China & Sweden: June 27th 2019 – A milestone achievement has been reached for the use of recycled cotton in the viscose industry. Earlier this month, on World Environment Day, Tangshan Sanyou succeeded in producing viscose staple fiber made from 50% post-consumer recycled cotton textiles, supplied by Swedish company Re:newcell. The remaining 50% is made of FSC COC (Forest Stewardship Council chain of custody) wood pulp and audited by CanopyStyle.
This important milestone in the fashion industry’s transition to a circular economy is applauded by the environmental not-for-profit organization Canopy, which works collaboratively with 198 international apparel brands and retailers in search of such new innovative products. Canopy has collaborated with Tangshan Sanyou and Re:newcell for several years on sourcing solutions.
The president of Tangshan Sanyou Chemical Fibre Co.Ltd, Zheng Baishan expresses,” Sanyou Chemical Fiber has been committed to providing sustainable fiber for textile industry chain with innovative technology. This cooperation with Re:newcell is a remarkable breakthrough in textile recycling field. Next, we will continue to provide more non-wood fiber solutions for brands.”
Each year, 20 million tons of cotton textiles and 6.5 million tons of viscose textiles are consumed worldwide and converted into garments, beddings and personal care items such as wipes. The recycling process for cotton and its introduction into viscose fabric on an industrial scale is a new innovative technology and a timely breakthrough for the textile and fashion industries.
“This breakthrough proves that we don’t need to harvest virgin forests, cotton fields or oil wells to make high quality fashion materials at a big scale. Together, Tangshan Sanyou and re:newcell have delivered what the fashion industry needs to make a transition to sustainability – a climate positive, low-impact and truly circular raw material. We will now work together with Tangshan Sanyou to build on this success and bring many thousands of tons of recycled materials to the market.” comments Mattias Jonsson, CEO of re:newcell.
Today’s announcement sets a completely new bar for the viscose supply chain in its quest to be more sustainable and meet brands’ preference for fabrics made from post-consumer recycled textiles. It is a remarkable precedent; one that heralds a new era of climate solutions for brands and supply chain partners.
“The introduction of a new viscose fabric made from 50% recycled textiles represents an important leap forward for the global textile and fashion industries,” said Nicole Rycroft, Canopy’s Founder and Executive Director. “We congratulate Sanyou and re:newcell on these exciting results of their collaboration. They are setting a new bar in the development of Next Generation Solutions, one that brands and the broader market place eagerly await.
Ekman have been actively promoting industrial cooperation and innovation between Tangshan Sanyou and Re:newcell in this timely industrial development.