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Fountain Set Advances Development of PLA in Apparel Cargill Dow and Fountain Set Announce Collaboration

For Editorial Information:
Michael O’Brien, michael_o’brien@cargilldow.com
Cargill Dow LLC
Phone: (952) 984-3306
or,
Gordon Yen, gyen@fshl.com
Fountain Set (Holdings) Limited
Phone: (852) 3478-7080
    or,
Jennifer Gray, jgray@gibbs-soell.com
Gibbs & Soell Public Relations
Phone: (847) 519-9150

Fountain Set Advances Development of PLA in Apparel
Cargill Dow and Fountain Set Announce Collaboration

Minneapolis – November 4, 2002 –Fountain Set and Cargill Dow have teamed up to introduce more sustainable alternatives into the apparel market. The companies are working together to offer a line of performance fabrics from PLA fibers – renewable resource-based fibers derived from crops like corn.

The companies have signed a letter of intent to launch the fabrics into the activewear market by first quarter 2003. The fibers, developed by Cargill Dow, are created through a process where simple plant sugars can be used to create a performance fiber product. . The products offer a unique blend of performance properties and a “natural” message.

“Fountain Set is dedicated to furthering the development of sustainable products,” said Mr. C. F. Ha, Chairman and Managing Director for Fountain Set. “With PLA fibers we will be able to offer the industry a line of fabrics that are more sustainable and offer the performance expected in apparel.”

PLA fibers are derived from annually renewable resources and not petroleum, which the majority of synthetic fibers currently derived from. Cargill Dow’s process for making the natural-based fiber requires 20 percent to 50 percent less fossil fuel resources than the typical synthetic fiber manufacturing process. And, because carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere in growing the feedstock crop, the overall carbon dioxide emissions are significantly lower than comparable synthetics.
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Fountain Set
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“Our objectives are to continue expanding our products, without losing sight of our belief in sustainability,” said Tim Eynon, General Manager - Fibers for Cargill Dow. “Our relationship with Fountain Set meets those objectives and allows us to offer the industry natural-based performance fabrics for the apparel.”

In essence, PLA fibers bridge the gap between natural and synthetic materials by offering the best attributes of each. PLA is the first man-made fiber derived from a 100 percent natural source. Points of performance differentiation include outstanding hand, drape, wicking, resilience and low odor retention properties.

“Based on our founding principles of diligence, frugality, sincerity, and integrity we at Fountain Set continue to develop new markets and products in order to achieve long-term growth. PLA is an ideal addition to our product line,” continued Mr. Ha. Having built a reputation for their dedication to the environment, Fountain Set’s systems allow for more sustainable processing including azo-free dyes and extensive wastewater treatment facilities. Additionally, Forbes Global Magazine has recognized them as one of the best 200 small companies in the world in 2002.

“With Fountain Set, we’re putting fabrics into a market where brand owners are continually striving to lessen the dependency on the earth’s resources without sacrificing performance,” continued Eynon. “PLA is a new alternative for performance fibers that offers consumers, brand owners and retailers performance and differentiation in their products,”

Independent testing, by such renowned groups as the Hohenstein Research Institute, has confirmed the performance advantages of these fibers. PLA has achieved outstanding rankings in comparisons to synthetic materials, such as polyester, in terms of wicking, odor retention, resilience and total comfort.

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Fountain Set
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Fountain Set (Holdings) Limited, a publicly listed company in Hong Kong and founded in 1969 is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of knitted fabrics in the world with an annual turnover in 2001 of over US$570 million     and an annual fabric production capacity of 220 million pounds. The company operates with a high level of vertical integration in manufacturing, encompassing yarn spinning, fabric knitting, sewing thread, yarn and fabric dyeing, fabric printing and garment making. For more company information, please visit the Fountain Set Web site at http://www.fountainset.com.

Founded in 1997, Cargill Dow LLC is based in Minnetonka, Minn. It is the first company to offer its customers a family of polymers derived entirely from annually renewable resources with the cost and performance necessary to compete with packaging materials and traditional fibers. The company has achieved this breakthrough by applying its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer (PLA). For more company information, please visit the Cargill Dow Web site at http://www.cargilldow.com.

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