The RISE Durable Product Award will be awarded to a durable nonwoven product using nonwoven fabric and/or technology that is commercially sold and utilized in the consumer or industrial marketplace.

The four finalists will make presentations at the third annual RISE Conference, which is organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and will be held from 23-25 October 2012 at the Hilton Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland. Following the presentations, RISE attendees will vote on the recipient of the 2012 RISE Durable Products Award.

The four finalists are:

ThermoPod

 ThermoPod Temperature-Control Packaging is a biodegradable temperature-control mailer. The outer surface consists of a waterproof biodegradable film and the inner surface is a permeable biodegradable film. Sandwiched between the layers is a proprietary, biodegradable pad made from recycled, purified, flocked textiles to which superabsorbent powders and antimicrobial powders have been added during manufacture.

Ecovative

Ecovative's EcoCradle is a packaging material that is produced using mycelium, a fungal network of threadlike cells. The mycelium grows around agricultural by-products like buckwheat husks, oat hulls, or cotton burrs to any shape. In 5-7 days, in the dark, with no watering, and no petrochemical inputs, the mycelium envelops the by-products, binding them into a strong packaging part. The way EcoCradle is produced is said to use significantly less energy than the manufacturing of synthetic foams.

Freudenberg Spunweb

Freudenberg Spunweb’s Lutraflor Automotive Carpet is a new kind of automotive floor carpet material suitable for full floor moulded carpets as well as for floor mats, which is claimed to have significant ecological and performance advantages over current tufted and needle punched carpet materials. The product portfolio is available in any OEM-agreed-upon colour and weight.

SRP Canada

SRP AirOutshield products are triple layer, spunbonded polypropylene membranes that have high levels of water vapour transmission and are resistant to water penetration. They are constructed by thermally bonding a layer of polypropylene to either side of layer of Aptra UV8 micro-porous film.

AirOutshield membranes are installed in Rain Screen Wall Systems and Sloped Roofs and perform the function of underlayment, secondary drainage plane, air barrier and/or slip sheet.

Now in its third year, the goal of RISE is to provide information and stimulation for companies looking for strategies to compete in an increasingly challenging 21st century marketplace.

For information on the RISE Conference