As people search for vegan, sustainable fibres to make their wardrobes planet-friendly, many are increasingly turning to Tencel™.
Tencel isn’t a fabric per-se; it’s actually a brand of lyocell (wood pulp-based cloth) trademarked by Lenzing AG, an innovative Austrian fibre developer.
Tencel is manufactured by dissolving wood chips to produce a pulp. This pulp is treated with a solvent, dried, and pushed through small holes to produce fine fibres. These fibres are then spun into yarn, woven into cloth, and stitched into a fine garment.
Easy enough, right? So what’s the big fuss about?
Made from and for the environment
What makes Tencel a people- and planet-friendly fibre is its low ecological footprint, especially relative to cotton.
Tencel uses only 5% of the water that cotton production does. Also, the Eucalyptus trees used to manufacture Tencel grow on a fraction of the land that cotton fields need.
The benefits don’t stop there! While cotton production is energy-intensive, Tencel is made through an energy-conscious closed loop process. This means that it has a low carbon footprint, and that the chemicals used to treat it don’t pollute water and soil resources.
Eucalyptus Grandis Plantation, Gulader
When woven into cloth, Tencel doesn’t need to be bleached. And because it’s super absorbent, it uses minimum dye to make clothes of different colours . Finally, and crucially, because it’s a plant-based fibre, it’s easily biodegradable at the end of its life.
So, if you buy a Tencel shirt instead of a cotton one, you’ve saved the planet a lot of water, helped reduce deforestation (because of cotton farming), limited your carbon footprint, and prevented water and soil pollution!
While Tencel is clearly better than conventional fabrics like cotton, it’s also more sustainable than other wood-based fibres like rayon and viscose, which have been sourced from endangered and ancient forests.
The everything fabric
What sustainable fashion aficionados love about Tencel is that it’s as versatile as it is eco-friendly! It can be spun and woven in varying lengths and thicknesses, so it produces cloths of different textures with ease. This makes it the perfect vegan alternative for luxury garments like suede leather and silk. Tencel also blends well with other fabrics, making it ideal for everything from sportswear to formal clothing.
If you’ve got sensitive skin, Tencel will be as kind to your body as it is to the planet. It has natural anti-microbial properties, is well-ventilated, doesn’t wrinkle and is also incredibly absorbent. This means that it can soak any sweat you may shed, allow your body to breathe, and still look and smell good at the end of a long day.
All of these have made it a favourite for high-quality undergarments, though you can also find plenty of shirts, jackets and dresses made of Tencel as well.
While Tencel does cost a little more than fast-fashion cotton clothes, it’s far better for you and the planet. It’ll also last much longer, which means that in the long-term, it’s going to be kinder to your wallet as well!
So what are you waiting for? Explore Suspire’s Tencel catalogue to make your wardrobe greener and more stylish today.
