Textile-to-textile recycling company Renewcell is doubling down on Chinese manufacturing.
Renewcell, the producer of the 100 percent recycled textile pulp Circulose, unveiled Thursday “the next step” in its relationship with Chinese viscose manufacturer Tangshan Sanyou.
“I am very happy to announce this acceleration of our long-standing partnership with Tangshan Sanyou,” Renewcell CEO Patrik Lundström said in a statement. “They were the first commercial producer of Circulose-based fibers in the world, and the first to commit to sourcing significant volumes from us. Now, they aim to also be the first to commercialize 100 percent Circulose content fibers.”
Partners since 2018, the two companies intend to begin delivering commercial quantities of 100 percent Circulose-content viscose fibers to “select” fashion brands and manufacturers starting next year. The announcement came as the result of the successful validation of Circulose’s quality in production at Tangshan Sanyou’s commercial-scale manufacturing lines, Renewcell said. The two companies will cooperate to market the fibers globally under the Circulose brand name, it added.
Also this week, Renewcell unveiled a new partnership with Chinese lyocell fiber producer China Textile Academy Green Fibre Co. Ltd.
The two companies have signed a letter of intent outlining an upcoming offtake agreement between the parties. The future, legally binding agreement would set out commercial terms for the delivery of 18,000 metric tons of Circulose over five years, Renewcell said. CTA Green Fibre would use the Circulose as feedstock in the production of lyocell fibers for textile manufacturers and “global fashion brands,” it said. Ekman Group, Renewcell’s exclusive global trading partner, facilitated the agreement.
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“With this agreement, we take a new step in demonstrating the applicability of Circulose in commercial-scale production of lyocell fibers,” Lundström said in a statement. “Lyocell is a high quality, low-impact fiber using closed loop production process which is highly sought after among our fashion brand partners that will now soon be available incorporating Circulose recycled from textile waste.”
This week’s two announcements arrived three months after news Renewcell had shipped its first batch of dissolving pulp from its new Renewcell 1 plant in Sweden. The company put the factory’s initial capacity of 60,000 metric tons per year.