May 27, 2005 - Start Spreading the News...

Ingeo™ fiber and Bagutta continue the Earth Month initiative in New York

New York - May 27, 2005 - NatureWorks LLC is taking a chance. The company and its partners have decided to invest a great deal of time and energy into something that the fiber industry has never done before: an entire month dedicated to the planet and environmental sustainability issues.

Everyone is familiar with the Earth Day festivities that take place across the globe every April 22nd. NatureWorks - using their Ingeo™ fiber brand as the catalyst - decided to stretch that day to an entire month, filling 31 days with initiatives that will subsequently extend throughout the entire year and beyond.

It is a big task to show consumers how they have the ability to make a difference by choosing more environmentally responsible goods. Fortunately, NatureWorks is not alone. In cities all over the world initiatives that range from special product launches and roundtable discussions to specially-organized concerts are taking place as part of Earth Month with Ingeo fiber.

In New York City, Bagutta, a leading shirt manufacturer for men and women worldwide, will be presenting several specially-created shirts made from Ingeo fiber. These shirts give consumers hands-on proof of the numerous advantages provided by this novel new fiber. In addition to a special blue and white women's polo t-shirt made with jersey fabric that is a blend of Ingeo fiber and cotton, Bagutta has produced, especially for Earth Month with Ingeo fiber, a number of men's classic and casual cut shirts in a 50 percent Ingeo fiber, 30 percent cotton and 20 percent silk fabric blend. Colors include ecru fabric with rose, grey and blue stripes.

The Ingeo brand represents a new lifestyle philosophy that makes a difference to the apparel industry, promoting a concern for the environment that resonates with today's consumer. Bagutta shares the values that inspired the innovations promoted by Ingeo fiber in the apparel market, and above all chooses a new way of doing business, that guarantees a better future to the environment and world in general.

The collection will be presented at L'Uomo Store in the West Village on May 24th and Bagutta will host a special cocktail launch for New York press and buyers.

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 NatureWorks and its brands, please visit www.ingeofibers.com.

Ingeo, the Ingeo logo and NatureWorks are trademarks of NatureWorks LLC.