- Lenzing, Södra and Portuguese fabric manufacturer Riopele are jointly promoting the circular economy
- World-renowned fashion label Filippa K will present revolutionary recycled material in its spring/summer 2024 collection
The Lenzing Group, the world’s leading supplier of specialty fibers, and the leading Swedish pulp producer Södra have reached the next major milestone in their strategic partnership to promote the circular economy in fashion. Together with the Portuguese fabric manufacturer Riopele, the two companies are developing textiles from recycled and sustainably produced materials for a spring/summer collection of the fashion brand Filippa K, which will be presented to the fashion world in autumn 2023.
This is the first fashion collection in the world to contain TENCELTM x REFIBRATM brand lyocell fibers based on the advanced OnceMore® brand pulp. The OnceMore® pulp jointly developed by Lenzing and Södra is the world’s first process for the large-scale recycling of textile waste from mixed fabrics. With the innovative REFIBRATM technology, Lenzing produces lyocell fibers in a closed manufacturing process. With Riopele’s expertise in yarn and fabric production, the sustainably produced special fibers are then turned into fashionable fabrics that Filippa K uses in her collection.
“One company alone cannot solve the urgent problem of textile waste. It is proactive partnerships like this that enable us to move forward and bring about real systemic change,” says Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer Fiber of the Lenzing Group. “We are working hard to make our industries even more sustainable and to drive the transformation of the textile business model from a linear to a circular economy model. In order for this change to take place, further efforts are needed from the entire industry,” says van de Kerkhof.
“We are very pleased to be the first brand to develop products based on OnceMore® pulp and Lenzing’s REFIBRATM technology, supported by Riopele’s creative expertise in yarn and fabric production. Collaboration is an essential step in the sustainable transformation of industry. For us at Filippa K, it is important to partner with like-minded partners who are innovative in their fields,” said Jodi Everding, Vice President Sustainability at Filippa K.
Lenzing and Södra – a long-standing partnership for systemic change
Lenzing and Södra have been combining their strengths in textile recycling since 2021, making a decisive contribution to promoting the circular economy in the fashion industry. As part of the cooperation, the companies intend to share their knowledge and jointly develop processes to enable a broader use of cellulose-containing used textiles on an industrial scale. The jointly further developed OnceMore® pulp is then used, among other things, as a raw material for the production of Lenzing’s special fibers of the TENCELTM x REFIBRATM brand. The goal is to be able to process 25,000 tons of textile waste per year by 2025.
In line with their vision of the circular economy “We give waste a new life. Every day” Lenzing is driving the industry towards a fully-fledged circular economy by striving to give a new life to waste in all aspects of its core business and developing circular solutions together with potential partners inside and outside the current value chain. Lenzing has been developing sustainable innovations in the field of recycling for years, including its REFIBRATM and Eco Cycle technologies. In addition to the use of pure dissolving pulp, these technologies enable the processing of a significant proportion of recycled material, which is obtained from off-cuts from cotton production and used clothing.