Toray Industries, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, has developed a nylon 510 fiber that incorporates 100% biobased synthetic polymer.
Content as defined under ISO 16620-1: 2015, The international standard for the biobased content of plastics.
Ecodear N510 will be the first 100% plant-based nylon fiber in Toray’s Ecodear lineup.
The company has created diverse potential applications for Ecodear N510 as a sustainable offering for high-end markets. While primarily for sports and outdoor fabrics, they extend to lightweights, cut-and-sew fabrics, and innerwear lace materials.
Nylon originated in the United States. In the early 1950s, Toray became the first Japanese company to manufacture nylon. Apparel and other wide-ranging applications over the years have reflected nylon’s excellent flexibility, durability, wrinkle resistance, and washability.
Nylon is typically made from petroleum, in light of the rising demand for environment-conscious products to address such global environmental issues as resource depletion and global warming and address a growing awareness of the need to build a sustainable society.
Toray already offers partially plant-based polyester, nylon, and other polymers. It developed Ecodear™ N510 by polymerizing Sebacic acid from the castor-oil plant and Pentamethylenediamine from corn and spinning.
Unlike other wholly plant-based nylons, Ecodear™ N510 has a high melting point and outstanding dimensional stability, and it is as solid and heat-resistant as Nylon 6.
Companies can thus create sustainable Toray looks to combine various proprietary technologies to drive further fiber advances. These would include making fibers thinner and lighter or adding functionality by changing cross-sectional shapes. The company will develop an array of apparel and other materials applications to help build a sustainable society. Under its sustainability vision, Toray has pledged to offer innovative technologies and advanced materials that provide real solutions to the international community’s myriad challenges in balancing development and sustainability.
