Comfort arrives: Of The Earth's Soy T for Spring 2004.

Soy in clothing isn't exactly new. Motor magnate Henry Ford first talked of it in the 1940s and was photographed wearing the first known soy suit and tie. Soy fibres largely disappeared though, until recent developments by China's Beijing Huakangtianyuan High-Tech Co brought soy back to the fashion plate.

Now, soybean protein fibre is being touted as a 'vegetable cashmere' - a new eco-friendly luxury textile offering many of the properties today's consumers demand. Those in the know rave about soy's incredibly soft-to-the-hand feel, second-skin comfort, lustre, loft and drape, combined with washability, durability, and good wear.

Soybean protein fibre also has the advantage of being a renewable natural resource and a by-product of food manufacturing. Some soy textiles have organic certification, which is another selling bonus in the small but growing organic fashion market.

Rainbow shades in 50/50 Soy Silk/wool from South West Trading.

"The whole category of renewable resource-based fibres is going to be huge," says Karla Magruder, director of Fabrikology International, a US consultancy providing educational seminars on new technologies for clients including Helly Henson and Ingeo fibres. "Companies are very open to and aware of the concept of sustainable fibres and are interested in seeing what kind of performance they can offer."

Many companies working with soy remain hush-hush about exact details of their developments. As the fibre is so young, everyone is still exploring its technical properties and benefits - including claims that soy's natural amino acids have a positive health effect on the wearer's skin.

Soy Fashion to tempt US taste buds in Spring 2004

Clean and simple Tofu T from Of The Earth in soy/organic cotton.

Although many predict it will be between 18 months and 2 years before soy apparel reaches consumers on a mass-market scale, two US apparel companies specializing in ecologically-sound fashion are ahead of the game with soy collections for spring 2004.

Of The Earth launches 11 garments for men and women, including sweaters, T-shirts and drawstring pants, in blends of certified organic soy with organic cotton.

"It seems to be quite a hot button for us," says Gary Bracelin, COO and vice president marketing and sales at Of The Earth. "We're getting a lot of interest. For Fall, we're looking at blends with silk and possibly wools, as well as soy underwear base layers. There's a lot of other ways we could go with it."

Of course, cost remains a consideration.

A soy wrap with a twist: Edamame top from Of The Earth.

"Our goal is always for price not to be an objection or hurdle," says Bracelin. "Soy is a bit more expensive than other organic fabrics. A men's T-shirt in organic hemp/cotton is around US$9 wholesale, while the soy T-shirt wholesales at around US$14. But we feel our prices are competitive compared with other branded products, and it's a higher end fabric."

Florida-based Under The Canopy also introduces dresses and tops featuring soy for spring, in a 95% soy/5% Lycra blend, plus a blend of soy/organic cotton.

"When we show our soy samples, retail consumers and buyers are in awe," says Marci Zaroff, President and CEO of Under The Canopy. "They are intrigued; and they love the way it feels! In addition to its luxurious sensibility, soy is likely to become a fabric identified with wellness and sustainability."

Under the Canopy retails online, through catalogues and in stores, and Zaroff is still uncertain on exact pricing for soy garments.

Second skin cosiness from Harvest SPF.

"I can tell you that soy will be approximately 30% more than organic cotton and hemp due to accessibility issues and the raw fibre material costs today."

At last October's International Fashion Fabric Exhibition in New York, the Nanjing Textiles Import/Export Corporation showed ready-made knit underwear in soybean fibres, selling garments on a 200-piece minimum order. Nanjing Textiles' Stephen Wu reported a positive response to the fibre, which drew interest because of its soft and warm handle as well as novelty.

International brand Timberland, which is committed to expanding its use of environmentally friendly fibres, finds the soy concept interesting.

"This is definitely something that we'd explore further," says Terry Kellogg of Timberland. "The green aspect would certainly be a selling point. An important consideration for us in thinking about these new fibres is: are they really superior from an environmental standpoint than the cotton we're already using in abundance, and moreover the organic cotton that we're moving towards?"

A global perspective could see the fabric earn recognition fast

Harvest SPF shirts feature new soy style.

Beijing Huakangtianyuan's Chinese distributor, Harvest SPF Textile (Beijing) Co, currently produces 20,000 tons of soy fibre annually, and the Korean distributor Meedoo Textile Co anticipates sales of over 10,000 tons per year from 2004.

"One of the major fashion lingerie companies in Korea, Good People Co, launched innerwear products last September using our soybean yarns under the name 'Miracle of Soybean'," says Youngju Kwon, director of Meedoo. "It created a sensation and the company reported their sales were more than US$5 million within a month."

Meedoo's offer includes 100% soybean yarns plus blends with cotton, Tencel, modal, polyester and elastane, as well as worsted spun yarns with wool and polyester. Cashmere and silk blends are in the pipeline. So far, Meedoo has focused on the Korean market, but from 2004 will expand globally, and is already working with buyers in the US, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Brazil.

Soybean fabric from Meedoo.

Natural beauty of soybean fibre.

Meedoo's soy prices start from US$3,350 per 400 pounds, with lower costs for blended yarns.

"Even if the price of soybean yarn is pretty expensive now, there are ways to lower the price by blending," says Kwon.

Soybean yarn from Meedoo.

At China's Harvest SPF, sales manager Jackson Wang says the FOB unit price for pure soybean protein yarn is between US$8 and US$20 per kg, subject to its yarn count.

Another producer, Beijing Fabric Garden Textile Trade Center, has its own soybean protein fibre and mill, and exports to the US, India and Europe (in the last case, mainly to Italy to date). Currently providing tops and pure and blended soy fibres, the company plans to export fabrics and garments in 2004.

In Italy, Zegna Baruffa has been working with soy yarns for a couple of years.

"It's difficult to foresee a mass market, it's more of a niche market in my opinion, because it's very expensive, much more than wool," says Mila Zegna Baruffa. She observes that it takes time to learn about the properties of a new fibre, and gives the example of dyeing soy, as it reacts slightly differently to other fibres, making some colours harder to achieve. She also emphasizes that as people are still unfamiliar with the fibre, good marketing is essential.

"It has to be really well communicated. Our customers have to believe in it, and believe that it's a plus."

Aurea Filcrosa also offers soy/wool yarns in Italy, and Lame Ledal is Harvest's SPF's distributor in Italy, Switzerland and Austria.

Soy colour from Harvest SPF.

Soy Silk from South West Trading.

Harvest SPF's US distributor is South West Trading Co, which first started marketing soy fibres in America in October 2002, under the trademark Soy Silk.

Soft-to-touch soy inner wear from Harvest SPF.

"Since then, we have become well established in the home textiles market with spinning fibres and yarns," says South West Trading's Jonelle Raffino. "This market rarely sees new fibres first, so it was extremely well received. We believe that our opportunities with Soy Silk are unlimited. Our challenge has been which directions first?"

South West Trading plans to explore apparel markets next and will keep the Soy Silk trade name for all product lines.

"Soy Protein Fibre was cruel for such a beautiful, glamorous product," says Raffino. "The amazingly silky texture, rich natural colour and soft shine demanded a befitting name. I believe it has the potential for great things. It will be a few years before Soy Silk hits mainstream clothing.

"But when it does, watch out! America seems desperate to find ways to be earth conscious so I believe that they will embrace a fibre that is unique and desirable, yet doesn't use petrochemicals."

from special correspondent Tania Casselle, New York