What is KANECARON™ ?
About KANECARON™
KANECARON™ is a modacrylic fiber made by copolymerizing acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride.
Characteristics of KANECARON™
KANECARON™is a modacrylic fiber made by copolymerizing acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride.
Wide range of fiber specifications that expand the options
With more than 50 years of development history, KANECARON™ has been involved in the research of animal furs to recreate an animal-friendly yet life-like product.
The important points that determine the quality of eco fur™ are the combination of the shape, luster, fineness, length, and the type of fiber.
We are able to provide fibers with optimized specifications according to each customer’s requests.
Flame Retardant Materials
KANECARON™ contains vinyl chloride, which has excellent flame retardancy, and the material itself is flame retardant. Therefore, the flame retardancy is likely to not deteriorate due to washing. Also, when the fire source is removed, the fabric will not burn, but to self-extinguish (Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) value is 26 or higher, *this result is in-house test results which are not guaranteed values).
KANECARON™ is effective for applications that require consideration for safety, such as stuffed animals, home textiles, children's clothing, and so on.
* LOI value is a numerical value used as a measure of flame retardancy and is defined by “JIS K7201 Limit Oxygen Index”. The LOI value is expressed as the volume percentage of the minimum amount of oxygen required to sustain the burning of a substance in a mixed gas of nitrogen and oxygen. In other words, the higher the LOI value, the harder it is to burn.
History of KANECARON™ Development
The production of KANECARON™ began in 1957 as a material to replace natural wool which was mainly used in blankets at that time.
In the 1960s Kaneka's market research led to the development of KANECARON™ as an “imitation fur” (the name of eco fur™ at the time).
Kaneka was convinced the best use of KANECARON™ was to apply it as an imitation fur material and started a full-scale development for eco fur™.
KANECARON™ has been evolving for over 50 years, continuing development efforts, providing the industry's highest quality eco fur™ to customers around the world.
Development of KANECARON™
Material Development
The most important key in developing the highest quality of eco fur™ material is research on the target animal fur. Several types of fibers are required as each animal has a different shape and composition of fur.
Based on the result of this research, Kaneka develops fibers with the optimum shape, luster, fineness, and lengths.
Development also focuses on the ease of handling in fabric processing. Moreover, we have a lineup of fiber products with unique perspectives such as heat-shrinkable and dope-dyed fibers.
At present, KANECARON™ has around 200 fiber specifications, expanding eco fur™ possibilities to recreate animal fur in eco ways.
Fabric Research
The development of KANECARON™ is not limited to fibers.
By using around 200 types of KANECARON™ fibers with each composition, a better eco fur™ fabric can be created.
Therefore, in the 1970s Kaneka installed fabric production equipment in its laboratory.
Thus, through thorough in-house trial production of fiber composition and fabric processing conditions, we contribute to improving the quality of eco fur™ fabrics and sharing this information with our fabric manufacturing partners.
Development in Manufacturing Method
KANECARON™ is also working to add new improvements and additional value to the existing eco fur™ by modifying the conventional fabric manufacturing.
LUSTROUS™, for example, is a processing technology developed by Kaneka to prevent shedding. Shedding on eco fur™ fabrics can be prevented by applying a heated roller to the back of the fabrics that melt KANECARON™ to the base fabric.
Furthermore, LUSTROUS™ is not only helping to prevent shedding but also could prevent dust generation in daily life, maintaining a cleaner living space. Moreover, it also helps prevent eco fur™ from spilling out from the sheared surface in the sewing process allowing the workspaces around the sewing factory to be cleaner.
KANECARON™ as an eco fur™ material
eco fur™ is an artificial fur fabric that uses synthetic fibers instead of animal fur. With eco fur™, we can enjoy fashion without sacrificing animals.
The origin of eco fur™
eco fur™ refers to an artificial fur fabric using synthetic fibers instead of animal fur.
In recent years, the name eco fur™ has been used mainly in fashion magazines and fashion media as an alternative to the word "fake fur”, becoming established as one of the fashion materials for the younger generation. Fake fur, which began to be produced in the 1960s, has steadily improved its technological capabilities over a long history and is now a highly regarded material for its quality and use in luxury brands.
eco fur™ is not just artificial fur but also dyeable and jacquard-able which makes it more fascinating.
eco fur™ is derived from consideration for the ecosystem. With eco fur™ , anybody could enjoy fashion freely without concerns of animal cruelty.
eco fur™ and Animal Protection
eco fur™ is a material that has received mass attention as the trends in animal protection have surged.
Animal fur has been used as cold protection clothing since ancient times. Especially in Northern Europe where the climate is colder than the rest of Europe, fur was an indispensable item for daily life. As people's economic activities become intense, animal fur attracts attention for its asset value, which leads to the escalation of the overhunting and breeding industry. Furthermore, after the 2000’s, cruelty to farmed animals has been recognized as a serious problem.
At this time, numerous brands from fast fashion to luxury brands have abolished the use of animal fur. As of December 2018, 1.572 brands are participating in the fur-free program developed by the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) in each country, which expresses opposition to the use of animal fur.
Examples of brands that have declared to ban the use of animal fur
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ARMANI GROUP
March 2016 -
GUCCI
October 2017 -
MICHAEL KORS
December 2017 -
FURLA
March 2018 -
BURBERRY
September 2018 -
PRADA GROUP
May 2019 -
ADIDAS
February 2021 -
DOLCE & GABBANA
January 2022 -
MONCLER
December 2023