ANDREW MORGAN COLLECTION INTRODUCES EARTH FRIENDLY PERFORMANCE BLANKET TO HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Press Contact:
Tracey Campbell (919-969-4248) (twcampbell@afyarns.com)
Kristen Orr (919-969-4243) (korr@afyarns.com)

Chapel Hill, NC (April 16, 2007)  – Andrew Morgan Collection has teamed up with American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y) to develop a high performance blanket for the hospitality industry. The blankets combine cotton-like comfort with superior performance characteristics.

Andrew Morgan Collection, well known for their clean, simplistic and stylish blanket designs, has been delivering blankets to boutique and high-end hotels for five years.  The company is the first to deliver an earth friendly blanket with inherent performance that will not only make the job of housekeeping easier and faster, but also offer guests a cleaner fresher blanket.   

“We are thrilled about the new Innova^Ò blanket collection.  Not only do the Innova yarns bring a new element in design with their rich colors and novelty varieties, but they offer a new level of cleanability and the potential for significant savings in time and money for the hospitality industry”, said Andrew Morgan, CEO and design director of Andrew Morgan Collection.  “With the recent surge in people traveling, hotel staff must be able to turn over the rooms quicker. Providing them a blanket with stain, mold and mildew resistance and quick drying qualities, will enable housekeeping to turn rooms in less time.  In addition to all of the wonderful inherent benefits, the Innova yarns used in the performance blanket are earth friendly.”

Innova yarns begin as a by-product of post-industrial waste. Compared to other synthetics, they:

• Require less energy to produce

• Produce least waste generation of synthetic fibers; none of it harmful industrial waste

• Do not require potentially harmful topical treatments for performance

• Are recyclable

“We believe in partnering with companies to bring truly unique products to the market that offer inherent value to consumers,” said Jim Morelli, AF&Y executive vice president of sales and marketing. “Andrew Morgan was quick to recognize the benefits and value that blankets made with Innova yarns can provide.  The hospitality industry will soon gain from this yarn technology, while also keeping in line with their commitment to be positive environmental stewards.”

The inherent performance properties are engineered within the yarn and will last for the life of the blanket:

• Inherently stain proof

• Bleach cleanable for disinfecting germs

• Does not support the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew

• Color fast.  Will not fade over time or from bleach

• Quick drying to save time and money

• Earth friendly

The blankets can be seen at the upcoming HD Show in Las Vegas, May 10 -12. Andrew Morgan Collection will be in booth 8815 and American Fibers and Yarns will be in booth 8301.

About Andrew Morgan Collection
For 18 years as a ready-to-wear design director, Andrew Morgan created apparel for such stores as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue, Burberry and hundreds of specialty stores. Transferring his talent and expertise in textile design and color, Andrew Morgan has now designed a collection for home and hospitality. Soothing textures and sophisticated colors create a fusion of organic and modern styles with a fashion forward sensibility. The Andrew Morgan Collection uses only high quality yarns and is manufactured in the United States. The collection has been featured in Elle Décor, New York Magazine, Country Living, Traditional Home, Hospitality Design, Cottage Living and Victoria magazine, as well as The NY Times, and in segments on the “Fine Living Channel”, “The Apprentice”, “Will and Grace”, “The Dirt”, “Legally Blonde”, among others.  You can find our products at the finest stores and hotels. For more information, please visit  www.morgancollection.com

About American Fibers and Yarns Company
American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y) is the world’s leading supplier of solution dyed filament yarns.  With thousands of yarns in its product portfolio and the ability to engineer yarns to customer specifications, AF&Y is a dominant supplier to the residential and contract furnishings marketplace, and has a growing presence in the hospitality, apparel, automotive and industrial markets.  Headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, AF&Y maintains a Technology Center that specializes in engineering filament yarn with innovative combinations not available from other suppliers.  The company also operates two U.S. production facilities totaling six hundred thousand square feet of manufacturing space.  For more information on AF&Y and its products, please visit www.afyarns.com or call 800-925-0668.