LENZING – Austrian fibre-maker Lenzing and wood pulp supplier Södra have signed an agreement to dramatically boost the production of pulp from post-consumer textile waste to make Tencel Refibra fibres. The pair say they aim to process 25,000 tons of textile waste per year by 2025 – equating to 50,000 tons of pulp containing 50 per cent wood and 50 per cent post-consumer waste.
OnceMore pulp by Södra is a process for the industrial-scale recycling of textile waste of blended fibres. The process combines wood cellulose with textile waste to create a dissolving pulp which can be used to produce new clothing and other textile products.
During 2022, a new investment will ten-fold the production capacity of OnceMore pulp and the aim is to reach a higher level of recycled textile content.
“The cooperation with Södra is a major milestone towards achieving our ambitious climate and sustainability goals. We are proud to be able to go this way with a competent partner. One company alone cannot solve the pressing issue of textile waste. It is proactive partnerships like this that enable us to move forward and bring about real systemic change,” said Christian Skilich, member of the managing board of Lenzing.
“With OnceMore pulp, Södra has created a globally unique solution to base textile on a recycled source. By joining forces with Lenzing, we now taking the next step on our journey and will bring world-class recycling to the textile value chain. Through a new investment, we will also ten-fold our production capacity of OnceMore pulp during 2022 and have a higher level of recycled textile content. These are important steps towards our long-term target to create a circular textile industry,” added Lotta Lyrå, president and CEO of Södra.