There has been a lot of hype recently about a fiber advertised as “Milk Protein Fiber.” Given the substantial price that “milk” yarns command, it made sense to investigate what this “milk” fiber actually is.
We were surprised to learn that three “milk” yarns sourced from Knitting Fever were nothing more than common acrylic blends. Acrylic is an inexpensive fiber, which is often added to make yarns soft and affordable. Beyond the lack of milk, two of these yarns did not contain either the cashmere or alpaca, listed on their labels.
We presented this information to KFI, first to their attorneys informally, then later to the Court. KFI raised questions regarding the testing methodology of our expert, but chose not to have these yarns actually tested. So far, KFI asserts that the yarns, listed below, contain milk, alpaca and cashmere, purely because the salesmen who sold it to KFI says that they do.
We attached the documents from Cascade’s fiber expert, as well as the response from KFI’s plastics expert.
1) Ella Rae Milky Soft: advertised as a 50/50 cotton milk protein blend is actually cotton and acrylic.
2) Laines du Nord (KFI) Baby Milk: advertised as 63% wool, 30% milk fiber, and 7% cashmere is actually 68% wool and 32% acrylic.
A. Retails for $6.60 for a 25 gram skein or $26.40 per 100 grams.
B. Cascade Pacific 60% acrylic 40% wool (merino) retails for $6.50 per 100 grams.
3) Ella Rae Latte: advertised as 30% alpaca, 30% milk, and 40% microfiber actually contains neither milk nor alpaca and is 69% acrylic and 31% wool.
A. Retails between $9.00 to $10.00 for 50 gram skein or $18-$20 per 100 grams.
B. Again Cascade Pacific retails for $6.50 and has a third more wool. |
