Even though we are just producing one product there are many details that needs to align, and the main components are the fabrics.
During the past week we have been traveling through South Korea and Vietnam to meet and discuss the upcoming production of the Ljung Outdoor Pants and possible future products.
It has been really inspiring to see the quality of their products and the possibilities that’s just around the corner. The first stop on the journey was Seoul in South Korea where we met our stretch and main fabric suppliers. Both are specialized in their specific segment and have long history of developing high performance fabrics for the outdoor industry.
Korea has a long history in constructing and producing fabrics and with knowledge gained from Japan and Germany, the quality within these fabric segments are among the best in the world. The passionate people that we met during our meetings really showed us how much pride they put into their products.
We went through the final color check, approved final samples and initiated the bulk production of each fabric. The stretch fabric is produced in Daegu, 300km south of Seoul, which is the main fabric production area in South Korea. This fabric we have named “Näver” which is “Birch bark” in English. It is a combination of Nylon, Polyester and Spandex. The Nylon comes from Taiwan and the Polyester and Spandex comes from South Korea.
The main fabric that we call “Bark” is a combination of recycled Polyester and organic Cotton. The organic Cotton gives a great hand feel while the recycled Polyester gives the fabric its durable and fast drying properties. The organic Cotton comes from Turkey and the recycled Polyester has its origin from South Korea. Both fabrics are treated with fluorocarbon free DWR.
This supplier has two production facilities; one just outside Seoul and one in Vietnam. We did not have enough time to see their production facility outside Seoul, but we were invited and able to see their Vietnam factory outside Hanoi. This factory has a similar setup where they process the raw fibers and weave them into fabrics. Established in 1992, this factory also does all the finishing and coloring in the same factory.
We are extremely happy to be able to use these fabrics on our Ljung Outdoor Pants.
