August 3, 2005 - The Natural Choice

Companies across North America Walked with Nature at NeoCon 2005

Chicago – August 3, 2005 – The outside was brought indoors as leading commercial interior companies displayed Ingeo™ fibers in their showrooms at NeoCon 2005, held at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, from June 13 – 15, 2005. Companies featuring the nature-based fibers, Allsteel, DesignTex, Herman Miller, Interface and Teknion, demonstrated how architects and designers can walk with nature, launching many of their of their latest products made with Ingeo fibers.

“Through partnerships with Interface Fabrics, and their Terratex® brand of panel fabrics, these industry leaders have discovered that Ingeo fiber allows them to move toward responsible innovation without sacrificing performance,” said Joe Raffo, Americas business manager for NatureWorks, producer of Ingeo fibers.

DesignTex earned the Silver award in the Panel Fabrics category for its fabrics made with 100 percent Ingeo fibers. The company's three new panel textiles – Masa, Tomale and Empanada – are constructed in 100 percent Ingeo fiber.

Also introducing new panel fabrics at NeoCon was Teknion, who displayed its newest office panel designs made from Ingeo fibers. This line is available in spiral and speckle designs.

“The industry is taking notice of Ingeo fiber, not only for its more responsible appeal, but for its natural performance,” continued Raffo. “Being ‘green', performance and value all share equal importance for the office market, and Ingeo fibers bring it all.”

Interface Fabrics also introduced its new textile coating made from NatureWorks® PLA, the resin used to create Ingeo fibers. Named BioBac, the coating is designed to replace acrylic and rubber latex backing for upholstery, wall covering and panel fabrics and performs better than traditional backing materials.

Interface Flooring demonstrated strides toward sustainability with the company showcasing its new modular carpet styles – approximately 75 percent of which include Ingeo fibers.

“This year's introductions follow the success of last year's launch of Ingeo fiber into the office market,” continued Raffo. “Both Herman Miller and Allsteel introduced Ingeo fibers into their product lines at NeoCon 2004 with great response and success.”

Ingeo fiber is a natural-synthetic product offering the performance of synthetics and the peace-of-mind of natural materials in panel fabrics, flooring and in a variety of additional applications for the office and home. The fibers offer durability, excellent hand and drape, UV stability and favorable fire characteristics. In addition, the nature-based origins of Ingeo fiber allow it to be safely industrially composted* or incinerated at the end of its useful life.

About Ingeo Fibers
To produce Ingeo fibers, plant sugars, currently extracted from corn, are fermented to make lactic acid, which is then processed to create a polymer. Following this process, the fibers are extruded from the polymer in order to make the fiber. The result is a product that performs in a similar fashion to petroleum-based products with much less negative environmental impact.

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 100 percent from annually renewable resources with the cost and performance to compete with petroleum-based packaging materials and fiber. 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.

NatureWorks, Ingeo and the Ingeo logo are trademarks of NatureWorks LLC. Terratex is a registered trademark of Interface Fabrics Inc. * For information on available industrial composting facilities in North America, visit www.natureworksllc.com