LENZING – This week offers further evidence that the luxury fashion sector is embracing sustainability. Austrian specialist fibre maker, Lenzing, has announced a massive expansion of production of its Tencel Luxe filament yarn just months after its launch. Lenzing will invest up to €30m in a further pilot line at its Austrian site, with engineering for construction of the new facility already having been initiated. Lenzing will also press ahead with technical planning for a large-scale commercial line at the Lenzing site.
Lenzing COO, Robert van de Kerkhof, told Apparel Insider that luxury US brand, Mara Hofmann, is among brands working with the yarn. “Definitely, more and more leading luxury brands are also front runners in sustainability and these are the brands that are committed to eco-couture,” he said. “The Tencel Luxe innovation is a great product for them to meet the high quality as well as aesthetic and comfort needs, while providing one of the most sustainable materials in their fabrics.”
The fine filament yarn is said to be comparable to natural silk due to its airy feeling on the skin and matte finish. It is suited for very fine fabrics made exclusively from the yarn as well as being suitable as a blending partner with silk, cashmere and wool.
Stefan Doboczky, CEO and chair of the board of the Lenzing Group said: “On the occasion of the launch of TenCel Luxe filaments, the luxury brands already realised what opportunities they would have by using this yarn made of the renewable raw material wood. For this reason, demand is already so high that we have decided to take an intermediate step to expand capacities before building a large commercial production plant.
“The decision to construct a new line will serve as the basis for generating a three-fold increase in capacity compared to the previous volume. The additional capacity will be available to customers at the end of next year.
“The Lenzing site was selected because research and technological know-how in plant construction are connected in a special way, which will in turn enable us to further develop this special product.”