What is Viscose?
Viscose (aka rayon) is a semi-synthetic fibre derived from the cellulose and wood pulp of fast growing trees such as eucalyptus, beech and pine, as well as plants including bamboo, soy and sugar cane. Viscose is often referred to as a sustainable alternative to polyester or cotton, and is used mainly in the textiles industries because of its soft, durable feel and crease-free quality.
table of contents:
What's the Impact of Unsustainable Viscose Sourcing?
Is Responsible Viscose Manufacturing in the Supply Chain Possible?
How to Achieve Sustainable Sourcing of Viscose
Creating a Sustainable Production Policy
What’s Next in the Fashion Industry for Viscose
How Can You Measure Viscose Supply and Track its Provenance?
The Impact of Unstaintable Viscose Sourcing
Viscose is a significant contributor to the deforestation of the world’s wooded areas. According to research by not-for-profit organisation Canopy, more than 200 million trees are logged annually to be turned into textile fabrics such as rayon and viscose – placed end to end, those trees would circle the Earth a total of nine times. It is expected that in the next decade the number of trees being logged every year for the production of viscose will have doubled.
Deforestation destroys the habitats of 80% of the Earth’s land animals who live in forests, putting many at risk of extinction. The quality of life of native tribes is also negatively affected by the removal of forested areas. Deforestation also intensifies the effect of global warming and the desertification of arid areas.
As part of Segura’s series of blogs looking at Net Zero Materials Transition, we have investigated the effects of viscose production methods. You can also read more about the sustainable sourcing challenge of deforestation here.
During the production of viscose, wood pulp is treated with sodium hydroxide and carbon disulphide before being filtered and spun into thread. The toxics and chemicals released into the air and water during this process are highly polluting; carbon disulphide has been linked to birth defects, coronary heart disease, cancer and skin conditions of those working with the chemical and those living in the local area.
In addition to the health concerns raised over the pollution caused by viscose production, there is also risk to livelihoods. Local fishing industries can be destroyed by contaminated water.
Responsible Viscose Manufacturing in the Supply Chain
Some UK manufacturers use about 14% of viscose in their clothing products, due to it often being viewed as a cheaper, more durable alternative to silk. In addition, it is also used in the production of other household items such as upholstery, bedding and carpets.
The good news - sustainable production already exists
Unlike many other improvements within fashion sustainability, better viscose production methods already exist. Viscose is the most dominant method of producing regenerated cellulose, representing more than 70% of the global market; this is because it is possible to manufacture viscose in a closed-loop system, significantly reducing pollution in comparison to current methods.
A company called Lenzing launched a new viscose fibre called EcoVero, it is a new and improved sustainable alternative to conventional viscose made from wood that is from controlled sources, either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) certified; as opposed to specially processed wood pulp that stems from irrigation-intensive monocultures. The innovation has “set an industry wide benchmark” by having the lowest environmental impact.
Compared to conventional viscose production, the production of EcoVero causes 50 percent less emissions and takes up half as much energy and water in addition to its pulp bleaching being 100 percent chlorine-free.
Fashion United
Eco-friendly fashion brand Stella McCartney have pledged to source their viscose from sustainability certified Swedish forests. Alongside their NGO partner Canopy, the brand is attempting to protect forests from ending up in viscose. Stella McCartney uses a variety of sustainable fabrics including those made from recycled and waste materials.
What about Modal?
Modal is the generic name for a variant of viscose, it is also produced from wood pulp, mainly from the beech tree, and goes through an additional process to make it slightly stronger and more durable (especially when wet), so very suitable for active wear. Like conventional viscose, it requires high levels of water, chemicals and energy to produce Modal, but it can be more eco-friendly if it is manufactured in a closed-loop production process. Lenzing AG also produces a greener version of Modal, named TENCEL Modal (previously Lenzing Modal) and not to be confused with TENCEL Lyocell , which we'll mention below.
The environmental footprint of TENCEL Modal is lower than other forms of modal—it has reduced carbon emissions, requires less land per tonne than cotton fibres, and has a water consumption level that’s 10-20 times less than that of cotton. Many brands, therefore, see TENCEL Modal as a good lower-impact choice for their garments.
What about Lyocell?
TENCEL Lyocell is another fabric woven from regenerated cellulose textile fibre by Lenzing AG. However, it is considered the most environmentally friendly of the three, because the manufacturing process uses low toxicity chemicals, requires less energy and the manufacturing process is closed-loop, resulting in much less pollution.
Image credit: A Time to Sew: Lyocell – a sustainable alternative to viscose?
Aside from the chemical processing, what makes all three of these Lenzing fabrics more sustainable is really the closed-loop production system, where 99.5% of the solvent and water in the process can be recovered, recycled and reused. It's important to note as well, that all three fabrics, once produced, have to undergo dyeing and clothing manufacture, so the rest of the supply chain should be considered if your goal is a net-zero materials transition process.
It may surprise you that none of these fabrics are actually that new (Lyocell was invented in 1972 and has been mass produced since the 1980s), and if you're wondering about the costs of close-loop production technology, then it is certainly competitive, cheaper than silk and with material advantages over cotton (excuse the pun).
The difference in price between cotton and Tencel is nearly negligible, and some manufacturers may prefer the process of producing cellulose fabrics to the process of manufacturing cotton. Lyocell, in particular, is one of the simplest cellulose fabrics to produce, and it generates very little waste.
Sewport: What is Lyocell Fabric: Properties, How its Made and Where
Achieving Sustainable Viscose Sourcing
A Changing Markets report identified one of the key reasons for timely change as the expected increase in demand for viscose – around 5% per year. By 2030, viscose is expected to make up 8.5% of the fibre market. It is important that this increase in demand does not increase the level of damage to the environment; the quicker sustainable alternatives are adopted the better.
In order to create a fully responsible viscose production cycle, brands must take control of their own supply chains, driving change downwards to their suppliers.
Creating a Responsible Production Policy
Changing Markets Foundation's “roadmap towards responsible viscose & modal fibre manufacturing report” suggests creating a responsible production policy, which should include:
- Compliance with laws and workplace regulations
- Upholding human rights
- Guaranteed responsible sourcing of raw materials
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
- Measures to reduce the production of toxic chemicals
- Transparent communication of environmental impacts
You can read the full list of responsible viscose production recommendations here.
What’s Next in the Fashion Industry for Viscose
With the increased demand for viscose supply, retail and fashion brands are unlikely to stop sourcing it.
Changing Markets Foundation “Dirty Fashion: Crunch Time" report engaged with 100 brands and retailers, and most prominent viscose manufactures’ and initiatives, evaluating their responsible production plans, commitments and progress on transparency
The report finds that the frontrunners of the industry have made great headway, however legislation is needed to unlock a sector-wide transformation. They found that:
- Fourteen major brands and retailers have made a public commitment to clean up their viscose supply chains, sending a strong signal to viscose manufacturers that they expect the industry to move to more responsible viscose production by 2023–25
- Several brands have shown marked improvement when it comes to transparency. Almost all signatory brands disclose some information about their viscose suppliers.
- Sadly, a big bulk of the industry is still dragging its feet; three-quarters of companies (75 out of 100) have made few or no commitments to stamp out 'dirty' viscose.
Brands and retailers can spend hundreds of thousands of pounds each year on factory audits. However, if they cannot guarantee their audited factories are the ones that make their garments, this just amounts to financial waste. To prove the use of compliant suppliers, companies need to map and track their downstream supply chain. Supply chain transparency and proved product provenance gives brands the knowledge and traceability required for compliance and sustainable sourcing.
How can you measure viscose supply and track its provenance?
Retailers and brands can capture all their suppliers at a purchase order level with Segura. And each tier of suppliers can engage their sub-suppliers through the platform. This creates a chain of custody where the retail client can gain visibility of suppliers of each component, service or raw-material to n-tier.
The brilliance of the system is in the way each client can tailor the information they capture for their own strategic goals. For example, Client A wishes to focus on measuring how much viscose they are using, where it it sourced, and estimate the water and energy usage in production. They can make special efforts to trace their viscose supply by onboarding suppliers all the way back to raw material source and run reports to present that information. Client A is then empowered to make efforts to clean-up or replace suppliers who do not meet their net-zero / sustainability commitments.
Read more on Net-Zero Materials Transition in the Fashion Industry, or take a deep dive into another fabric here:
Net-Zero Materials Transition by Fabric
Cotton Denim LeatherPolyesterViscose
Read more about Segura’s powerful supply chain traceability tools.
About Segura
Segura is the leading fashion supply chain traceability solution, empowering fashion retailers and brands to deliver ethical, sustainable and efficient multi-tier supply chains.
Segura provides n-tier mapping, transparency, traceability, visualisation, compliance and reporting. Segura sits in the centre of your supply chain management structure creating a central repository for all your supply chain, ESG-related data and evidence, including from third-party data sources.
With all supply chain traceability data stored on a single platform, our customers get the right evidence in the right place to back up claims and meet regulatory compliance.
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