Paint a green future

In the context of global sustainable development, a new circular fashion industry development model is quietly leading the development boom of the textile industry. Under the linear business model of "take - make - discard", millions of tons of clothing are produced, worn and discarded every year, which not only causes a lot of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution, but also causes high economic losses. It is imperative to transform and change this linear development mode.

During the 2023 China International Textile Yarn (Spring/Summer) Exhibition, Sanyou Chemical Fiber held talks with Renewcell and Ekman, and conducted in-depth exchanges on gathering scientific and technological innovation forces, further promoting the scale and high-value recycling of recycled textiles, and promoting the development of fashion recycling, and formed a consensus and reached a vision: Efforts will be made to achieve the production of recycled viscose fibres from 100%Circulose® pulp by 2024 in order to increase the waste textile content of recycled viscose fibres to 100%.

Gather scientific and technological synergy and empower industrial development

As a pioneer in sustainable development, Sanyou Chemical Fiber is committed to developing low-carbon products using innovative raw materials to provide sustainable cellulose fiber solutions for the industry. Zhang Dongbin, executive deputy general manager of Sanyou Chemical Fiber, said: "We and Renewcell have realized the recycling of recycled cotton products in the field of viscose fiber through innovative technology, which is conducive to improving resource utilization efficiency and industrial low carbonization level, which will make the sustainable development momentum of the industry more surging." We will continue to strive to form a good interaction between consumers, brands and manufacturers, pass on the concept of circular and sustainable fashion, promote the green development of the textile industry, and protect the global ecological environment in a more sustainable way."

Patrik Lundstrom, CEO of Renewcell, said: "I am pleased to announce the acceleration of our long-standing relationship with Sanyou Chemical Fiber, the world's first industrial producer of Circulose fiber and the first company to commit to sourcing large volumes from us. Now, their goal is to become the first company to achieve industrial production of 100%Circulose fiber. Sanyou Chemical Fiber's vision and support for next-generation materials such as Circulose is commendable."

Jointly build a circular economy development model

Sanyou Chemical Fiber and Renewcell apply the concept of circular economy to the textile and fashion industry, allowing recycled cotton fabrics to achieve a closed-loop cycle is an important milestone in the transformation of the textile and fashion industry to a circular economy, and is of great significance to achieve the goal of "double carbon".

Patrik Lundstrom, CEO of Renewcell (second from right), and Tricia Carey, Chief Commercial Officer (second from left); Ekman's Vice President of wood pulp business Michael (first from right) at the Sanyou Chemical Fiber booth

Tricia Carey, Chief Commercial Officer at Renewcell, said: "With the application of our current technical reserves and expertise in the field of bio-based cellulose to enable textile-to-textile recycling, we realize that it is only through the cooperation between these companies, Renewcell-Ekman-Sanyou huaxian, that the textile industry can develop efficiently in this new circular era." For global brands, the design possibilities are endless with viscose fibers made from Circulose."

The cooperation between Sanyou Chemical Fiber and Renewcell to make the fashion cycle can be traced back to 2018. Their collaboration is supported and facilitated by Sweden's Ekman Group, a global trading partner in renewable energy. In 2019, Sanyou Chemical Fiber and Renewcell officially launched cooperation to successfully mass produce recycled viscose fiber with Circulose pulp as part of the raw material. In 2020, a five-year cooperation agreement will be reached to continue to build a new circular economy chain.

Michael, Vice President of Ekman's Wood Pulp business, said during the meeting: "Ekman has been working with Sanyou Chemical Fiber for more than two decades to provide FSC-certified dissolving pulp solutions for viscose fiber production. It is exciting and efficient for Sanyou and Renewcell to work together in the transition to a circular economy. We are proud to partner with two outstanding innovative companies and continue to support their work!"

The proportion of production capacity and use has been continuously improved

Sanyou Chemical Fiber and Renewcell's achievements did not stop there, they promoted the production capacity of recycled products and the proportion of recycled cotton textiles. At the end of 2022, Renewcell's industrial production line of 60,000 tons of Circulose pulp was put into operation, and the first batch of pulp was supplied to Sanyou Chemical Fiber.

After receiving the pulp, Sanyou Chemical Fiber immediately studied the pulp properties and organized the production of regenerated viscose fiber. At present, Sanyou Chemical Fiber's recycled viscose fiber production capacity has increased to 40,000 tons/year, and the proportion of waste cotton textiles in fiber has increased to 30%. In the next step, Sanyou Chemical Fiber will continue to move forward towards the vision of "increasing the content of recycled cotton textiles in recycled viscose fiber to 100%".

Through the joint efforts of partners who are keen on the green cause, recycled viscose fiber has entered the public field of vision and has been applied to JACK&JONES, Levi's, ZARA, H&M and other clothing brands, which means that the giant ship of circular sustainable fashion has set sail. In the future, Sanyou Chemical Fiber will work with industry chain partners to cut waves and move forward, jointly promote the green process of the global fashion industry, and jointly commit to the protection of natural climate and global ecological environment.

About Sanyou Chemical Fiber

Tangshan Sanyou Group Xingda Chemical Fiber Co., LTD. (referred to as "Sanyou Chemical Fiber") is a large-scale cellulose fiber production enterprise integrating design, research and development, production and sales. It can produce more than 100 varieties of viscose staple fiber, modal fiber, Lycel fiber and other three generations of cellulose fibers, with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons.

Sanyou Chemical Fiber adheres to the green sustainable development strategy and is committed to promoting the sustainable development of the fashion industry through innovative technologies and green products, promoting the protection of natural resources, and reducing the impact of human activities on the earth's environment. Sanyou Chemical Fiber's sustainable practices have been recognized by Canopy. In the Canopy Button Ranking report 2022, Sanyou Chemical Fiber received 30 buttons, entering the highest level of "dark green shirt" rating.