October 29th-November 6,2005 - The Art of a Good Night's Sleep

Together with Bedding, Doimo, Dorelan, Ennerev, Sealy Europe and Zigflex, NatureWorks LLC lends its high-quality, high-performance product Ingeo™ fiber to further artistic innovation

MILAN, October 29th - November 6th: At La Mia Casa, the national home furnishings and living fair held annually in Milan, Italy, Ingeo™ fiber has come up with a new, creative way to "rest on its laurels." Fifteen artists have been asked to create special seating projects within the fair's specially-designated "relaxation" area. One of these artists, Topylabrys, chose Ingeo fiber as the compositional material for her project, creating a relaxation area using only Ingeo-based mattresses. Her decision to use NatureWorks® PLA-based Ingeo fiber was motivated by what she perceived as the "special message" hidden within an "apparently normal and conventional product like a mattress."

In explaining her choice, Topylabrys noted that "Ingeo fiber is the world's first and only manmade fiber produced from 100 percent annually renewable resources such as maize, not oil…in other words, it is born of an abundant material that can be easily and efficiently reproduced every year, with advantages for everybody. I think this constitutes a better fiber, a better alternative to what we are using today. Using artwork to promote Ingeo fiber means promoting a better earth for everyone. And a simple object like a common mattress proves that this choice is available to everyone."

The seating section, composed of a number of mattresses, is designed to be able to be used in a diverse manner according to the needs of the moment, space and layout. Topylabrys has spent years working on themes of "transformation, change and adaptation" in her artwork, the result of what she calls "that nomadic element that is increasingly present in our modern lives."

In the wake of initiatives that have involved everyone from music stars to stylists, from environmental organizations to industry professionals, Ingeo fiber finds itself once again on the forefront. Tracing a connection between art, an innovative fiber and mattresses may strike some people as an unusually innovative publicity stunt, but innovation lies at the heart of this all-natural fiber, the very name of which means "ingredients from the earth."

Ingeo is the first man made fiber created from 100% annually renewable resources: a novel product that combines the best of both worlds, the performance of a synthetic fiber and the advantages of a natural material. Because it is derived entirely from natural sources, Ingeo fiber contributes to reducing our dependence on limited fossil fuel resources such as oil. Ingeo fiber was conceived based on principles of sustainability: economic viability, social responsibility and respect for the environment.

In Italy, a country that has established itself as the world's fourth-largest exporter of mattresses, Ingeo fiber has provided a new textile option that offers producers advantages in terms of product construction, public image and commercial return. Put simply: Ingeo fiber provides a clear competitive edge. This is why in just under a year, companies like Dorelan, Ennerev, Sealy Europe and Zigflex have more than doubled the range of sleeping products they offer that utilize this innovative fiber.

Ingeo fiber offers key performance characteristics that make it ideal for mattresses: it is hypoallergenic, and does not support bacterial proliferation. The fiber regains its voluminous consistency after being compressed, is low maintenance and, can be composted at the end of its useful lifecycle. It is also soft to the touch and has excellent wicking, thus maintaining optimum comfort in sleeping conditions.

Responding to today's environmentally-conscious needs, Ingeo fiber provides the performance of a synthetic within an all-natural, plant-based fiber. In the face of growing environmental concerns, modern consumers are paying increased attention to the content and impact of what they purchase. Products created using Ingeo fiber have successfully spanned the entire range of textile goods, proof that the "Ingeo" label provides the consumer with solid reassurances about the material's all-natural origins.

NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available polymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with cost and performance that compete with petroleum-based fibers.

Take a moment to stretch out and relax in the special artist's seating Ingeo fiber and its partners in the bedding industry have provided; see and feel for yourself what all the buzz is about.

Change is possible. Choice is available. And Ingeo fiber is making a difference, one product at a time.

Ingeo, the first and only fiber made100% from annually renewable agricultural resources - not oil.



Note to editors:

Founded in 1997, NatureWorks LLC is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA. It is the first company to offer a family of commercially available polymers derived from annually renewable resources with the cost and performance to compete with petroleum-based packaging materials and fibers. The company has achieved this breakthrough by applying its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer, which is marketed under the NatureWorks® PLA and Ingeo™ fiber brand names.

For more information about Ingeo fiber, please visit the website at www.ingeofibers.com

Ingeo and the Ingeo logo are trademarks of NatureWorks LLC.