Carrington Textiles, headquartered in Adlington, UK, has announced the launch of a range of new workwear fabrics developed using sustainable fibres, including recycled polyester, BCI and organic cotton, as well as a new technology that biodegrades synthetic fibres and a more durable flame retardant product.

Constance and Balaton stretch fabrics, in weights of 210gsm and 255gsm respectively,  both incorporate Repreve recycled polyester made from plastic bottles, and BCI cotton, along with high stretch technology from Xlance which is eco-friendly, solvent-free, and produced using 100% renewable energy. Constance is the Carrington Textiles sustainable alternative to workwear fabric Idra, and Balaton a similar option to replace Cresta.

On the lighter side of the Balance Range, is Kielder, a 185gsm fabric which consists of 50% BCI cotton and 50% Repreve. As an alternative to Cooltex Lite, Kielder offers an outstanding soft feel due to its 4/1 twill, a polyester face for greater durability and cotton inside for increased wearer comfort.

Next are the additions to the Delamere family in 210gsm and 245gsm weights, made from 65% Repreve  and BCI cotton. Rivington 205gsm and 220 gsm weight fabrics are meanwhile the eco-friendlier options for Xtraflex Lite and Xtraflex 1 respectively.

CiCLO

Following extensive research, Carringtom has also adopted CiCLO technology – a sustainable additive that is combined with polyester at the very beginning of the fibre making process. When CiCLO polyester ends up in the environment, either through washing or end of life, it behaves like natural fibres, in turn reducing microplastic pollution and textile accumulation. It was developed by Intrinsic Advanced Materials (IAM) a joint venture between Intrinsic Textiles Group, a Silicon Valley startup, and Parkdale Advanced Materials, the fibres and yarns division of textiles giant Parkdale.

Carrington Textiles is the first workwear fabrics manufacturer to use CiCLO in its new Hawksbill and Orca materials, both in weights of 245gsm, and sustainable alternatives to the company’s bestselling Tomboy.

Hawksbill’s composition includes 65% CiCLO polyester and 35% organic cotton, while Orca incorporates 26% recycled CiCLO, 29% virgin CiCLO and 35% BCI cotton.

Durable Flamestat

With 90% of professional clothing ending up in landfill, it’s also important to increase the life of garments with fabrics that can withstand industrial washes and multiple uses. Responding to this, Carrington’s Flamestat 250gsm is a new member of the Flamestat family with flame retardancy which is guaranteed to last the lifetime of the garment due to its robust construction. Consisting of 75% cotton, 24% polyester and 1% antistatic, its flame retardancy meets the standards EN ISO 11612, EN ISO 14116 index 3 and EN ISO 11611, while its antistatic properties are to EN ISO 1149-3-5 standard.

“These new fabrics see us take a major step towards an ever more sustainable future in workwear textiles, increasing the use of recycled and sustainable fibre raw materials, as well as introducing biodegradable technologies, and doing so whilst still maintaining the same high levels of durability to prolong the garment lifetime,” said Carrington’s sales and marketing director Paul Farrell. “We look forward to announcing more new sustainable products in the future, and to keeping Carrington at the forefront of sustainable textile development.”

www.carrington.co.uk