DuPont Unveils New Brand, Home Products Quality Seal

December 10, 2001

Wilmington, DE (USA) — Capitalizing on the consumer's need for quality assurance, DuPont recently unveiled a new brandmark. The DuPont Home Products Quality Seal, is designed to build quality and purchase assurance at the retail and manufacturer levels for furnishing and home textile products.

The Home Textiles division, part of the recently formed DuPont Apparel & Textile Sciences (ATS) business group, unveiled the new Quality Seal. This business group formed earlier this year as a market-based, consumer-focused unit, serving the furniture and bedding textile markets.

The new brand will only be applied to DuPont-branded products, and the company hopes the seal will help its home furnishings manufacturing partners tap into the value of the DuPont brand. The manufacturers will be able to include the seal on packaging, point-of-sale materials, hangtags and advertisements, with the hope consumers will choose these products on the strength of the DuPont name.

Initially, the new Quality Seal will appear on home furnishings featuring DuPont™ Xtra Life™ brand nylon fiber-featured in the MicroSuede® and Infinesse® brands of faux suede upholstery fabric-and the DuraLife™ brand of cushioning fiberfill. Infinesse® and MicroSuede® are registered trademarks owned exclusively by Microfibres of Pawtucket, RI, the largest producer of flock fabric in the world.

According to John Gorcyca, global furniture segment manager, DuPont home textiles, the new brand will also help present a common face to the furniture and bedding consumer. "Both consumers and retailers should know that products with the DuPont Home Products Quality Seal are backed by the DuPont brand performance," Gorcyca said. "The new seal maintains our assurance of quality and expands it to all DuPont-branded products in the home." The creation of the new brand is backed by consumer feedback, said Tom Kearns, global business director, DuPont Home Textiles. According to a study conducted by DuPont, 89 percent of consumers agreed that DuPont materials contribute to a better product.

"Research indicates that quality is the most important feature when purchasing products for the home, and consumers have told us that this new seal helps them feel confident that they are getting a quality product," Kearns said.

The consumer study also revealed that 68 percent of consumers surveyed would select a product that features the seal over a product that does not. According to DuPont, participants in the study overwhelmingly agreed that a product with this endorsement would perform better and last longer.

"The furniture business is a great opportunity, a growth market for DuPont domestically and internationally. We see consumers wanting and requiring more value in this marketplace," explained Gorcyca. "We can now put the full weight of DuPont research, technical support, product offering and sales effort behind home textiles."

"As a result, the whole customer chain will see an even more intense effort to deliver products the ultimate consumer wants in terms of look, hand durability and ease of care. We're looking to build stronger relationships with all of our immediate customers making use of our new brands and products."

DuPont Apparel & Textile Sciences is a globally branded business linked to DuPont science. The group's mission is to bring innovation to all categories of apparel, accessories, home and industrial textiles through brands like Lycra® elastane, Tactel® textile nylon, CoolMax® performance fabrics, Thermolite® performance insulation, Cordura® nylon and Comforel® sleep products. DuPont was founded in 1802, and invented nylon in 1938. The company continues to specialize in fiber technology. DuPont operates in 70 countries and has 85,000 employees.F&FI


Subscribe to Receive Industry News Alerts

How would you like to receive news?

Join