Celebrating the first anniversary of the launch of carbon-zero TENCEL™ branded fibres, the Lenzing Group announced the expansion of carbon-zero to REFIBRA™ technology to address the growing industry demand around “circular fashion” and carbon neutrality. The first carbon-zero TENCEL™ branded lyocell and modal fibres, which launched last year, have continued to gain momentum among industry partners including fashion brands and mills. Available in September 2021, the expansion aims to provide more innovative solutions for fashion brands to meet carbon reduction targets and consumers to enjoy sustainable products, reinforcing Lenzing’s commitment to achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
The expansion demonstrates Lenzing’s solid commitment to building a truly sustainable textile industry, not only through the reduction of carbon footprint, but also via increased circularity through the REFIBRA™ technology. This pioneering technology involves upcycling cotton scraps from garment production and transforming them into cotton pulp. The cotton pulp is then added to sustainably sourced wood pulp to produce virgin TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres. This innovation reinforces Lenzing’s ongoing effort to the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative and support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to limit global warming.
“Although more supply chain partners, brands, and retailers are proactively searching for ways to reduce carbon emissions to align with the United Nation’s global climate goals, the textile industry still has a long journey ahead to reach its goal of carbon-zero status. We hope that, by sharing our latest innovations such as the carbon-zero TENCEL™ branded fibers with REFIBRA™ technology, we can make carbon-zero initiatives mainstream practices, ultimately achieving a carbon neutral textile industry,” says Florian Heubrandner, Vice President Global Textiles Business at Lenzing AG.
Joining forces with brand and mill partners across the value chain
JACK & JONES, an international leading denim brand and a long-time partner of Lenzing, has been championing sustainability with its low-environmental impact products. This is echoed in the brand’s latest range of jeans that incorporates 38% of carbon-zero TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres, offering high environmental value and benefits of long-lasting softness, silky smoothness, enhanced breathability, color retention and being gentle on the skin.
“The JACK & JONES team is delighted to partner with TENCEL™ to bring to life more sustainable products that are also comfortable and of high quality, showcasing our unwavering commitment to enhancing sustainability in the fashion world,” said Mikkel Hochrein Albrektsen, Creative Buying Manager of JACK & JONES.
Additionally, Lenzing is expanding collaboration with fashion brands across the globe to integrate carbon-zero TENCEL™ fibres in their latest collections. From leading Chinese lingerie brand, Aimer, Chinese premium home textile brand, Luolai, German fashion label, ARMEDANGELS, Danish clothing label, Selected FEMME, Korean fashion brand Cozynet, Portuguese premium fabric producer and intimate brand, IMPETUS to US-based home furnishings retailer, West Elm, companies across the fashion and home segments are actively reviewing their raw material usage to go carbon-zero. Through a “reduce-engage-offset” approach, Lenzing is also working closely with supply chain partners such as Al Karam, Calik, Samil and WTS to innovate raw material usage and technologies to bring new sustainable fiber types to the textile market.
“As a textile producer, it is our responsibility to enhance sustainability in the textile industry,” said Luis Antonio Aspillaga, CEO of WTS (World Textile Sourcing). “We are proud to collaborate with Lenzing and offer eco-friendly products which uses carbon-zero TENCEL™ fibres, thus contributing to the well-being and protection of our planet.”
Building on carbon zero and circularity momentum to achieve net-zero by 2050
By offering carbon-zero TENCEL™ fibres with REFIBRA™ technology, Lenzing provides the industry more sustainable material options right from the beginning of the product life cycle, bringing Lenzing one step closer to its goal of reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050. Moving forward, Lenzing will continue to work with industry partners to reduce the product’s carbon footprint and offset unavoidable emissions to ultimately drive decarbonization in the textile industry.
