Stories | July 18, 2022
Mill Partner Spotlight on Eun Sung Tex
We are happy to shine a light on one of our long-time mill partners, Eun Sung Tex!
Eun Sung Tex, is a Korean-based textile mill specializing in woven fabrics for bags, backpacks and other gear applications. We’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Eun Sung on many different brand-partner developments over the last 13 years. One of the most recent developments in our work together on MYSTERY RANCH’s new sustainable COULEE backpack series that was launched at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market last June. The COULEE backpack recently received the coveted GearJunkie magazine’s editorial ‘thumb’s up’ as a recommended product to look forward to this spring.
Alex Kim, Eun Sung Tex President, was kind to answer a few questions while at Outdoor Retailer in June.
When did Eun Sung Tex and Hyosung begin working together?
We started collaborating with Hyosung in 2009 and have continued ever since then.
What does Eun Sung look for when selecting a fiber company to partner with?
We expect to enthusiastically develop materials that the outdoor market needs and wants.
Why do you think Eun Sung Tex and Hyosung have become such strong partners over the years?
Our close partnership is a result of a desire to anticipate and deliver upon brand-partner needs and an understanding of our proper roles when it comes to marketing.
Can you give an example of how you both work together to anticipate brand developers’ needs?
We are always listening to the Voice of Brands who require innovative tasks and do our best to produce solutions through our collaboration with Hyosung.
We’d love to know about a particularly challenging brand request and how Eun Sung, in collaboration with Hyosung, worked through it.
Mystery Ranch wanted a sustainable, super-light but strong material for an alpine pack. Through several trials, we developed a durable lightweight, recycled high-tenacity 100d nylon, which they were very pleased with.
What is new and exciting on the horizon?
We believe that a long product lifespan is the greenest. We are working on a durable recycled nylon fabric with Hyosung made with discarded fishing nets that we are very excited about!
Eun Sung Tex will be exhibiting at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in January 2023 and hope you can stop by to say hello!
