NEW YORK – Loftex doesn’t need a crystal ball to predict the future of the towel industry.
With almost a decade of experience focusing on building sustainability practices, products and performance, Loftex has reached new heights in terms of quality and target customers.
“We call this ‘Sustainable is the New Future of Luxury,'” Gretchen Dale, executive vice president of strategic corporate planning, told HTT. “This is big news for us and for the industry. We’ve created a new luxury collection that’s more sustainable and functional than ever before.”
The line spans four towel ensemble collections, all set to launch at the New York Home Fashion Market.
Velvet Touch is made from a blend of cotton and ReVisco recycled fibers. “We’ve used them before, but this is the first time we’ve done it in a luxury product. These are big, luxurious towels,” Dale explains. “What’s really interesting about these fibers is that they don’t need to be as heavy for the same size. Compared to a regular 28-pound towel, these weigh 20 pounds and look and function the same. They’re super absorbent, dry in the dryer in about 30 minutes, and are lint-free.”
She noted that Loftex soft-launched a similar towel during the pandemic and it proved popular with retailers. But this season, the company has beefed up the engineering to highlight the sustainable properties of Velvet Touch. Additionally, fashion elements are making a statement with colors and patterns. A contemporary wave design is the mainstay of this range that encompasses solid styles.
Prelux features cotton, grey cell and lyocell, made from green bamboo, the latter because “it doesn’t pollute the air. It’s a closed green system, so nothing is released into the atmosphere,” she said.
New Luxe is made from lyocell, which is made from cotton and bamboo, “and there’s no viscose,” Dale said, adding that another defining feature of the collection is the design: “We’ve created beautiful, contemporary floral patterns that are very special and totally different to anything else out there.”
For the new Eco Luxe collection, Loftex has redeveloped recycled polyester into a filament polyester with a cotton core and reinforced with added Cyclo. The result, Dale says, is “Eco Luxe towels are more absorbent, dry faster and are more sustainable.”
Dale added: “Cyclo is added during the extrusion process and once broken down it behaves like a natural fibre. We are taking our sustainability efforts a step further by adding Cyclo here.”
All four collections are produced in Loftex’s vertical production facility in China. Further unifying the collections is their dense loop construction throughout and a shared palette of neutral colours in rich, above-the-line hues such as crimson red, mahogany brown and titanium grey.
“Our towels are not only sustainable, they are highly functional and feel amazing on the skin,” says Dale. “Ten years ago, who would have imagined that we would be making towels from old clothes? When we started, we had a good product that wasn’t necessarily soft to the touch. But little by little, step by step, we’ve come a long way and now we’ve reached a point where we have all the capabilities in place, and there’s a lot more to come.”
To highlight the premium feel of the collection, Loftex has created special packaging with gold accents.
“Today’s luxury customer is looking for sustainability. They’re willing to pay a premium for things that not only look and feel good, but are also good for the planet,” she said. “They want these types of products from their retailers, and they come to us because they know we’re committed to it.”
Loftex’s showroom is located at 24 West 40th St., between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. (Editor’s note: The address has been updated since original publication.)