Nina Ekstrand, the company’s head of marketing and communication, explained that the patented process used less chemicals, recycled and reused those that it does use, and produced no sulphur emissions.
“As all innovators know, it takes time to prove the technology and then go to market and then prove it to the world,” she told us.
This year a demo plant is being established at a paper mill at Nymölla in Sweden, until recently owned by another partner, Finnish forestry firm Stora Enso, which should soon be producing 1,500 tonnes of fibre annually.
“So we have developed a new fibre technology based on cellulose. It’s a chemical process, similar to viscose but it’s not viscose. We are currently working on getting it classified in the EU and in the US,” Ekstrand added.
“We are still a start up. But we have powerful owners in Ikea, H&M and Stora Enso who jumped on the train when Lars Stigsson told them he had this fantastic technology to introduce a sustainable fibre at a lower cost.
“Our business model says that we should sell the technology through licensing. So we would like to partner up with fibre producers that can invest in our technology and then scale it globally. Because that is the ambition from our owners.”
Ekstrand reported strong interest in Tree to Textile’s stand at ITMA. “This is first time that we are doing a commercial trade show like this,” she said. “This is first time that we are showcasing the different samples.
“People can touch and feel the differences between our fibre compared to viscose and cotton. And the response that we are getting here is fantastic. That is another reason why we are here – we wanted to see that we are on the right track!”
Belgian startup Noosa also caught our eye in Start-Up Valley. It claims that its bio-based fibre is the first that can be endlessly upcycled without any deterioration in quality.
Created from GMO-free corn in China, the company says its ‘Noocycle’ technology – developed in its Brussels-based laboratories – means it can guarantee that every collected textile made from Noosa can – and will be – recycled back into pure, virgin-quality fibre.
Noosa says life cycle assessments have been carried out to confirm its environmental claims which include a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 50% reduction in water use compared to conventional cotton.
Co-founder and project manager Luna Aslan said: “We have created a textile fibre made from the sugar from corn waste, and developed technology to make it 100% recyclable at end of life.
“And so this is a unique innovation that is patented. It is chemical recycling and it allows us to separate our fibre from any type of component. So any dye, any material blend, anything we can just isolate it and get back to a 100% virgin fibre without loss of properties or degeneration.
“So today we sell the fibre, the yarn and the filament directly to brands or manufacturers so that they transform it into end products.”
