Okinawa debuts smart materials for clothing

09 Feb '16

3 min read

Italy based fabric manufacturer Okinawa, has developed and supplies smart materials to the clothing as well as all related leather goods industries such as shoes, furniture and accessories.

One of them is Jacroki, which is a very versatile material, almost totally of vegetable origin, and offers an excellent dimensional stability and colour wash fastness at up to 60°C as well as a great mechanical resistance to abrasion.

According to an Okinawa press release, about 25 per cent of the cellulose used for this material comes from FSC certified forests, following principles of environmental sustainability.

“The remaining percentage comes from legal forests and plantations and 80 per cent of the cellulose used is produced from paper mills recovering liquids during the process to produce electricity,” it added.

Another material is Microki, which is a real quality alternative to leather in terms of aspect, hand and optimal technical performances.

“Made from a totally transparent and traceable process, this eco-leather is an ennobled microfibre base and non-toxic raw material makes it an easy alternative choice for eco-minded designers,” the company stated.

Microki endures washings up to 60° degrees without compromising stability or appearance and is an optimal choice for interior design, clothing, fashion accessories, shoes and leather goods.

Washoki is a new generation leather, which is washable up to 60° degrees with extraordinary dimensional stability and colour fastness, due to its special wet blue tanning and colouration technique.

Okinawa further added that Washoki complies with all Reach parameters, and is suited to customer specified manufacture and finish specifications.

One more material, Hydroki is finished using wet white chrome & metal-free tanning and is available both in a natural version and in a wide range of vegetal-based colours.

“This leather can be dry cleaned and washed with water up to 40° degrees without shrinking, and also with a good dimensional resistance compared to similar conventionally tanned leathers,” it informed.

As per Okinawa, currently it is the only leather in the world to be certified Class 1 Oeko-Tex Standard 100 in addition to a production process certification guaranteeing a very high level of safety and healthiness.

“This super-trendy leather is able to offer the authentic vintage look of an aged, washed and faded jeans look,” Okinawa noted.

One more product, Denim Leather reacts exactly like a denim fabric, offering a more and more faded aspect after each washing and can be washed at different temperatures depending on the base leather chosen.

Okinawa products will be on display at Première Vision Leather in Paris and LineaPelle in Milan. (AR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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