Blog

With the changes the U.S.-based textiles industry has seen over the past century, Milliken knew our ability to thrive as a global innovations company depended on our ability to innovate practically on behalf of the markets and customers we served. Our innovations resonate within our industries because they are able to help solve everyday challenges. Many of Milliken’s leading innovations were developed as a way to solve a problem — using design as a key mechanism for an achievable outcome.

Each year, Earth Day is a call to recommit ourselves to caring for the planet we call home. More than 193 countries come together on April 22 to bring awareness to and build support for environmental protection measures.

It can be easy for companies to say they are committed to integrity in business, but the power of ethics-in-action stories help to showcase that our word and our actions align in the truest sense. Our recognition as one of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies is an important honor for Milliken as it supports our belief that ethical business practices matter.

Sustainability is a major consideration in today’s global marketplace. From the ability to design and produce eco-friendly products to the tangible improvements an environmentally responsible process can invite, sustainability carries with it a sense of doing right for the environment for the benefit generations to come.

On the forefront of our work as a modern manufacturer is the desire to solve everyday problems with innovative solutions that contribute to a better world. Millad® NX™ 8000 is one such product. A clarifying agent used to create UltraClear polypropylene, Millad NX 8000 prompts the marketplace to redefine how we all care for the environment through solutions that address key challenges in today’s plastics industry.  

For more than 50 years, the R&D 100 Awards have served as one of the most prestigious honors for innovations that are moving the needle within their respective industries. Milliken is humbled to have received a number of R&D 100 Awards over the past several years for revolutionary protective textiles to improved wound-care dressings. This year, we are honored once more to receive a Special Recognition R&D 100 Merit Award for innovation in green technology for Breathe by Milliken™ – the first plant-based, fluorine-free natural and polyester fiber performance fabrics for the home.

The ever-changing Princeton Sentry Ginkgo tree, with its woody attributes and ornamental appearance, has proudly stood in the Milliken Arboretum since the 1990s, a decade where sustainability came into greater focus for the world, and for Milliken. “Green” reminds us of many things, from sustainable building practices to the lush coloring of more than 3,000 green noble trees. No matter its context, green signifies meaningful environmental contributions and intentional growth here at Milliken, which we continue today through both our products and processes. Our goal in doing so is simple: to protect and build a better world for future generations. Discover how the 1990s served as a springboard for expanding Milliken’s almost century-long commitment to sustainability.

This year, Milliken celebrates the 60^th anniversary of the Roger Milliken Center, home to our global headquarters and corporate innovation center. Acknowledged upon its opening in 1958 as “one of the most elaborate scientific research centers in the world,” this former peach orchard became a place to centralize the development of new Milliken textile, chemical and flooring innovations. Over 80 percent of Milliken’s accumulated U.S. patents have been developed at the Spartanburg campus, many of which were fundamental in transforming Milliken into a leading global innovation company. 

“Sustainability is evolving to encompass more human aspects, namely safety. A commitment to innovation is required to stay at the forefront of it all.” - Paul Pruitt, Senior Director, Corporate EHSE at Milliken & Company

“We designed the arboretum to be around for generations to come, as a reflection of the impact we have on the world.”