Net-benefit concept
[ESRS 2 MDR-A]
Lenzing’s net-benefit products offer positive impacts and benefits to the environment, society and value chain partners to a greater extent than most competing alternatives in the market. Net-benefit products take a life cycle perspective and therefore include both upstream and downstream value chain processes. Customers can replace resource-intensive products with Lenzing’s alternatives, thereby improving their product footprint and reducing supply chain risks. Lenzing attained a speciality / net-benefit fiber share (based on revenue) of 92.6 percent in 2024.
The three strategic principles of the “Naturally Positive” sustainability strategy and the underlying focus areas are combined in the net-benefit concept.
Following Lenzing products and technologies were in place and offered to customers in 2024, with no explicit end date.
Products and technologies with a net-benefit
LENZING™ ECOVERO™ Viscose fibers and VEOCEL™ Viscose fiber
LENZING™ ECOVERO™ branded viscose (for textiles) and VEOCEL™ viscose fibers (for nonwovens) show a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and water impact compared to generic viscose (according to Higg MSI1).
TENCEL™ Modal with Eco Color technology and TENCEL™ Modal with Indigo Color technology
Fibers involving these technologies directly incorporate pigments during fiber production and, therefore, help to avoid downstream and energy-intensive conventional dyeing processes. A fabric made from these fibers generates 60 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally dyed fabrics2.
First launched in 2021, TENCEL™ Modal Color has been established as the solution to address the demand for spun-dyed fibers among brands and retailers. In 2022, TENCEL™ Modal fiber with Indigo Color technology won the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) Award for Sustainability and Innovation.
Enhancing mechanical textile recycling
Besides having a strong focus on chemical recycling, Lenzing, together with its partners, is also active in mechanical recycling. In this process, textiles are broken down into the individual fibers as far as possible. However, the fiber quality usually suffers, the fibers are severely shortened and also lose performance, e.g. strength, depending on the waste stream (pre-consumer, post-consumer, post-industrial). These are reasons why, according to the current state of the art, mechanically recycled fibers require carrier fibers to become spinnable.
In one project, mechanically recycled cotton from post-consumer denim products was blended, spun and knitted with LENZING™ Modal Indigo, a spun-dyed LENZING™ Modal fiber. Several benefits were found, such as no perceptible yellowing of the indigo dyed cotton or very good abrasion resistance, which is an indication of durability.
Lenzing fibers with recycled content – REFIBRA™
LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers produced with REFIBRA™ technology use cotton textile waste as a raw material, in addition to wood. The fibers contain a minimum of 20 percent recycled material, which is sourced from pre- and post-consumer textile waste. The cotton scraps may have otherwise entered landfills or been incinerated. LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers produced with REFIBRA™ technology also meet the Recycled Claim Standard3.
The reuse of waste materials represents an important contribution to the circular economy in the textile industry. In pioneering the usage of recycled content in the production of cellulose fibers, Lenzing has applied its strong know-how to help the industry take a big step forward. REFIBRA™ technology is not only built upon the highly efficient production processes of standard LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibers, but also further reduces the need for virgin raw materials.
TENCEL™ Luxe filaments
The TENCEL™ Luxe branded lyocell filament aims to become a key milestone for eco-couture fabrics in the premium and luxury markets. The closed-loop lyocell production process ensures a low environmental impact compared to the viscose and modal processes. This is due to low process water and energy use and raw materials consumption, as well as state of the art recovery systems. TENCEL™ Luxe branded filaments produced with the Eco Filament technology avoid conventional yarn spinning, which is energy-intensive and predominantly based in regions that rely heavily on fossil-based electricity. For example, at the industry level, yarn spinning processes contribute to about 30 percent of total GHG emissions in the textile value chain (excluding use phase).4
Fibers with climate action
Lenzing launched additional low-carbon TENCEL™ and VEOCEL™ branded lyocell and TENCEL™ branded modal fibers for applications in the textile and nonwoven industry. Based on the concept of reduce-engage-offset, Lenzing has focused on low carbon emissions through various reduction actions and has balanced the remaining carbon emissions of these fibers through carbon compensation projects. The new fibers are certified by ClimatePartner in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the leading global framework for measuring carbon emissions. All selected and supported climate and forest protection and afforestation projects are certified according to Gold Standard VER or Verified Carbon Standard.
For details of projects supported by Lenzing in 2022-2024, please see the following ClimatePartner ID Tracking pages:
For 2024/25, Lenzing will continue to support and use offset credits from a broad mix of projects such as:
- Wind energy in Thailand/West Huaybong
- Geothermal energy in China/Changdao
- Solar energy in India/Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka & Maharashtra
- Biogas in India/Punjab
- Afforestation in China/Anlong
- Forest protection in Brazil/Labrea
LENZING™ Nonwoven Technology
The LENZING™ Nonwoven Technology (formally Web Technology) is an innovative R&D technology platform that allows a wide range of novel sustainable nonwoven materials to be produced from the raw material wood. The patented nonwoven web formation process – Lenzing holds more than 25 patent applications – starts by dissolving wood pulp and subsequently produces a directly formed cellulose nonwoven fabric made of 100 percent continuous lyocell filament. This technology enables combined fiber and nonwoven production and sets new standards for the efficiency, circularity and ecological sustainability of cellulose nonwoven fabrics. The flexibility of this technology and possible integration with other nonwoven technologies will enable the development of a wider range of new cellulose materials and composite structures for highly engineered end use applications.
Total chlorine free fiber production
Viscose has been produced at the Lenzing site (Austria) for years using totally chlorine free (TCF) bleached pulp and a production process without the use of chlorine chemistry, therefore qualifying the viscose fibers as TCF fibers. The required TCF pulp is produced at the Lenzing site. Pulp production at Indianópolis (Brazil) plays a pivotal role in extending the TCF fiber production to other plants/production sites. Successful TCF viscose fiber trials have been performed in the viscose plant at Purwakarta (Indonesia). Hence, TCF viscose fibers are now available at this site. The TCF fiber portfolio was further expanded by offering the first TCF lyocell fiber worldwide.
This allows Lenzing to offer more TCF fibers, thereby supporting customers in offering more TCF products to the market and reducing the usage of aggressive chemicals even further.
Pulp
Dissolving wood pulp is the raw material for Lenzing’s fibers and is predominantly produced in the company’s own biorefineries5. Lenzing’s biorefinery processes ensure that 100 percent of the wood is used to produce dissolving wood pulp for fiber production, biorefinery products and bioenergy. All the pulp produced at Lenzing pulp production sites is totally chlorine free. For more information, please see the “Resource inflows” section of the “E5 Resource use and circular economy” chapter.
Lyocell
Lyocell fibers from Lenzing are derived from the renewable raw material wood and produced in a closed-loop process, which transforms wood pulp into cellulose fibers with high resource efficiency and low ecological impact. This solvent-spinning process recycles process water and reuses the solvent at a recovery rate of more than 99.8 percent. Lenzing’s lyocell fibers have more than 50 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than generic lyocell (according to Higg MSI6).
Modal
At the Lenzing (Austria) site, modal fibers are produced using an integrated production process in which the raw material pulp is manufactured at the same site as the fiber itself. Pulp production is energetically self-sufficient while supplying a significant amount of bioenergy for the entire fiber production process at the production site. Lenzing’s modal fibers therefore generate around 70 percent less GHG emissions in production than generic modal fibers (according to Higg MSI7).
LENZING™ Acetic Acid Biobased
Lenzing’s biorefinery technology converts wood into pulp, energy, and biobased biorefinery products. One of the biobased biorefinery products is LENZING™ Acetic Acid Biobased, which is also available as low-carbon alternative to conventional fossil-based acetic acid, substantiated by a study conducted by an independent LCA consultant.
1 Based on Higg MSI database v3.9 (Oct. 2024).
2 Terinte, N., Manda, B.M.K., Taylor, J., Schuster, K.C. and Patel, M. (2014). Environmental assessment of coloured fabrics and opportunities for value creation: spin-dyeing versus conventional dyeing. In: Journal of Cleaner Production 72, pp. 127-138; Textile processing steps being similar for Modal and Viscose, therefore savings are based on calculations of fabric production and dyeing via jet dyeing excl. fiber impact.
3 Certified by Control Union Shanghai (CU1260548)
5 In addition to its own dissolving wood pulp production, Lenzing procures dissolving wood pulp in the global market.
6 Based on Higg MSI database v3.9 (Oct. 2024)
7 Based on Higg MSI database v3.9 (Oct. 2024)