FiberVisions, producer of CoolVisions dyeable polypropylene staple fibre, will present its collection of WoolVisions fabrics at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market that takes place from 21-24 January, in Salt Lake City, UT.

“As a disperse-dyeable, staple synthetic fibre, CoolVisions is ideal for spinning with fine-micron merino wool, offering colour and design options unavailable with solution-dyed polypropylene/ wool blends, as well as an exceptionally soft hand,” commented Susan Lynn, Global Sales and Marketing Manager for CoolVisions.

“In addition, polypropylene scores highest of the synthetic fibres for sustainability; its manufacturing process has a reduced impact on the environment, with low emissions and no toxic wastes. Polypropylene is also highly resistant to stains and chemicals, requiring less energy use in home laundering.”

Natural performance

The WoolVisions collection of knits and wovens raises the bar for natural performance fabrics by offering a host of advantages over pure wool and wool and synthetic blends, the manufacturer reports.

Merino wool, with its inherent qualities of warmth, moisture management, breathability, and natural elasticity, has become the darling of the outdoor industry for base layers and beyond, according to the company.

New developments combining merino wool with technical synthetic fibres have propelled the natural performance trend into end uses such as running, biking, and urban lifestyle wear.  

Better match for merino

“CoolVisions is a better match for merino than other synthetic fibres,” said Jose Fernandez, President of Global Merino in California, which has developed an extensive range of circular knits using WoolVisions.

“CoolVisions polypropylene has better thermal performance than the other synthetic fibres-cooling when it is warm and retaining heat when it is cold. In a world where drying time and the mechanical movement of moisture are important, the WoolVisions blend performs better than the equivalent blend using other synthetic fibres such as nylon or polyester.”

Light weight and soft

Global Merino’s WoolVisions collection includes knitted jerseys, ponte di Romas, French terry, fleece, and rib. The company’s honeycomb jacquard was selected as an ISPO 2014 Top 10 fabric by the ISPO Textrends Jury.

Chia Her Industrial Group, a vertically-integrated Taiwanese spinner, weaver, and dyer, creates the tops for its worsted WoolVisions yarns from 18.9µ washable merino wool and 2.5d CoolVisions polypropylene fibre. The yarns are custom spun for knitting or weaving from Nm 1/20 to 1/70, in blends using 30% or more merino.

Chia Her describes its WoolVisions woven plaids as possessing cotton-like qualities that are both light weight and soft, with breathable and thermal features.

Sustainable and technical natural blends

At HerMin Textile, an innovative weaver of natural and synthetic fabrics in Taiwan, WoolVisions is combined with cotton to enhance a brushed flannel quality in 25 different colorways and patterns.

“At HerMin, we value high quality, innovative yarns to develop more sustainable and technical natural blends,” said Courtney Cruzan, Marketing Manager for the company. “With WoolVisions we are able to blend the great natural hand feel of cotton, with the moisture management, quick dry, stain resistant, anti-odour benefits of CoolVisions polypropylene, and naturally wrinkle-free and thermally insulating wool.”

 www.cool-visions.com