Lenzing’s flagship textile brand, Tencel, is celebrating three decades of sustainable fibre innovation this year. Since 1992, the brand has empowered companies across the textile value chain to adopt more eco-friendly practices.

“Since its launch 30 years ago, Tencel has always been a solution provider for the textile industry,” said Robert van de Kerkhof, member of the managing board at Lenzing. “Aligning with the industry-wide shift towards deeper levels of sustainability and transparency, in 2018 the brand evolved from a behind-the-scenes contributor to a front-facing player. From then on, Tencel expanded its offerings from fibre creations to pioneering digital technologies.

“To date, the Tencel brand has exceed expectations across the industry as the trusted provider of high-quality sustainable fibres among leading global fashion and home textile brands. We are thrilled to reach this milestone and are looking forward to driving continuous innovation and building stronger partnerships over the next 30 years and beyond.”

Tencel’s consumer-facing success is reflected in the collaboration with more than 300 brand partners globally in various consumer-centric campaigns. The 2021 launch of Tencel eShop, the first ever e-commerce channel created by a sustainable fibre producer, is a testament to strong relationships with brand partners and a commitment to encouraging consumers to make informed purchases.

Lenzing has also invested heavily in proprietary technologies to reduce environmental impact during textile production – from the introduction of fibre identification technology to fabric certification and licensing services offered via the Lenzing E-Branding Service platform.

Looking ahead, cross-sector collaboration between mills, fabric makers, brands and non-governmental organizations will remain a key priority and help to further enable supply chain transparency and digitalisation of the textile industry.

Tencel is also committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2020, the industry’s first carbon-zero Tencel branded fibres were launched, and the carbon zero offering was quickly extended to fibres with Refibra technology in 2021. Anticipating the rising demand from consumer brands for speciality fibres, Lenzing has been strengthening its production capabilities with an ambitious growth plan. Such growth will be fuelled by the opening of the world’s largest lyocell production facility in Thailand in early-2022. 

“In 2022, we will continue to focus on producing carbon-zero innovations that make a difference to the textile and fashion industries,” said Florian Heubrandner, vice president of global textiles business at Lenzing. “The next decade will see more sustainability-driven innovations unveiled to actualise our 2050 vision. We are grateful to have worked alongside our partners and colleagues over the last 30 years and we look forward to greater success in the next 30.”

www.lezing.com