Amid Fiber Production Growth, Recycling Also Needs To Rise
Overall fiber production is on the rise, from around 125 million in 2023 to 132 million tonnes in 2024, according to Textile Exchange’s Materials Market Report.
Although much of the growth in the fiber market is coming from virgin synthetics like polyester, man-made cellulosic fibers—which includes our TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal as well as LENZING™ ECOVERO™ Viscose—are also following this upward trajectory. Global MMCF production rose from 7.9 million tonnes in 2023 to 8.4 million tonnes in 2024. However, MMCFs’ share of the market stayed flat at 6 percent.
Another piece of good news in MMCF production is that 65 to 70 percent of all these fibers produced in 2024 used feedstock from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)-certified sources. In 2024, 53 percent of MMCF producers received green shirts in Canopy’s Hot Button rankings, indicating that there is no known risk to their wood sourcing. Lenzing was tied at the top of the list, and we keep rigorous sourcing standards for our wood pulp. We also own and manage some plantations to have direct control over our pulp sourcing.
Although companies are making inroads in recycling technology, the share of recycled fibers in the overall market did not move in 2024, holding at about 7.6 percent. This share is mostly made up of recycled polyester made from plastic bottles. Under 1 percent of the market is tied to textile-to-textile recycled fibers using pre- and post-consumer waste.
Despite a lack of progress in the overall recycled fiber market, the share of recycled MMCFs within the total wood-based fiber market grew slightly from 0.7 percent in 2023 to 1.1 percent in 2024. At Lenzing, we are trying to close this recycling gap with our REFIBRA™ technology, which can be used to produce ECOVERO™ Viscose with cellulosic textile waste—such as used cotton clothing scraps—as a portion of the inputs.
Trends need to shift more toward recycling and lower impact materials to help prevent further global warming.
“While the industry has made commitments to align with the Paris Agreement by keeping global warming to a 1.5°C pathway, trends, such as the industry’s reliance on virgin fossil-based synthetic materials and the limitations of textile to-textile recycling, threaten to undermine the industry’s commitments to its climate goals,” noted the report.