply chain, which includes a digital printing process and drop shipping from manufacturers, the company is able to partner with heritage design houses such as Scalamandré, offering its beloved designs to a new consumer. The Scalamandré partnership marks The Inside’s first foray into combining technology and design history, in order to bring a brand coveted by interior designers and luxury clients, to design and décor enthusiasts everywhere.

Christiane Lemieux, co-founder and CEO of The Inside, said, “Scalamandré is synonymous with gorgeous high-end design. The brand immediately conjures up Jacqueline Kennedy and the golden age of American decorating. We are thrilled to be partnering with Scalamandré to bring design of this quality to a whole new audience. It is our mission to bring decorating into the digital world and we could not imagine a better partner with which to start.”

The collection includes exclusive colorways of 6 fabric designs from the Scalamandré archive (including the iconic Zebra print featured in cult classic film, The Royal Tenenbaums) plus one never-before-seen print (Leaping Cheetahs), that can be paired with any piece of furniture on The Inside, for the ultimate in customer personalization.

Chad Stark, President of Scalamandré, added: “Collaborating with The Inside is an amazing opportunity to show design enthusiasts at all levels that Scalamandré is evolving our business to address today’s consumers and how they shop. By rescaling and recoloring a selection of iconic patterns, we’ve crafted an assortment that complements our trade-only offering and showcases our 90 year-old heritage brand to the digital marketplace.”

The exclusive The Inside x Scalamandré collection will be available beginning February 19.

Posted February 13, 2019

Source: The Inside