Co-Founder Jason Finnis Named Chief Innovation Officer

VANCOUVER, and PORTLAND, OR, Sept. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – 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.

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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.

SOURCE Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc.