The Lenzing Group, an Austria-based international supplier of sustainably produced specialty fibres, and Swedish textile-to-textile recycling company Renewcell have signed a multi-year supply agreement to accelerate the transition of the textile industry from a linear to a circular business model.

The agreement contains the sale of 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Renewcell’s 100 per cent recycled textile Circulose dissolving pulp to Lenzing over a five-year period, for use in the production of cellulosic fibres for fashion and other textile applications, according to a joint press release by both companies.

The Lenzing Group and Renewcell have signed a supply agreement to accelerate the transition of the textile industry from a linear to a circular business model. The agreement contains the sale of 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of Renewcell’s 100 per cent recycled textile Circulose dissolving pulp to Lenzing over a five-year period for producing cellulosic fibres.

“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. As champions of sustainability, we know that moving towards a circular economy is vital to address the enormous textile waste challenges of the industry,” said Christian Skilich, chief pulp officer of the Lenzing Group.

“Lenzing is a major player in our industry, with an inspiring track record of path-breaking technical excellence and sustainability leadership. 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,” said Patrik Lundstrom, CEO of Renewcell, in a comment on the agreement.

Canopy, a not-for-profit environmental organisation dedicated to protecting forests, species, and the climate, welcomes the agreement between Lenzing and Renewcell. “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,” exclaimed 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.”

With its Refibra and Eco Cycle technologies, Lenzing offers solutions for transforming the textile and nonwovens industries towards a circular economy. The company aims to offer Tencel and Lenzing Ecovero branded specialty textile fibres with up to 50 per cent post-consumer recycled content on a commercial scale by 2025. To reach this goal Lenzing partners with recycling pioneers like Renewcell, added the release.

Circulose originates 100 per cent from textile waste, like old jeans and production scraps, and turns into dissolving pulp. It transforms textile waste and production scrap into new high-quality textile products.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)