Page 46 - February-March-2017

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Refibra™ – Lenzing’s initiative to

drive circular economy in

the textile world

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

The need for clothing will have doubled by the year 2025. reduces the net impact on ecological resources,” says
This amount of clothing signals a major burden for our Robert van de Kerkhof, CCO of Lenzing.
environment. 80% of the clothing we throw away ends up
in landfills. An estimated 50 million tons of clothing are Refibra™ - Reborn TENCEL® fiber
thrown away every year. The new TENCEL® generation Refibra™ stands for
“Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”. “The brand name Refibra
Refibra™, the new TENCEL® innovation, is the solution ™ and the claim ’Reborn TENCEL® fiber’ illustrate
and enables circular economy for the textile industry. immediately that this new kind of fiber is made of recycled
materials promising reduced reliance on natural raw
Milestone in circular economy materials. Because Refibra™ is based on the TENCEL®
Lenzing achieved another milestone in its innovation fiber, which has been internationally recognized for its
heritage in the textile industry by developing a new fiber environmentally responsible closed loop production
based on cotton scraps and wood. Refibra™ is the first process, Refibra™ offers a deep sustainability profile that © Lenzing/Grebe
cellulose fiber featuring recycled material on a commercial clearly contributes to circular economy,” van de Kerkhof
scale. The fiber is produced in the TENCEL® production explains. International partnerships for circular economy
process. TENCEL®, already a market success as an “Close cooperation with leading companies who attach particular
eco-friendly fiber, is now achieving another key milestone Refibra™ with fiber identification importance to sustainability is a pre-requisite for a successful
by creating from natural resources what is likely the most Transparency becomes more and more an issue in the market launch,” van de Kerkhof comments. “These pioneering
sustainable fiber. Refibra™ from cotton scraps and wood textile industry to prove for example material origin. To companies offer the possibility of jointly developing concepts that
will further build Lenzing’s reputation as a leader in the field assure customers that the fiber, made from recycled contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry and promote
of environmental fiber technology and will push new material, is really in the textiles, Lenzing has developed a the circular economy in this sector as well.”
solutions in the textile industry towards circular economy new identification system. The system makes it possible to
by recycling production waste. “For Lenzing, developing identify the Refibra™ fiber in the finished textile. This For a better planet
circular business models in the fashion industry ensures guarantees transparency in the overall processing chain. “TENCEL® itself is an environmentally responsible fiber of
the decoupling of business growth from pressure on The Refibra™ fiber itself is part of the global Lenzing botanic origin. With Refibra™, we add to the future of
ecological resource consumption. It reduces the need to Branding Service and the brand is licensed once the textile manufacturing and start to reassess waste as resource. The
extract additional virgin resources from nature, and has undergone a certification process. 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.”