Asahi Kasei Celebrates 90th Anniversary of Bemberg™ Cupro Fiber and Launches Rebranding

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Asahi Kasei is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its Bemberg™ cupro fiber business in 2021, and launching a rebranding to mark the occasion.

90th Anniversary

Overview of Bemberg™ cupro fiber
Bemberg™ is the brand name of the world’s only cupro fiber, which is manufactured by Asahi Kasei in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. With its beautiful luster and smooth silky texture together with functional properties of moisture absorption/release and feeling cool to the touch, it is used around the world in various applications such as linings, ethnic garments, outerwear, and innerwear. Being made from cotton linter, a by-product of cottonseed oil production, as well as being biodegradable and compostable for circularity, Bemberg™ is an environmentally friendly material.

90-year history of Bemberg™
The Bemberg™ business has been advanced flexibly in accordance with social conditions and changing fashions. The history of Bemberg™ has been one of continually finding new applications and product developments in cooperation with partner companies sharing the same values throughout the process of procuring raw material, manufacturing raw yarn, processing yarn, weaving, knitting, and dyeing.

1931	Start of Bemberg™ production
1940s	Start of production of raw yarn for tricot
1950s	Start of large-scale supply of raw yarn for yarn-dyed linings Start of the industry’s first CHOP (outsourced processing) system
1960s	Start of production of Bemberg™ staple fiber Expansion in apparel and material fields (woven labels, metallic fibers, hair implantation, handicraft yarn, etc.)
1970s	Start of production of Bemliese™ nonwoven fabric Start of production of hollow fibers for artificial kidneys
1980s	Entry to field of outerwear with development of Chezelle™ fibrillated material
1990s	Establishment of Lining Laboratory Discontinuation of hank production
2000s	Expansion of functional materials for innerwear Production of Bemberg™ by other companies ends, making Asahi Kasei the only Bemberg™ manufacturer* * Technology of J.P. Bemberg of Germany had been used by several companies
2010s	Participation in Business Call to Action (BCtA) Acquisition of GRS (Global Recycled Standard) certification
2021	90th anniversary of Asahi Kasei’s Bemberg™ business

Ahead to the next century
In celebrating the 90th anniversary of its Bemberg™ business, Asahi Kasei is looking ahead to the next century by advancing efforts to improve the environment and provide solutions for society by implementing measures toward carbon neutrality by 2050, strengthening the traceability of raw materials, and developing technology to reduce the environmental burden across the entire supply chain. Although Bemberg™ is an uncommon material which accounts for only 0.02% of the world’s total fiber production, Asahi Kasei is pursuing value creation and sustainability together with its stakeholders as the only cupro fiber manufacturer.

Rebranding of Bemberg™

Background
The current business environment is changing rapidly with the need to solve environmental issues on a global scale, efforts such as the SDGs to solve social challenges, and the heightening importance of value creation. In reconsideration of the brand value of Bemberg™ in this dramatically changing environment, the rebranding is performed so that Bemberg™ will continue to be loved by customers and provide value that suits the times.

New tagline
To clearly convey the ideal and meaning of the Bemberg™ brand to customers, the brand is renewed with a new tagline of “Crafted Elegance.”

Crafted: Japan-made cellulose fiber produced exquisitely
Elegance: Not extravagance, but universal beauty

Moving forward with Bemberg™ embodying “Crafted Elegance,” Asahi Kasei will pursue heightened value creation through technological innovation to improve the environment and provide solutions to social issues, leveraging the status of Bemberg™ as a one-of-a-kind material loved by customers.

New Bemberg™ website
The Bemberg™ website is renewed to gain recognition among customers of the new tagline “Crafted Elegance” and its value. The new website will provide information that meets the needs of the times while refreshing the image of Bemberg™ through a renewed design and enriched content.

The new Bemberg™ website:
https://www.asahi-kasei.co.jp/fibers/en/bemberg/

Bemberg™ and Bemliese™ are registered trademarks of Asahi Kasei Corp.