The yarn is totally new to Belarus, being launched by Gronitex in Grodno and KIM in Vitebsk. Using micro-viscose fibres mixed with natural fibres, the yarn is comfortably soft, being ultra-light, rather like silk: perfect for knitted underwear and outer garments. The yarn was designed within the Innovative Technologies in Light Industry programme, which runs for the next two years.
Within this programme, other technologies and products are being designed. Svitanak in Zhodino has created knitted compression products for those recovering from breast cancer, rivalling imported versions at a much lower cost. Gronitex has its thin flax-mix yarn for knitted goods and a medium fibre flax-cotton blend (using up to 30-50 percent flax); these will save on importing more expensive fine-stapled cotton.
Meanwhile, shoe production waste is being used to create composite recycled materials for reuse in shoe and accessory manufacture, as developed by the Science and Technology Park of the Vitebsk State Technological University and Krasny Oktyabr. Textile multi-layering can be used for the production of shoes, clothing accessories, furniture, and decorative finishing materials for construction purposes — all at significantly lower in prices than foreign counterparts. Krasny Oktyabr forecasts that almost $1m will be saved in the first year from this innovation, with expenses paid within two years.
Obviously, the goal of Innovative Technologies in Light Industry is the development of new processes of modern textile and knitted material manufacturing, using new types of synthetic and artificial fibres, alongside domestic flax.
