More supply chain solution hubs to open across India
German company Lenzing produces pulp and fibres and partners with spinning mills, weaving mills, knitting mills, dye works, clothing manufacturers, fashion brands and retailers. Its fibres are used in apparel, including denims and lingerie, home textiles, nonwovens and industrial applications. It also sells biorefinery products and co-products. Avinash Mane, the group's commercial head for South Asia, spoke to Fibre2Fashion about adoption of its Tencel fibres and its partnerships in the subcontinent.
Lenzing introduced Tencel as the official textile brand for all apparel and home applications two years back. How has the progress been from there? Has the consumer focused Tencel been able to achieve its goal, more so in India?
In 2018, Lenzing AG unveiled its product brands that cater to different industries. Tencel is our specialty fibre brand for all apparel and home applications. Tencel included lyocell and modal fibres. We also launched Lenzing Ecovero specialty viscose fibres the same year. This roll out was part of our focus on business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C), where we intend to engage with trade and consumers together to create the right awareness needed for sustainability in textile applications.
The response has been phenomenal so far. We have increased our presence across all categories of apparel and home products. From presence at premium design labels like Rajesh Pratap Singh, Ritu Kumar and Anita Dongre to popular retail chains like Levis, And, Global Desi, Jockey as well as D'décor, our product presence is strong across the country.
By when are you expecting to achieve carbon neutral benefits across your entire selection of Tencel fibres and the textile supply chain?
In late 2019, Lenzing pledged to reduce specific carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and become net carbon-zero by 2050. We reduce carbon emissions throughout our supply chain, utilise renewable energy and use sustainable production to meet milestones set by science-based targets.
Which are the brands, designers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) globally you are working with or would be working with to build a more effective ecosystem that strives to achieve the common goal of carbon neutrality?
Carbon-zero Tencel branded fibres are at initial stage after introduction in second half of 2020. Even though most of the global brands have shown keen interest, the current challenging market situation due to Covid-19 has led to a slower pace of adoption, which still is a good sign under the current scenario. We have US firm William Sarona, Inc. shifting its Tencel branded fibre range to carbon-zero Tencel branded fibres. The Bestseller Group is at the sampling stage. We expect momentum to be better once the Covid-19 situation improves.
What is the market size of Lenzing's various Tencel sub brands in India right now?
The largest share is of Tencel branded fibre application in general outerwear, followed by Tencel Intimate which goes into innerwear and loungewear categories. We then have Tencel Denim, Tencel Home and Tencel Active.
You were planning to increase your Tencel production capacity by 2019 at your plants in Thailand and the United States. How much has the production increased by now?
The demand for sustainable Tencel fibres is continuously increasing and we are expanding our capacities to maintain the requirements. Towards this, we are moving strongly towards completing our Thailand expansion for 100KT Tencel lyocell by 2021 end.
How open are Indian textile brands to the idea to achieve carbon neutrality? Which are the roadblocks you face to convince them about the same?
Even though sustainability and moving towards carbon neutrality are at an early stage in India, its awareness is spreading rapidly. Most of the Indian retail market has been closed since early March 2020 and is yet to restart fully. They will be considering the concept to move forward once they open fully. We don't see any major roadblocks here with our strong focus on B2B2C strategy reaching out to end consumers and at the same time making the product available by working closely with supply chain partners and key local retailers and brands.
What steps are being taken to communicate to the consumer on how this brand will impact their lives? What are its advantages?
We are connecting with consumers to build greater awareness around sustainability in their purchasing choices. With climate change and global warming becoming a stark reality, conversations around making concrete changes to sustaining our ecology are essential. We are actively engaging them through co-branded communication, different events, social media and various related activities. Now consumers are eager to understand how their choices make a difference and asserting them for the sake of the world they live in. Every choice we make is a symbol of our commitment to defining what the future of fashion will look like.
You also introduced Tencel for footwear last year. Which are the footwear brands that have adopted it till now?
There has been a lot of global adoption by brands like Allbirds, M&S, Converse (Japan), Reebok, Toms, Camper, Solidus to name a few. In India, we are in discussions with certain partners.
How different will the new carbon neutral Tencel fibres be than the existing Tencel fibres in terms of lower carbon emissions and energy consumption across the supply chain? What is the process of deriving such fibres?
We have further reduced our carbon footprint to achieve carbon neutral Tencel fibres. Lenzing is working with Natural Capital Partners. To become certified as carbon neutral, we took five steps that their CarbonNeutral Protocol outlines:
- Define: The scope of product or offer that required to get CarbonNeutral certified.
- Measure: We collected all data from energy input and transportation to the carbon footprint of raw materials used in the production. An independent and expert emissions assessment then calculates the business's total emissions.
- Target: We have set our reduction targets and committed to becoming carbon neutral by achieving net-zero emissions.
- Reduce: We worked on delivering internal emissions reductions, such as energy-efficiency programmes. Natural Capital Partners supported Lenzing to identify and deliver the external emissions reductions projects (offsets), which ultimately make carbon-zero Tencel fibres carbon neutral products.
- Communicate: We want to deliver a clear and credible message about each stage of our climate actions and be transparent in our actions.
By working along with these five steps, Tencel has been granted the CarbonNeutral product certification by Natural Capital partners and can claim to have a carbon-neutral fibre.
How biodegradable will both apparel and footwear be with the introduction of Tencel?
Textiles made of Tencel branded fibres are certified biodegradable in soil, compost and marine environment. At the end of their life cycle, the fibres can re-enter the eco-system, preparing the ground on which new plants grow.
You also opened the first supply chain solution hub in Mumbai recently. What kind of supply chain and product solutions is it going to offer Indian customers? Are more such hubs in the pipeline?
The Lenzing Hub in Mumbai acts as a platform to connect Lenzing supply chain partners with each other and to experience innovations and options offered by Lenzing at a local level, thereby reducing time to evaluate and make decisions. Brands, garment and fabric manufacturers in Mumbai and surrounding regions can now see the various options of Lenzing fibre products being developed by spinning and mill partners across India and the globe.
Yes, more such hubs are in pipelines for different business centres across the country.
Where will the new carbon neutral Tencel fibres be produced at? Is it the existing production facilities or some other place?
These fibres are currently produced at Lenzing in Austria and will be soon extended to all our locations.
How is Lenzing's carbon-zero journey based on science-based targets? What is the scope, timeframe, etc defined as such?
Guided by science-based targets to facilitate the seamless transition of Lenzing's carbon-zero journey, Lenzing will deploy four key levers that cover energy efficiency, reduction of fossil fuel use, integration of pulp and fibre production facilities and ongoing investment in new technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
To ensure energy efficiency, key measures like replacing inefficient pumps, optimising current technologies, efficient planning and further reduction of losses for energy saving have been adopted. By switching from high-carbon fuel to low-carbon or carbon-neutral fuel and scaling up in the use of renewable grid electricity, reduction of fossil fuel use can be achieved. The integration of pulp and fibre production facilities has also been conducted, ensuring renewable bioenergy is used for fiber production. Energy saving measures are also achieved by avoiding pulp drying and excessive pulp transportation.
Finally, both the Tencel brand and Lenzing will continue to invest in developing technologies to decarbonize heat generation.
Tencel for apparel, for footwear, luxury products, hotel industry and so on. What next are you planning to achieve with Tencel fibres?
We are continuously evaluating possibilities and scope to further improve our products and offerings. Along with Tencel, the focus remains on Lenzing Ecovero, which has been accepted phenomenally well by the industry globally as well as locally. Lenzing Ecovero being our eco-viscose invention, finds strong appeal as a replacement to conventional viscose, making it a viable option for supply chain to upgrade to.
