Stora Enso to host TreeToTextile's demonstration plant for sustainable textile fiber

It is a critical step towards commercialising a new sustainable textile fiber with scalable technology and a low manufacturing cost. The aim is to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of the textile industry and to make sustainable textile fibers available to all.

All over the world, the demand for sustainable textile fibers is growing. TreeToTextile is committed to enabling access to sustainable textile fibers for brands and companies with a progressive agenda. TreeToTextile offers a new technology to produce bio-based textile fibers with a low environmental footprint at an attractive cost level. The new fiber is a regenerated cellulosic fiber, produced from renewable and sustainably sourced raw materials from the forest.

“We are moving further down the value chain. TreeToTextile means new opportunities, not just for the forest industry. On this journey we collaborate with other industry leaders, and while our challenges may differ, we all share the same ambitious commitment to create a more sustainable future,” says Chairwoman of TreeToTextile Roxana Barbieru, and Vice President, Emerging Businesses and Alliances Management from Stora Enso’s Biomaterials innovation team.

TreeToTextile’s novel technology means using less energy, less chemicals and less water compared to the production of conventional fibers. It is engineered to suit large-scale production and includes a recovery system for the reuse of chemicals.

TreeToTextile will construct a demonstration plant for upscaling the process technology. The plant will be located at Stora Enso’s Nymölla Mill in southern Sweden, and the construction will start in spring 2021. The raw material used at the demo plant will primarily be dissolving pulp from Stora Enso’s Enocell Mill in Finland. It is renewable, 100% traceable to its origins, and comes from sustainably managed forests from the vicinity of the mill.