31 March 2022, Mumbai:
TMC Ltd. of New Zealand introduces 'Herculan,' a performance fabric made from overabundant interior textile wool.
TMC Ltd. The owner of Nuyarn spinning technology and a known inventor in the performance fiber and garment arena, has created Herculan, one of the first products in the world to combine better performance benefits of wool with durability and sustainability for the apparel market.
TMC's proprietary Nuyarn spinning machines were modified from the ground up to accommodate strong wool – the coarsest and most durable grade of wool fibers (>38 microns), which was previously only suitable for interior textiles such as flooring and upholstery. Herculan, a patented technology, is said to be the result of more than three years of R&D.
Carpet wool, as the industry calls it, has a poor market value and is often too expensive to treat, package, and export in recent bearish years, so it ends up in landfills.
Interior Textile Wool is predicted to account for 40 to 50% of worldwide wool yield, according to the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO) (source).
These coarse long wool fibers are drafted around a performance filament with the new breakthrough method, generating an exceptionally fine yarn - Herculan – that outlasted some of the industry's best synthetic fabrics in the Martindale abrasion tests pound for pound.
Herculan, according to the company, is a new technology that allows wool to be utilized in high abrasion and high impact zones in garments such as socks, boots, gloves, trousers, coats, and hundreds of other possible uses without wearing out.
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Herculan outperforms both natural wool fabrics (that are twisted) and synthetic fibers in terms of moisture management, dry times, volume, aeration, flexibility, and heat retention, as well as being non-reflective, silent, and naturally odor-resistant.
This is owing to Herculan's – and Nuyarn's – unique yarn structure, which involves drafting carpet wool around a performance thread without twisting or fraying. "We are really delighted to be presenting Herculan," said Andy Wynne, CEO of TMC Ltd.
"When we first started working to transition carpet wool into the apparel sector, everyone thought we were crazy because it had never been done before," says the company.
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"It meets the needs of consumers who want more sustainable and durable natural fibers in their garments, while also creating new potential categories for performance and technical apparel brands."
But since we had a vision and were committed, our team was able to find a solution. The results speak for themselves in terms of durability, performance, and comfort.
Wynne went on to say that the business took an underutilized and overabundant natural fiber and converted it into a robust yarn that could fulfill abrasion demands that only synthetic fibers could previously achieve, all while enhancing wool's inherent performance benefits.
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CREDITS: Outdoor compass & Apparel Resources
