Lenzing is developing solutions to help scale the reuse of production and post-consumer waste as the denim industry continues to increase its usage of cotton that has been mechanically recycled. For example, our TENCELTM Lyocell is a blending partner that may give fabrics and yarns made from recycled cotton extra strength and softness.
Specialised TENCELTM Lyocell fibres were developed to blend with recycled cotton in a new initiative from denim producer Artistic Milliners. TENCELTM Lyocell typically measures about 38 millimetres in length, although the length of shredded cotton varies and can be as little as 5 millimetres. Lenzing created the 32 millimetre TENCELTM Lyocell fibre, which Artistic Milliners used, to bring these fibre sizes closer together.
“Because recycled cotton is shorter than regular cotton, this makes processing recycled cotton easier,” said Tuncay Kilickan, Lenzing’s head of global business development for denim. “We developed a unique cut to improve the balance between TENCELTM Lyocell and recycled cotton.”
Artistic Milliners can accommodate a higher percentage of recycled cotton in their mixes because to the 32 mm fibres. Thirty percent recycled cotton can be supported by conventional TENCELTM, and fifty percent recycled cotton can be blended with the 32 mm fibres. For this collection, two fabrications were created: one with 16 percent and one with 30 percent TENCELTM.
These shorter TENCELTM fibres can be used to produce antique, true denim effects, as seen in the Artistic Milliners collection, which features a 32 mm gauge. The highs and lows of the materials resemble completely cotton jeans. Still, the hand feels smooth and silky, just like TENCELTM Lyocell is supposed to.
According to Baber Sultan, director of development and research at Artistic Milliners, “what 32 mm is doing is actually bringing a more cottonized look, even though it’s TENCELTM, and you get very authentic denim-like washes and character with the amazing hand feel.”
