Creator of Ultrasuede Fabric Receives Humanitarian Award

December 7, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on December 2008 Toray Inds. Inc., which created Ultrasuede fabric, has received the United Nations Association of New York’s 2008 Humanitarian Award for its efforts to address the impact of global climate change. The award was presented at a gala dinner held in late October at the United Nations that focused attention on the importance of environmental sustainability.

Sadayuki Sakakibara, President and CEO of Toray Inds., Tokyo, accepted the award for the company, which has been working to prevent climate change by developing materials and technologies that help save energy and resources.

“Global warming is a serious problem for the planet, and that everyone, especially the business community, has a responsibility to take bold actions to protect against it,” Sakakibara said in accepting the award.

Toray invented the technology that made ultra-microfiber materials possible and remains a worldwide leader in these advanced materials—researching, developing and marketing them through its global Microfiber division, founded in 2001.

Among the Toray Inds. technologies highlighted at the event were its reverse-osmosis membranes and carbon fiber composite materials. Toray’s reverse-osmosis technology is used in water treatment plants throughout the world to produce 14 million tons of clean water every day for 60 million people. The company’s carbon fiber composite materials are now being used by Boeing to produce an all-composite aircraft that will be 20 percent lighter than conventional aircraft and will use less fuel and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.