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Corn
Checkoff Fashions New Markets through PLA (3-20-01)
If you're looking for another sign that the checkoff investment by the
National Corn Growers Association is paying off, see what's quietly
happening in the world of fashion and textiles. Cargill Dow's PLA plant
at
Blair, Neb., won't start producing the corn-based polymer until next
year.
However, international textile manufacturing companies recognize the
benefits of replacing petroleum-based polyester with fabric made from
corn
and are lining up to place their orders. Annually, the plant is expected
to
turn 14 million bushels of corn into 300 million pounds of PLA. Textile
manufacturer Kanebo Gohsen Ltd. of Japan is a major customer of Cargill
Dow's PLA. Representatives of these two companies as well as Japanese
trading company Itochu International and U.S. Grains Council recently
visited NCGA to explain the potential for PLA's use in fabrics and to
display samples of the products that are being tested in select markets
in
Japan. Japanese favor PLA products because PLA benefits range from
biodegradability to better wicking properties that dry faster to odor
reduction because PLA doesn't support bacterial growth. "This is
a totally
new product, similar to other synthetic fabrics common in most clothing
today. PLA will replace petroleum-based polyester fibers that aren't
easily
recyclable," said Rene Shunk, NCGA director of business development
and corn
processing research. "The variety of uses makes PLA a very exciting
opportunity. "PLA clothing is not a novelty item. PLA, either as
a blend or
as 100 percent, improves performance in a variety of clothing and other
items, such as polo shirts, active and athletic wear, sweaters, ties,
denim,
T-shirts, undershirts and socks. For example, PLA can make fantastic
shirts
that have a soft feel like silk, shirts you'd chose over others. Japanese
favor PLA products because they are environmentally sound, renewable,
friendly technology. "The pioneering work that NCGA supported has
contributed to very near, very real commercialization," she noted.
"Originally NCGA funded application research projects to improve
PLA. This
is an example of the commercialization of that research."
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