Lenzing and Renewcell Team to Scale Circularity

Lenzing and Renewcell Team to Scale Circularity

At Lenzing, we’ve long been proponents of a circular textile industry. Our TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ technology fibers marked a commercial move toward circularity when they launched five years ago, and we’ve been scaling up our efforts ever since.

To make more circular fibers, we need feedstock. With this in mind, the Lenzing Group has just signed a multi-year supply deal agreement with Renewcell, the Swedish-based maker of Circulose. Over a five-year period, Lenzing will buy 80,000 to 100,0000 tons of Circulose dissolving pulp to use in the production of our cellulosic fibers.

“The textile industry must change. By signing the agreement with Swedish textile-to-textile recycling company Renewcell, Lenzing is able to further integrate recycling and accelerate the transition of the textile industry from linear to circular,” said Christian Skilich, chief pulp officer of the Lenzing Group. “As champions of sustainability, we know that moving towards a circular economy is vital to address the enormous textile waste challenges of the industry.”

Circulose is made from 100 percent textile waste, including both post-industrial cutting scraps and post-consumer garments. Clothing and textiles are shredded and turned into a slurry, and non-cellulosic materials such as polyester are removed. This liquid-like material is then dried into sheets that can be used as inputs for viscose, lyocell, modal and other cellulosic fibers.

For REFIBRA™ production, we require cellulose-rich recycled materials. These are then blended with wood pulp and dissolved via our closed-loop process into a solution that is then extruded into fibers.

By 2025, we aim to produce TENCEL™ Lyocell and LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers made of up to 50 percent post-consumer textiles on a commercial scale.

“Lenzing is a major player in our industry, with an inspiring track record of path-breaking technical excellence and sustainability leadership,” said Patrik Lundström, CEO of Renewcell. “Our new partnership fits perfectly into Renewcell’s strategy to accelerate the scale-up of circular materials by collaborating with fashion’s most important players. We are more than pleased to join forces with Lenzing with the shared goal of making fashion circular.”

By increasing the percentage of recycled textile pulp in the raw material source, Lenzing continues to contribute to the circular economy model. For the denim industry, materials like REFIBRA™ can mix with recycled cotton to create circular jeans that lower waste in the fashion industry.

“Accelerating the transition to low-impact, circular production is the challenge of the decade for the fashion industry. That is why this partnership between Renewcell and Lenzing is so refreshing – it will bring low-carbon next gen solutions to market at scale,” said Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Canopy. “With the climate and biodiversity clocks ticking, the race to circularity is one we need all companies to win.”