Thindown™, the first 100% natural goose down fabric is here

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 7, 2015

A soft and ultra-light goose down fabric that can be cut and sewn like any other fabric… The innovative Thindown™, which will be unveiled this week in Milan at the Milano Unica textile trade fair, presents itself to the market as the "first and only 100% natural, ecological, sterilised and biodegradable goose down fabric".

Developed by Canadian Ron Reuben with Italian entrepreneur Paolo Bodo, this entirely Made in Italy product, also considered the lightest and hottest fabric in the world" is destined to revolutionise the use of goose down, believe its inventors.

Contrary to synthetic quilts, Thindown™ compacts the down in a completely natural way. Compared to traditional comforters, it uses even less down since it is a homogenous fabric, one that doesn't let air get through and thus doesn't need to be divided into compartments.

No more quilted coats and other puffy clothing or feathers coming through! With this new material, it will be possible to create clothes and accessories, including shoes, out of down fabric with just a few stitches and applying all the possible treatments and personal touches. Something which was unimaginable before.

"We contacted six Italian, French and American high-end labels to have them test the product. They were more than enthusiastic and each one asked us to have the exclusive business! We of course said no to all six. In the next five years, we are going to dedicate ourselves exclusively to the use of this revolutionary fabric in the fashion sector by offering it to brands, then we will move onto the home and furnishings sector followed by the building insulation sector," explains Paolo Bodo, CEO and co-founder of NIPI (Natural Insulation Products Inc.), which develops, produces and distributes Thindown™.

An expert in the production and export of goose down, Ron Reuben has been working on this project for years, a project that consists of transforming goose down into its own fabric, filing the first Thindown™ patent in 2000, followed by two other patents in 2007 and 2014. With a group of international engineers, over the past few years he has developed the technology needed to produce this fabric via NIPE R40, an avant-garde manufacturing machine.

The project finally became a reality in 2012 thanks to the meeting of Paolo Bodo, Italian entrepreneur and consultant for major brands, including the Sixty group. Together with Ron Reuben and a third associate, the marketing consultant and former president of the Jones New York brand, Joe Hiess, they created NIPI, which has since welcomed two new shareholders: America's P&W LLC group and a Chinese partner.

To guarantee a supply of certified quality down, NIPI has also created a joint-venture with the supplier Molina & C. Nearly 10 million euros have already been invested in this project. The fabric will be produced exclusively for companies in the EMEA region on NIPI's production site in Chieti in the Italian Abruzzo region. "Production should increase from 300,000 metres of fabric in 2016 to 3 million in 2018. This fabric has incredible potential. We also hope to have brands bring their down jacket production back to Italy," concluded Paolo Bodo.