Asahi Kasei announced the launch of Bemliese, its proprietary ultra-sustainable continuous-filament cellulosic nonwoven fabric, in North America via its trading arm in the US, Asahi Kasei Advance America. As the need for sustainable resources to reduce the overall carbon footprint in the product lifecycle grows greater throughout the world, Bemliese will resonate with organizations seeking to bolster CSR initiatives through its organic, fast-acting biodegradable and compostable material that can be utilized for a diverse array of disposable goods and applications. Bemliese is a nonwoven fabric sheet made from cotton linter – tiny hair-like fibers on cotton seeds. Through science, Asahi Kasei is the only company in the world that has developed a clean proprietary process for treating this linter to produce sheets that can be integrated in a diverse array of product designs. Prior to Asahi Kasei’s innovation in this realm, linter was a pre-consumer waste biproduct of the traditional cotton harvesting process, and now has been converted to roughly 3% of the total yield. This fabric made from cotton linter has since been certified for industrial compost, home compost, soil biodegradability, and marine biodegradability by TÜV AUSTRIA Belgium NV, the globally recognized organization that certifies product biodegradation. TÜV is the only organization that offers the marine biodegradability certification, thus Bemliese has been proven friendly both on land and at sea. When dry, Bemliese leaves virtually no lint, scratches, or chemicals on the surfaces it touches, making it an ideal material for cleaning equipment in industrial, laboratory, or medical environments that must remain contamination-free. Its high purity keeps the material free from excess oils or chemicals that may be inherent in similar materials. It also has a higher rate of absorbency than cotton gauze, rayon/PET, or nonwoven cotton. On the other hand, unlike cotton, a sheet of Bemliese becomes extraordinarily soft after moistening and drapes well over any surface it touches with little to no abrasion. Its extraordinary absorption of moisture and ability to hold onto tiny particles makes it an ideal material for hygienic applications or medical sterilization. When soaked, it can grip the surface of an object tightly and hold the material in place while it dries. The reclaimed cellulose filament structure created by using cotton linter as a material provides a much higher level of liquid retention than regular cotton.