The need for clothing will have doubled by the year 2025. This amount of clothing signals a major burden for our environment. 80% of the clothing we throw away ends up in landfills. An estimated 50 million tons of clothing are thrown away every year. Refibra™, the new TENCEL® innovation, is the solution and enables circular economy for the textile industry.

From left to right: A. Gautam, S. Perez, A. Dorner, S. Zak, R. van de Kerkhof

Milestone in circular economy Lenzing achieved another milestone in its innovation heritage in the textile industry by developing a new fiber based on cotton scraps and wood. Refibra™ is the first cellulose fiber featuring recycled material on a commercial scale. The fiber is produced in the TENCEL® production process. TENCEL®, already a market success as an eco-friendly fiber, is now achieving another key milestone by creating from natural resources what is likely the most sustainable fiber. Refibra™ from cotton scraps and wood will further build Lenzing's reputation as a leader in the field of environmental fiber technology and will push new solutions in the textile industry towards circular economy by recycling production waste. "For Lenzing, developing circular business models in the fashion industry ensures the decoupling of business growth from pressure on ecological resource consumption. It reduces the need to extract additional virgin resources from nature, and reduces the net impact on ecological resources," says Robert van de Kerkhof, CCO of Lenzing.

From left to right: R. van de Kerkhof, CCO Lenzing AG; A. Gautam, VP Global BM Textiles

R. van de Kerkhof, CCO Lenzing AG

A. Gautam, VP Global BM Textiles

Refibra™ - Reborn TENCEL® fiber The new TENCEL® generation Refibra™ stands for "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle". "The brand name Refibra™ and the claim 'Reborn TENCEL® fiber' illustrate immediately that this new kind of fiber is made of recycled materials promising reduced reliance on natural raw materials. Because Refibra™ is based on the TENCEL® fiber, which has been internationally recognized for its environmentally responsible closed loop production process, Refibra™ offers a deep sustainability profile that clearly contributes to circular economy," van de Kerkhof explains.

Refibra™ with fiber identification Transparency becomes more and more an issue in the textile industry to prove for example material origin. To assure customers that the fiber, made from recycled material, is really in the textiles, Lenzing has developed a new identification system. The system makes it possible to identify the Refibra™ fiber in the finished textile. This guarantees transparency in the overall processing chain. The Refibra™ fiber itself is part of the global Lenzing Branding Service and the brand is licensed once the textile has undergone a certification process.

© Lenzing/Grebe

© Lenzing/Grebe

© Lenzing/Grebe

International partnerships for circular economy "Close cooperation with leading companies who attach particular importance to sustainability is a pre-requisite for a successful market launch," van de Kerkhof comments. "These pioneering companies offer the possibility of jointly developing concepts that contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry and promote the circular economy in this sector as well."

For a better planet "TENCEL® itself is an environmentally responsible fiber of botanic origin. With Refibra™, we add to the future of manufacturing and start to reassess waste as resource. The target is to close the loop. We will not stop our innovation before we are there," van de Kerkhof said. "Lenzing is working for a better planet."

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