Textile Insight

Clean Performance 10 • Textile Insight ~ March/April 2018 textileinsight.com ortland, OR-based Green Theme International (GTI) enters the burgeoning clean chemistry category with a textile technology that raises the bar in "breathable water protection" without water use in processing and no harmful discharge. "Ours is a totally different process," explains GTI's marketing director, Brain La Plante. "Our durability and performance sets us apart." Unlike most DWRs in the industry that are based on wet processing, GTI chemistry is applied to dry fabric. Using a pressurized chamber the chemistry is heat activated to create a molecular bond to the fiber. "Wet finishes never penetrate to this level," La Plante states. The performance is permanent; functionality does not lessen or wash out over time or require re-activation like conventional DWR treatments. GTI uses the Bundesmann method, a long established performance evaluation of water repellent textiles that is a rigorous, and reliable test. GTI execs believe this method provides better determination of fabric functionality than Spray testing commonly used these days. "Nothing matches our performance in the Bundesmann," says La Plante, adding that in addition to water repellency, the GTI's technology does not impact the breathability, or change the hand of the fabric. Marmot is first out of the gate with GTI's technology, called Aquavent, with Fall '18 product on display at the Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show in January. According to La Plante, a number of other brands are evaluating the tech with development for Fall 2020 product in mind. Currently, GTI has one finishing facility in Taiwan. Another facility is slated to be up and running in Italy by Q3 2018, followed by plants in Korea and Japan. "The idea is to have facilities in key textile regions," La Plante says. GTI is in the final stages of closing a $6 million Series A funding round which should help effort corporate expansion plans. Last Fall GTI won the Social Impact Investment award at the Bend Venture Conference, and in addition landed private investments from individuals on the event's deci- sion committee, netting the company a total of $250,000. GTI's innovative technology goes hand in hand with the company's B Corp status and management's approach to how textiles are made. "We are not a mill, and we are not a chemical supplier, and we're not a brand," says La Plante. The firm is made up of individuals with deep roots in outdoor and performance product, and they shake off the term DWR in favor of BWP that stands for "Breathable Water Protection." GTI's co-founder and CEO, Martin Flora, has years of design experience in fashion and sporting goods, including a stint at Sierra Designs. La Plante was head of outerwear development for Marmot prior to coming aboard GTI and Mike Costa, VP global sales, had worked at Pearl Izumi and Hind. Ryan Chin manages the Taiwan facility. GTI's chief technology officer is Dr. Gary Selwyn. Selwyn has a PhD in chemical physics from Berkeley. He has worked at IBM's Watson Research center as a research manager at Los Alamos National Labs where he invented atmospheric plasma technology. He is the founder of APJET, an atmospheric plasma company, and holds over 30 patents. GTI recently received the Eco Passport certification by Oeko-Tex from the Hohenstein Institute. The certification is a mechanism by which manufacturers and suppliers demonstrate that their products can be used in sustain- able textile production. According to La Plante, Aquavent is the first product in a platform of technologies. Clean chemistry innovations for FR, antimicrobial and reflective are areas of interest. In the meantime, while launching in outdoor industry with Marmot's Aquavent outerwear, the new technology adds effective water repellency to fabrics like wool suiting and activewear knits. O P IN THE MARKET | ECO UPDATE Shaking Off Conventional Water-Repellency with a New Technology "The idea is to have facilities in key textile regions." Brian La Plante, marketing director, GTI Fall '18 jacket from Marmot featuring GTI's technology, called Aquavent.

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