Blended Fabrics Get Second Life in Circular Collaboration
One of the major challenges in expanding textile-to-textile recycling has been the prevalence of blended materials. Cotton and other cellulosic fibers are the preferred feedstock for a number of recycling applications, but cotton is often not alone in fabrics.
To solve the conundrum of blended materials, wood-based fiber maker Lenzing and pulp producer Södra worked together to develop OnceMore®, a cellulosic pulp derived from polyester-cotton fabrics. The polyester and cotton are separated, and the cotton is combined with wood pulp to create pulp inputs for production of cellulosic materials like lyocell and viscose.
Now, OnceMore® is getting its commercial apparel debut with fashion brand Filippa K. The label’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection will feature textiles by Portuguese fabric manufacturer Riopele that include Lenzing’s TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ technology fibers made from OnceMore®.
The collection will premiere this fall. “We are so excited to be the first brand developing products in the new textile based on OnceMore® pulp using Lenzing’s REFIBRA™ technology, supported by Riopele’s creative expertise in yarn and fabric production,” said Jodi Everding, vice president of sustainability at Filippa K. “We are not in this alone—collaboration is an essential step in sustainable transformation of the industry. It’s important to us at Filippa K to join forces with like-minded partners who are innovators in their own fields.”
Lenzing and Södra have been collaborating on textile recycling since 2021, combining their respective expertise to propel commercial adoption of circular cellulosic fibers. By 2025, they aim to process 25,000 tons of textile waste each year.
“One company alone can’t solve the pressing issue of textile waste. It is proactive partnerships like this that enable us to move forward and bring about real systemic change,” said Robert van de Kerkhof, chief commercial officer fiber of the Lenzing Group. “We’re 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.”