Loftex Offers Imperial Towels

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 10/11/2004 12:00:00 AM

From The New York Market —

Loftex Industries US, the American division of one of China's largest towel manufacturers, is making its New York Home Textiles Market debut with a broad array of product that ranges from luxury towels employing cashmere to opening price-point offerings that retail at $5.50.

Loftex's pitch is that it employs technology to craft differentiated towel constructions. The company has also trademarked the name Emperor's Cotton to apply to the extra long-staple Chinese cotton used in its top-of-the-line offerings.

The cotton is grown near China's border with Russia and was historically available only to the imperial family.

“It's second only to Sea Island cotton, and it's actually a longer staple than Supima,” said Gretchen Dale, director of design and marketing.

Emperor's Cotton is also used in Loftex's three luxury towels: Cahsmira, which is woven with a blend of cashmere, bamboo and cotton for softness and absorbency; Venezia, a 34-by-58-inch towel made with more than 1 million long loops; and Park Lane, a 20-pound towel engineered for absorbency with two-ply yarns on one face and single-ply on the other.

Other differentiated offerings include Rip Tide, which is woven on both sides in different tones; fancies with scalloped fronts and full terry backs; and fiber-reactive bath towels with a sheered front and woven back at a $7 retail. Loftex is also showing fiber-reactive beach towels with a similar construction.

The foundation of the line is an array of solid color towels. They include: Essentials, a 13.5 pound, opening price point towel at $5.50; Thick and Thirsty, a 14.5 pound towel designed to absorb twice the moisture of standard towels, at $7 retail; Inspiration, a 14.5 pound, low-twist towel at $10; and Luster, mercerized for absorbency and less linting, which is being offered in 22 colors — the largest palette in the collection.

“We don't put chemicals on our towels,” Dale said. “When you use chemicals to make towels soft, they actually repel water.”

Loftex's inaugural collection also includes a variety of jacquards, sheered and embellished towels.