Lenzing's New Eco fibre enables circular economy for the textile industry.

Lenzing's press conference at Premiere Vision
Paris on 7Feb 2017.  Picture supplied by Lenzing.

During the Premiere Vision Paris trade fair for textile industry professionals (held 7 - 9 February), Lenzing - a world leader in producing botanic cellulose fibres - announced its achievement in developing a new eco fibre that serves the consumers' need for more clothing while preserving the world's natural resources and enabling a circular economy for the textile industry.




Lenzing's Chief Commercial Officer Robert van de Kerkhof said they have achieved a new business model by developing a new cellulose fibre called Refibra ™, which is the result of combining cotton scraps and wood from sustainably managed forests.  This new closed loop business model could open the door for additional developments using other natural fibres, added Amit Gautam, Lenzing's Vice President Global Business Management Textiles.

Lenzing COO Robert van de Kerhof (l.) and Amit Gautam, Lenzing VP Global BM,
handling a garment made with Refibra ™.  © Lucia Carpio 2017

van de Kerkhof highlighted that the initiative is built on Lenzing's reputation as  a leader in the field of environmental fibre technology, pushing new solutions in the textile industry towards circular economy by recycling production waste.

Tencel image on recycling.

© Lucia Carpio 2017

The new fibre Refibra ™ stands for "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle", and is obtained by employing Tencel® (80%) and another 20% made up of recycled cotton scraps.
It is obtained through a similar technique as the one used for producing Tencel and can be manufactured in the same facilities and machines at Lenzing.





Refibra ™ is already available in the Spanish fashion chain Zara as part of their Join Life campaign Spring 2017 offering, just launched to coincide with Lenzing's announcement at Premiere Vision Paris.
Zara, traditionally a customer of Lenzing, has taken on an added new role as a supplier, providing Lenzing with pre-consumer cotton scraps, with which Lenzing had turned into pure cotton fibres and combined with Tencel® fibre to form the new Refibra ™ fibre that are in turn made into garments.

Samples of garments and hangers were on hand at the press announcement to show that there is no difference in hand quality when comparing Refibra™ apparel with regular Tencel ©  Lyocell products. Fibre characteristics: Smooth, gentle to the skin' Absorbent, best moisture management; Strong and robust, in the manufacturing process and the end product
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2017

van de Kerkhof  said overall fibre growth in the world has been driven by the high amount of clothing required globally to meet the needs of the world's growing population and the higher purchasing power seen in emerging markets, and thus post a major burden on our environment, specifically when statistics show that some 50 million tons of clothng are thrown out every year, while the need for clothing will double by year 2025 based on Lenzing's own research.  And this, representing 80% of apparel consumption, would end up in landfill.

"Our Tencel fibre has been internationally recognized for its environmentally resdponsible closed loop productiono process," says van de Kerkof, "the new Refibra fibre offers a deep sustainability profile that clearly contributes to curcular economy."

"For Lenzing, developing circular business models in the fashion  industry ensures the decoupling of business growth from pressure on ecological resource consumption.  It reduces the need to extract additional virgin resources from nature, and reduces the net impact on ecological resources," adds van de Kerkhof.

“At present Refibra is produced with 100% pre-consumer cotton, but new developments made with other natural fibers might also be achieved,” says Gautam, who also acknowledged that the new Refibra fibre could be more expensive than the premium Tencel fibre.