Renewable, bio-based materials to help manufacturers and brand owners to expand product offerings

Miami, FLA. (April 23, 2007) – Eastman Chemical Company’s industry-leading Eastman™ cellulose esters can provide improved functionality and enhanced aesthetics in next generation non-woven applications.

Renewable and bio-based Eastman™ cellulose esters provide a wide range of unique film properties when used as coatings on nonwovens or in bicomponent fibers. Improved dyeability, breatheability and comfort of nonwovens are among the primary benefits. Eastman™ cellulose esters can even provide durable fragrance delivery for nonwovens.

“Innovative nonwovens manufacturers are pushing the boundaries of additional functionalities and Eastman is committed to applying our ingenuity to help them every step of the way,” says Todd Williams, nonwovens business segment manager for Eastman.

Eastman™ cellulose esters feature tunable morphology, or chemical structure, to provide both functional benefits and ease of processing.

The ability to add durable fragrance delivery over the life of a nonwoven end-product is of particular interest with the advent of frequently reused nonwovens in household cleaning applications. Eastman™ cellulose esters can enable an uninterrupted clean and fresh scent of the brand owner’s choosing.

“The ability of Eastman™ cellulose esters to deliver a wide variety of functional and aesthetic benefits enables nonwoven manufacturers and brand owners to consider new functional performance attributes for their products, especially feel, color, and scent. Eastman stands ready to make a sustainable and material difference with our cellulose esters,” says Williams.

Eastman™ cellulose esters join Eastman’s broad portfolio of industry-standard solutions for the nonwovens industry, including EastONE™ water dispersible polymers, resins for hygiene adhesives, polyesters and copolyesters, Eastoflex™ polyolefins and solvents.

More info: www.eastman.com/nonwovens. EastONE™ and Eastoflex™ are registered trademarks of Eastman Chemical Company.

About Eastman Chemical Company
Eastman manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers and plastics worldwide. It provides key differentiated coatings, adhesives and specialty plastics products; is the world’s largest producer of PET polymers for packaging; and is a major supplier of cellulose acetate fibers. As a Responsible Care® company, Eastman is committed to achieving the highest standards of health, safety, environmental and security performance. Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Kingsport, Tenn., Eastman is a FORTUNE 500 company with 2006 sales of $7.5 billion and approximately 11,000 employees. For more information about Eastman and its products, visit www.eastman.com. For more information about Eastman and its products, visit www.eastman.com, or contact Lori Sampson-Bold, global trade media relations, at +1-423-224-0538 or globalmediarelations@eastman.com.