Dupont Sorona and Sateri’s EcoCosy have collaborated to develop a new fabric called StretchCosy.
The fabric uses a blend of Sorona, a partially plant-based fiber, and Sateri’s comfortable and lightweight EcoCosy fibers to achieve a soft material that is highly stretchable, shape-retaining and sustainably sourced. StretchCosy combines the mechanical stretch of Sorona stretch fibers, which gives it strong stretch and long-lasting recovery, with the soft breathability and smooth silk-like texture of EcoCosy for a fabric that is high-performing and well-suited for fashion and sportswear, the companies said.
StretchCosy is a fabric breakthrough that made it possible for natural plant-based fibers to be more extensively used in various applications, such as T-shirts, shirting, bottoms, jackets, dresses, hoodies and underwear.
“StretchCosy marries the best of Sorona and EcoCosy,” Tom Liu, Sateri’s vice president for commercial, said. “In addition to their complementary properties, both fibers are derived from plant-based materials. Sorona is partially made using renewable plant-based ingredients, while EcoCosy fibers come from certified and sustainable wood sources.”
The companies noted that the global sports apparel market is forecast to reach an estimated $208 billion by 2025. Combined with the rise of the athleisure fashion movement and an increase of stay-at-home workouts due to the pandemic, demand for clothing that is high performing yet comfortable is expected to continue growing, they said, and StretchCosy embodies these characteristics.
“It is encouraging to see members of the same industry come together to collaborate for the better good,” Renee Henze, Sorona global marketing director, said. “Our partnership with Sateri in creating StretchCosy combines innovation from both fiber offerings into a superior product that we believe not only will exceed consumer expectations, but is kinder to the environment.”
Sateri is one of the world’s largest producer of viscose fiber. It has five mills in China that collectively produce about 1.4 million metric tons of viscose fiber yearly. It also operates a yarn spinning mill and 20,000-ton Lyocell facility.