Environmental Protection: A New Perspective And Common Values Promote Industrial Circular Development

The real circularity is to have a lasting positive impact on the environmental footprint of the textile and clothing industries, which requires us to change our ideas and re-examine our position in the supply chain. This sounds difficult, but as we saw in Lenzing, it is much easier to do. When sustainable development becomes a core value of enterprises and supports us to make all decisions from operation to marketing, enterprises will find that their employees, customers and suppliers will participate in it, and gradually form a transparent, purpose driven culture, which breeds a hotbed for creativity and innovation development.

　 Remodeling the supply network

The traditional textile supply chain structure is strictly linear. Before the delivery of finished products, the enterprise will interact with suppliers and customers. After the delivery, the upstream process of products will be largely forgotten. Now, we must broaden this perspective and begin to pay attention to the end of the supply chain as a supply network. Only in this way can we create responsible products and truly attract consumers who pay attention to sustainable development - they will affect our future.

At Lenzing, we establish contacts with upstream stakeholders, even other fiber producers, to speed up our cycle of development. We no longer simply classify a company as "supplier" or "customer" or even "competitor", but cooperate with those who share our common aspiration and are committed to reducing the impact on human beings and the environment. We use REFIBRA ™ TENCEL of Technology ™ Lyocell is the direct product of this new perspective. We found that more and more consumers have environmental awareness, and the market is becoming larger and larger. Therefore, we decided to increase the use of recycled materials. Our engineers have developed an innovative production process to upgrade the use of cotton fabrics or waste materials used in garment production into pulp. This pulp is then mixed with pulp made from trees grown responsibly to produce a new TENCEL in our award-winning factory ™ Lyocell fiber. We use REFIBRA ™ TENCEL of technology ™ Lyocell fiber sets a new standard for fibers with the advantages of circularity, transparency and low carbon impact.

　　 Common values to promote effective cooperation

To make a complete change in the textile and clothing industries, we must act boldly, abandon the shackles of prejudice, and work together to create more environmentally friendly products and processes. This is not something that can be accomplished by a single company or supply chain department. Most importantly, we must strive to cultivate consumers' awareness of environmental protection and help brands and retailers benefit from our efforts.

American cotton not only has many similarities with us, but also is committed to reducing the impact of its products on the environment, so it naturally becomes Lenzing's partner. As a supplier of plant fiber, we have a close relationship with American cotton and the earth, and we also cherish the resources on this planet. We are committed to building a transparent supply chain, so we have adopted TextileGenesis ™ Blockchain technology to ensure traceability from fiber to production and sales. Now, we have TENCEL produced in Alabama factory ™ Lyocell fiber, as well as the blessing of American cotton, enables us to put forward a convincing and sustainable Made in USA natural fiber value proposition to attract environmentally conscious consumers.

Of course, cooperation may be a little difficult under different circumstances. We may have to challenge ourselves and others. But as people realize that the benefits of progress outweigh the pain of stagnation, it will be easier to do this. The charm of promoting the textile and clothing industry to develop in a more circular direction is that this is a non-zero sum game. By reducing the damage to the earth and its ecosystem, we will all benefit in the long run. We can not only enhance the adaptability and viability of the entire industry, but also seek more benefits for consumers, brands, retailers and manufacturers, leading us to a better future.

About the author:

Tricia advocates active innovation in the textile and clothing industries to achieve sustainable development. Twenty years ago, Tricia joined Courtaulds Fibers NY to develop a marketing plan for a new fiber called TENCEL. In 2004, Lenzing Fibers acquired Tencel Inc., and Tricia became the USA Merchandising Manager for Women, Menswear, and Intimates. Now, Tricia is responsible for leading the Global Denim Segment and Americas Business Development team, dedicated to promoting more sustainable clothing development from fiber to consumer use. Tricia graduated from The Fashion Institute of Technology and obtained Bachelor's degree from Fashion Merchandising and Digital Marketing and Strategy certificate from Cornell University and MIT. Her experience in fabric sales, global procurement and clothing business development makes her a valuable partner for brands and retailers who want to reassess their supply chain and optimize the application and benefits of Lenzing plant fiber. Tricia is also the secretary of the Accelerating Circulation Project, a member of the FIT Textile Department Advisory Board, and served as the Vice Chair of Textile Exchange from 2014 to 2018. In 2020, she was nominated as B2B Content Marketer of the Year by the Content Marketing Institute, and rated as top 100 Denim Legend by WeAr Magazine. In 2019, Tricia won the RIVET 50 Award, an influential leader in the cowboy industry. She has also served as a guest speaker in various industry events, including United Nations, Transformers, Texworld, Premier Vision, Wear Conference, etc. She works in New York City and can be contacted through LinkedIn.