Fibre Focus: Lyocell

lyocell-supreme

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre.

Introducing Fibre Focus, our fabric blog that breaks down the various impacts of a fibre from an environmental, social justice and design standpoint. It is important to also consider any potential impacts a fibre might have if it were to become more popular.

Design advantages :

  • Strong and durable
  • Soft, breathable and lightweight
  • Excellent drape
  • High elasticity
  • Antibacterial and anti-odor
  • Relatively anti-crease compared to other fibres

Design disadvantages :

  • Generally a knitted fabric, and so there can be issues with screen printing
  • Lyocell is more expensive than other fibres

Environmental impacts :

  • Generally produced in a closed-loop production system. This recycles and reuses water and chemicals and minimises chemical water pollution
  • Lyocell is a man-made fibre produced from natural raw materials, usually wood pulp
  • Trees are renewable and absorb and sequester CO2 during photosynthesis
  • Trees must be felled to obtain the raw material
  • Lyocell biodegrades, unlike polyester
  • Mechanical equipment is used to spin the pulp into yarn – this results in carbon emissions
  • Anti-wrinkle fabrics require less energy during the consumer use phase
  • The production process involves amine oxide – which has numerous environmental and social impacts. However in a closed-loop production system amine oxide presence in effluent is minimised
  • Trees flourish under organic circumstances

Social impacts :

  • Creates jobs, which generate income for households
  • Income is dependent on mechanical factories or mills – unlike fibres that can be hand processed such as cotton or silk
  • Increased risk of occupational chemical exposure for lyocell producers
  • Low washing temperatures and anti-wrinkle properties can save households money during the consumer use phase

Positive potential impacts :

  • Cultivating the raw materials (trees) can preserve air, water and soil quality
  • Prevention of soil erosion
  • Preservation of natural biodiversity and ecological equilibrium
  • Increased tree populations
  • Decreased CO2 levels and increased oxygen levels
  • Lyocell’s durability means that it is a perfect candidate for upcycling
  • Decreased dependence on synthetic petrochemicals, and reduced demand for oil drilling
  • The eucalyptus tree is the most commonly used material for lyocell. Eucalyptus has many applications and can be used as a natural dye and for cosmetics and medicine

Negative potential impacts :

  • Increased risk of occupational chemical exposure for lyocell producers
  • Increased risk on amine oxide pollution
  • The trees used for pulp must be replaced, else the tree population will decline and the air quality will be impacted
  • Job loss for producers in other fibre sectors

So there you have it, a simple breakdown of lyocell’s impacts that you can keep in mind when buying, sourcing or designing.

Fiber Focus: Lyocel

lyocell-supreme

More news

inks-and-dyes-used-in-the-textile-industry
Materials &Techniques

Inks And Dyes Used In The Textile Industry: Why Choosing Water Based Inks And Dyes Is A Necessity

Colour is a catalyst in sales success within the fashion industry. The first thing consumers notice about a piece of clothing before the fabric or size is the colour of the garment. The brightness or shade of clothing as well as how it might suit their complexion and their personal preferences. However, colour dyes in clothing is known to be harmful to the environment and the people in the surrounding areas close to factories.
Supreme-Creations-x-Chefs-in-Schools
Work/ Partnerships

Supreme Creations x Chefs in Schools

Chefs in schools is a charitable initiative that aims to improve the health of children through better school food and education. While writing the School Food Plan, Henry Dimbleby (a governor at his children’s state primary, Gayhurst Community School in Hackney) posted a tweet asking whether anyone would be interested in taking over the school kitchen.
decoding-sustainability-jargon
Sustainability & Supply Chain

Decoding Sustainability Jargon

At Supreme Creations we know that sustainability can be confusing. There is a lot of jargon thrown about, and it’s hard to know what the hell anyone is on about. We thought it would be helpful to make a glossary of these new sustainability terms, and define them in an easy, simple way so that you may use this as a reference point when talking, reading, or thinking about sustainability.
green-businesses
Materials &Techniques

Green Businesses

It seems today the trending topic in the business world is ‘going green’. These moves by big businesses to try and cut carbon emissions, use greener energy, and improve their effect on the environment, are all a positive movement towards a greener future. However, at a time when ‘green’ is in, we want to know how many of these claims are ‘greenwashing’, painting businesses in a positive light whereas in reality their practices are far from sustainable.
fiber-focus-cotton
Materials &Techniques

Fibre Focus: Cotton

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from also has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre.
simple-patterns-to-print-on-your-tote-bags
Materials &Techniques

Simple patterns to print on your tote bags

A spot repeat pattern is can give surprisingly varied prints when small changes are made. Small dots give a traditional and uniform appearance. Patterns like this are great for conventional and classic designs, or for printed inner linings. Use a half-drop repeat for a more directional print. Dense coloured spots on a white background give fabric a fresh look that is perfect for all purposes – from kitchen to cosmetics.

GET A QUOTE & SAMPLE

Fill out the form, and we’ll send you an initial quote within two hours (Mon-Fri 09:00-17:30)