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2024 Vision
It is Lenzing’s vision to make textile waste recycling a common standard process like paper recycling. Lenzing fibers produced with REFIBRA™ technology have up to 50 percent recycled content from post-consumer waste without compromising the high quality fibers from Lenzing. The fibers are available on a commercial scale.
Based on the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, it is Lenzing’s clear vision to produce fibers with REFIBRA™ technology using post-consumer textile waste as raw materials. Being able to use discarded garments consisting of a wider range of materials will greatly enlarge the raw material basis for textile recycling. This innovation is a groundbreaking step towards tackling the global issue of textile waste disposal. At the same time it reduces the extraction of wood as a raw material and relieves the pressure on global forest ecosystems. Our vision includes recycling of fabrics and garments from Lenzing’s own materials.
Inspired by SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, Lenzing is committed to promoting circular thinking across the textile value chain and to supporting fashion brands in their efforts to develop sustainable offers. Lenzing is determined to continue its mission to inspire and educate end consumers about circularity.
Historic Milestones
2017 First commercial lyocell fiber giving a second life to cotton
With the launch of Lenzing’s REFIBRA™ technology in 2017, Lenzing achieved an unprecedented milestone for circular economy in textiles by developing a new fiber based on cotton scraps and wood.
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Commercial scale |
Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) |
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TENCEL™ fiber produced with REFIBRA™ technology was the first lyocell fiber featuring recycled material from post-industrial sources on a commercial scale. |
The fiber is available with Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) certifying that all production processes in the entire supply chain have undergone relevant steps to ensure the integrity of the final product. |
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Combining the best of two worlds |
20% cotton pulp / 80%wood pulp |
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The technology combines the best of two worlds to create one of the most ecological wood-based fibers on the planet: the lyocell technology which is widely acknowledged to be the most eco-friendly wood-based cellulosic fiber, and the recycling of cotton scraps from garment production. |
Initially 20 percent of pulp produced from cotton scraps was blended with wood pulp. |
2019 Progress
• The share of pulp produced from cotton scraps was increased to 30 percent.
• Numerous international brands use TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers produced with REFIBRA™ technology.
• Vast progress has been made in R&D for using post-consumer waste as raw material.
• Lenzing has filed a patent on the recycling of lyocell for use as a raw material for lyocell production.
With their launch on the market in 2017, TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers became the first commercially available chemically recycled cellulose fibers. For these new fibers, up to one third of pulp is from post-industrial and post-consumer cotton textiles, which is combined with dissolving wood pulp from sustainably managed forests.
Unlike mechanically recycled cotton, there is no loss of quality or performance with TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers. They retain the round cross-section, smooth fiber surface, and high tensile and tear strength of regular TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers.
Producing white fibers from recycled material often represents a challenge. Slightly grey or green shades are common unwanted outcomes on the market. TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers are high-quality fibers and as white as the winter snow in Austria, where they are produced.
Transparency requires the origin of the textile to be proven unequivocally. In order to assure customers that fiber contains recycled materials, Lenzing has decided to label the TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers. This makes it possible to identify the TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers in the final textile product. This supplies transparency throughout the processing chain. Lenzing’s special manufacturing system allows genuine TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers with REFIBRA™ technology to be identified in the final product, even after long and numerous steps along the value chain.
With their launch on the market in 2017, TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers became the first commercially available chemically recycled cellulose fibers. For these new fibers, up to one third of pulp is from post-industrial and post-consumer cotton textiles, which is combined with dissolving wood pulp from sustainably managed forests.
Unlike mechanically recycled cotton, there is no loss of quality or performance with TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers. They retain the round cross-section, smooth fiber surface, and high tensile and tear strength of regular TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers.
Producing white fibers from recycled material often represents a challenge. Slightly grey or green shades are common unwanted outcomes on the market. TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers are high-quality fibers and as white as the winter snow in Austria, where they are produced.
Transparency requires the origin of the textile to be proven unequivocally. In order to assure customers that fiber contains recycled materials, Lenzing has decided to label the TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers. This makes it possible to identify the TENCEL™ x REFIBRA™ fibers in the final textile product. This supplies transparency throughout the processing chain. Lenzing’s special manufacturing system allows genuine TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers with REFIBRA™ technology to be identified in the final product, even after long and numerous steps along the value chain.
