By Flora

The Lenzing Group marks a new milestone in its sustainability journey: It is introducing the eco-responsible process for the production of LENZING? ECOVERO? branded viscose fibers, which were first launched by Lenzing in autumn 2017, also at its Chinese location Lenzing Nanjing Fibers (LNF). As of now, the Lenzing Group is able to produce LENZING? ECOVERO?fibers not solely at the site in Lenzing (Austria) but also in China and, hence, even better meet the strong demand for eco-responsible products.

The environmental awareness of consumers has been growing steadily over the last decade, more recently in the fashion and textile industry. Textile consumption is expected to double by 2025, and the industry is anxiously looking for more sustainable solutions with low environmental impact. The Lenzing Group addresses this market need for more eco-responsible products by offering LENZING? ECOVERO? fibers that mark a new milestone in Lenzing’s sustainable viscose production based on three pillars:

? LENZING? ECOVERO? viscose fibers are derived from sustainable wood and pulp, coming from certified and controlled sources (FSC? or PEFC? certified)following the stringent guidelines of the Lenzing Wood and Pulp Policy.

? LENZING? ECOVERO? fibers have been certified with the EU Ecolabel, a label of environmental excellence.

? LENZING? ECOVERO? fibers can be robustly identified in the final product.

Greater transparency in the fashion industry

A special manufacturing system enables LENZING? ECOVERO? branded viscose fibers to be identified in the final product, even after long textile processing and conversion steps through the value chain.Thus the retailers and brands are assured that they are incorporating LENZING? ECOVERO? eco-responsible viscose in their products. “LENZING? ECOVERO? fibers are the answer to a burning issue in the fashion industry, namely to robustly identify ecoresponsible fibers from the producer to the consumer. With LENZING? ECOVERO? fibers, one thing is clear: If Lenzing is on the outside, Lenzing is also on the inside”, says Hu Jian, Senior Vice President North Asia of the Lenzing Group.

“Thanks to this special manufacturing system, we are supporting the trend in the fashion industry towards greater transparency. It is becoming increasingly important to know where the products come from and which path they have covered”, Hu Jian explains further. “By now,Lenzing Nanjing Fibers is one of only two locations worldwide to produce LENZING? ECOVERO? fibers and this is something we are particularly proud of”, he adds.

Lenzing enforces strict environmental standards during viscose production and has invested millions over the years to achieve an ecoresponsible production process. Both the Lenzing site as well as the production location in Nanjing comply with the stringent guidelines of the EU Ecolabel. The label of environmental excellence is only awarded to products and services which have a significantly lower environmental impact throughout their lifecycle: from raw material extraction, to production, distribution and disposal.

Long-term growth with specialty fibers

The expansion of the production of LENZING? ECOVERO?fibers emphasizes the focus of the Lenzing Group on specialty fibers. In line with the corporate strategy sCore TEN, the Lenzing Group follows the goal to raise the share of specialty fibers in revenue to 50 percent by 2020 – from currently 42 percent.