Naturally Advanced Technologies Names Tom Robinson Chief Operating Officer

VANCOUVER, and PORTLAND, OR, Sept. 7, 2011 /CNW/ -- 
Co-Founder Jason Finnis Named Chief Innovation Officer


VANCOUVER, and PORTLAND, OR, Sept. 7, 2011 /CNW/ - Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (the "Company") (OTCBB: NADVF) (TSXV: NAT) announced the appointment of
 Thomas C. Robinson, a 27 year veteran of the textiles industry, as its
 Chief Operating Officer. Robinson joins the company from International
 Textile Group (ITG), where he was most recently Vice President of
 Cotton Operations Planning and Technical Support in the company's
 apparel division. Robinson's appointment coincides with NAT's imminent
 plan to establish a permanent production facility in Kingstree, S.C.
 that will replace its testing facility established there in August
 2010. Jason Finnis, co-founder and immediate past COO, will become
 Chief Innovation Officer, responsible for innovation of sustainable
 bast fibers, cellulose pulp, and their resulting by-products.


"Tom is an excellent organizational fit for NAT whose appointment comes
 at a strategic time for the company," said Ken Barker, CEO of NAT. "He
 will assume leadership of our manufacturing facility currently in
 development, and brings with him experience launching four
 international manufacturing platforms. Tom's presence will allow us to
 advance current and future development and purchasing agreements with
 global partners."


Robinson began his textiles career in 1984 with Burlington Industries,
 the leading full service apparel solutions organization for apparel
 manufacturers and retailers. From 1984 to 2004 he held a number of
 leadership roles for the company, culminating in Executive Vice
 President of Manufacturing and Operations Planning. His experience
 included greenfield startup manufacturing facilities, as well as
 oversight of multi-plant operations throughout the U.S., China, Mexico,
 India, Vietnam and Nicaragua. ITG later purchased Burlington Industries
 to become one of its six current companies, and positioned it alongside
 Cone Mills, one of the premier denim manufacturers and wholesalers in
 the world. In 2004, Robinson became Vice President of Operations
 Planning and Customer Support at Cone, where he was responsible for
 global denim operations planning, customer service, technical product
 development and quality control. He played a key operations role in the
 integration of Burlington Industries and Cone Mills as they each became
 part of ITG.


Robinson brings to NAT deep textiles experience with a focus on
 understanding the performance and customer impact of natural fibers in
 the spinning, weaving and knitting process. He will be NAT's
 senior-most executive permanently located in the Eastern U.S., where it
 plans to install a fully integrated flax fiber decortication and
 CRAiLAR enzymatic processing facility with the capacity to produce
 650,000 pounds of CRAiLAR Flax fiber per week. It expects to be ready
 to commence production in Q1 of 2012, ramping up to full-scale capacity
 by Q2. Robinson is a 3rd generation textile industry veteran with a BA
 in economics and business from North Carolina State University, and an
 Executive Program Certificate from University of North Carolina.


Finnis, co-founder and now CIO, will increase his focus upon NAT's deep
 relationships with research partners, including Canada's National Research Council, United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research
 Service (USDA - ARS), and partners like HanesBrands. This newly created role will focus on ways to improve NAT's processing
 techniques, throughput efficiencies, and yield.


Last week, NAT announced the addition of Jay Nalbach as Chief Marketing
 Officer. Nalbach joined the company from adidas Group AG.


About Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.
Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. develops renewable and
 environmentally sustainable biomass resources from flax, hemp and other
 bast fibers. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary,
 CRAiLAR(r) Fiber Technologies Inc., has developed proprietary
 technologies for production of bast fibers, cellulose pulp, and their
 resulting by-products in collaboration with Canada's National Research
 Council. CRAiLAR technology offers cost-effective and environmentally
 sustainable processing and production of natural, bast fibers resulting
 in increased performance characteristics for use in textile,
 industrial, energy, medical and composite material applications. The
 Company was founded in 1998 as a provider of environmentally friendly,
 socially responsible clothing. It has current purchasing or development
 agreements with HanesBrands, Georgia-Pacific, Levi Strauss & Company,
 Cintas Corporation and Ashland Inc. For more information, visit www.naturallyadvanced.com.


Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services
 Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture
 Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
 release.


Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed
 "forward-looking statements". All statements in this news release,
 other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking
 statements. Forward-looking statements or information are subject to a
 variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or
 results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking
 statements or information and including, without limitation, risks and
 uncertainties relating to: any market interruptions that may delay the
 trading of the Company's shares, technological and operational
 challenges, needs for additional capital, changes in consumer
 preferences, market acceptance and technological changes, dependence on
 manufacturing and material supplies providers, international
 operations, competition, regulatory restrictions and the loss of key
 employees. In addition, the Company's business and operations are
 subject to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K,
 Form 10-Q and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at www.sec.gov. These are among the primary risks we foresee at the present time. The
 Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements.


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