The Oregonian; NAT officials say their fiber could change apparel production

Ken Barker hands over a piece of cardboard with fabric swatches attached.

Barker is delivering his feel test, challenging his subject to detect the difference between cotton-only pieces and those with a combination of cotton and “Crailar,” a fiber derived from flax stalks.

Barker, chief executive of Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc., the makers of Crailar, has touted the fiber’s benefits to provide protection against volatile cotton prices. Crailer also has a much smaller ecological footprint than cotton’s, his company’s research shows.

And Oregon — from the company’s Lake Oswego-based managers to Willamette Valley farmers — are expected to play a key role in growing Crailar from seedling concept to harvested game-changer.

Barker has convinced the likes of Target Corp., Levi Strauss & Co., HanesBrands and Carhartt that Crailar could make a difference in production of fabrics and apparel.

Crailar has partnered with those companies and others to produce or test Crailar for a variety of products. Naturally Advanced announced Thursday that Target has entered a development and supply agreement to evaluate Crailar in the retailer’s domestic textiles category such as table linens, window treatments and towels.  To read the full story click here.

NAT CEO Ken Barker Profiled in Financial Post

Photography by Darryl James / Financial Post Magazine

We’re very excited to share a recent profile of NAT CEO Ken Barker in Toronto’s Financial Post. In the story, reporter John Shmuel discusses the way Ken’s vision of how an organic cotton alternative could penetrate more industries than apparel has helped NAT land some significant partnerships with global brands such as HanesBrands and Levi Strauss & Co.  “There isn’t a category or industry we’re not engaged in,” Ken is quoted as saying in the article. “We have the first viable alternative to cotton, and we’re making sure everyone knows that.” Read the entire profile, including Ken’s tips for successful partnerships, read the full story here.

Hemmed in by Cotton, Hanes Eases into Flax

A big thanks to Rachel Dodes of the Wall Street Journal for an excellent write up on our partnership with Hanesbrands Inc.

Touching on the issue of rising cotton prices and the development and benefits of new cotton/flax blend products,we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Click Here to See Naturally Advanced Technologies in The Wall Street Journal

Proud to Partner with Hanes



WINSTON-SALEM – Activewear and sock maker Hanesbrands Inc. has received accreditation for its global social compliance program from the Fair Labor Association, a workers’ rights group based in Washington, D.C.

The company has also had its Social Responsibility and Environmental Stewardship schemes recognised in the latest report from corporate social responsibility organisation As You Sow.

The Fair Labor Association works with industry, civil society organisations and colleges and universities to protect workers’ rights and improve working conditions in factories around the world. Following a two year review process, the FLA accredited the social compliance programs of Hanesbrands and Gear For Sports, Inc., now owned by Hanesbrands.

To earn accreditation, FLA member companies are required to fulfil 10 company obligations, including conducting internal monitoring of facilities, submitting to unannounced independent monitoring audits and verification of company and supplier plants, and managing and reporting information on their compliance efforts.

“The FLA is pleased to have Hanesbrands as an accredited affiliated company dedicated to protecting workers’ rights and to meeting and exceeding international labour standards,” said FLA President and CEO Auret van Heerden. “We appreciate the company’s commitment to fair labour standards.”

Elsewhere, Hanesbrands said it had scored well for global supply chain compliance programs in an independent study conducted by As You Sow. The San Francisco-based group’s report, “Toward a Safe, Just Workplace: Apparel Supply Chain Compliance Programs,” was published in November and gave Hanesbrands’ code-of-conduct compliance program a letter grade of B, the third-highest grade of apparel companies studied.

In the report, Hanesbrands was noted for having 100% of its compliance audits conducted unannounced and for having initial and annual audits verified independently.

The full report can be read on the As You Sow website, www.asyousow.org.