Refibra: Garbage Into Apparel

We often think of donating our over loved garments to the Good Will in order to decrease the harm that apparel does to our planet. What if I told you that there was a company that is already one step ahead of this? Lenzing is the creator of the Refibra technology that uses cotton waste to grind into a pulp, which is then manufactured into usable sustainable fabrics.

Lenzing turns cotton waste into a new textiles that they call Refibra and Tencel textiles.

With the creation of the Refibra fiber technology, Lenzing has been able to divert the loop of cotton textiles ending up in land fills. Not only is the discarding of textiles difficult to control, as over 80% of garments end up in landfills, but the constant production of new textiles is also extremely harmful to our planet. Refibra textiles and Tencel has the innovation to prevent pollution and the exploitation of precious natural resources.

Lenzing developed an identification system to identify
if a garment contains certified Refibra fibers.

I may have you thinking about how exactly Lenzing is able to make all of this happen. You may be asking if there's green washing involved. I have good news, Lenzing also incorporated ethical practices into how they recycled and repurpose cotton waste for Tencel fabric. The process begins with cotton waste being grinned into a pulp and combined with wood pulp from a sustainable forest. From there the pulps are combined with a solvent that is recycled! This mixture is formed into staple fibers and then into fabrics. Lastly, the Refibra and Tencel is used in beautiful new sustainable garments!

What I found the most amazing about this innovation is that it only uses water, pulps, and recycled solvent. It's really easy to understand the positive impact that this can have on the apparel industry. In fact it is commonly used in today's apparel production industry. As I browsed the Lenzing booth at Texworld USA, I spotted an active top that was made of Refibra Tencel and sold by Target! I love that sustainable fashion is now becoming more accessible.

Lenzing is able to close the loop of cotton textiles being tossed into our landfills using Refibra and Tencel technologies together.

So are you going to see if you can pick up a new piece made of this innovative new fabric?