How Lenzing’s Wood Sourcing Supports Forest Health
At Lenzing, our work revolves around trees. We turn wood into cellulosic fibers including TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal and ECOVERO™ Viscose, which then become soft textiles and garments—including jeans.
March 21 is the annual International Day of Forests, a date chosen by the United Nations General Assembly to place attention on the importance of forests. The theme for this year is “Forests and Health,” focusing on the role that forests play in human health—including air purification, carbon capture and water cleanliness. Forests are also crucial for economic health, since they contribute to poverty alleviation.
Considering the impact of forests, Lenzing sources our wood responsibly so that we are protecting the well-being of these woods.
We source varieties of trees like beech, spruce, birch, aspen and pine from semi-natural forests and eucalyptus trees from forest plantations. The wood used to make our fibers is typically not of a quality that can be used for products like furniture. In many cases, these trees come from the thinning process, in which a wood supplier supports the growth of the strongest crop tree contenders by taking out rival trees to make more room. Cellulosic fibers are a small part of the global wood trade; just 0.8 percent of the global wood supply is used to make dissolving wood pulp for fibers.
Ninety percent of the wood for our European fiber production comes from four E.U. countries: Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Europe has strict forest laws, which prevent trees from being cut down any faster than replacements can regrow. We also source wood from suppliers that meet or are certified to international forest protection standards.
To maintain forests, many suppliers use natural regeneration, which essentially means that seeds from mature trees fall and begin to grow under the canopy. Older trees might be removed to improve light availability for newer plants, and then all the more mature trees are felled once the seedlings get to a certain height.
Outside of Europe, Lenzing has entered a joint venture with Brazilian firm Dexco, which has strong responsible forest management practices, to build a dissolving wood pulp mill in Brazil’s Triangulo Mineiro region. The jointly owned company, LD Cellulose, will be one of the biggest of these pulp plants globally, with a capacity of 500,000 tons. The wood will come from a local source that is not part of the Amazon Rainforest.
Much like the Amazon Rainforest, Lenzing’s own plantation is home to a wide array of wildlife. About 200 flora species and 450 species of fauna have been caught on camera, and some of the latter are endangered species. Forests and Health is not only about human health; there are implications for people and plant diversity. Lenzing plants one eucalyptus tree for each tree felled, and trees typically get chopped down after seven years.
Lenzing has been recognized for its responsible wood sourcing. In nonprofit Canopy’s latest Hot Button ranking, Lenzing came out first among viscose producers.
“We are very pleased that the steps we are taking as the Lenzing Group to continuously improve and find solutions to the most pressing problems of our time are being seen and honored,” Robert van de Kerkhof, chief commercial officer fiber of the Lenzing Group, said about the recognition from Canopy. “We are working hard to make our industries even more sustainable and to drive the transformation of the textile business model from linear to circular. Further efforts from the entire industry are needed for this transformation to take place.”