December 1, 2016

Toray Develops Senbism™ UF
Polyester Micro-Crimp Textile

Tokyo, Japan, December 1, 2016 – Toray Industries, Inc., announced today that it has developed Senbism^™ UF, a polyester micro-crimp textile that adds a compact bulkiness and elasticity to the uniquely smooth and supple feel of ultra-fine fibers. The company will commercialize this material for outerwear and casual apparel for fall/winter 2017. It also seeks to expand its range of woven and knitted fabrics for consumer apparel that incorporate natural fiber blends.

Ultrafine fibers are inherently smooth and supple were not suitable for certain applications requiring bulk and elasticity. These features could not be added by false twisting and other techniques.

Senbism^™ UF employs bi-component structure and features a single fiber count of just 0.19T as a result of Toray’s NANODESIGN^™ conjugate spinning technology, which enhances fabric durability. Utilizing this technology can create a spiral crimped to create bulkiness and elasticity.

During fabric processing a large number of micro-crimps are created which fill gaps between larger crimps, for an extremely smooth surface. A mild gloss luster happens as the micro-crimps diffuse specular reflected light. Shape retention prevents fabric from bending back because of increased frictional force between fabric fibers.

UTS^™ * series is light feel, soft and delicate texture, and unique luster has received global acclaim, as a high-quality high fashion material. Furthermore Senbism^™ UF augments these qualities with exceptional softness, compact texture, and shape retention to broaden the range of consumer apparel items for the series.

Toray has positioned the Senbism^™ UF as key part of its Global fashion textile marketing and merchandising concept, which highlights the benefits of synthetic textiles fashionwear. The company will continue to identify and deliver unique new value in textiles through the series.

*UTS^™ is Toray’s product for Japanese market and registered trademark in JAPAN

Senbism^™ UF overview

1. Features unattainable from conventional ultra-fine fiber textiles
   1. Bulkiness and smooth surface
   2. Compact, supple texture
   3. Mild gloss luster
   4. Soft shape retention
   5. Moderately elastic
2. Technical attributes
   1. Toray developed this ultra-fine fiber by applying its proprietary NANODESIGN^™ conjugate spinning technology. The innovative NANODESIGN^™ splits multiple raw material resins into a large number of fine streams and suddenly discharges and merges the streams. NANODESIGN^™ makes it possible to freely and precisely control the cross-section shape of composite fibers, a limitation in conventional conjugate spinning. It also allows the use of three or more resins, not just two. With Senbism^™ UF, Toray was the first in the world to stably manufacture sea-island composite fibers with numerous island components in a laminated structure.
   2. The island component of the Senbism^™ UF is designed with a side-by-side structure employing two types of resin. Although the fiber is ultrafine, the crimp’s spiral structure offers moderate elasticity and a compact, supple texture.
   3. Advanced processing technology maximizing the use of raw yarn creates a large number of micro-crimps, resulting in a new textile material with a bulky and smooth surface touch, mild gloss luster, and soft shape retention.

3. Patent applications

   11, including for related patents

4. Key apparel applications

   Women: Outerwear, bottoms, dresses, and tops
   Men: Outerwear and tops